Recurrent Nigeria's floods erode livelihoods beyond physical damage. Study of 350 households shows significant impacts (F=14.450, R²=0.515), advocating cumulative community-based SIA
Floods occur almost yearly in the Benue River Basin, yet impact assessment in Nigeria still focuses on physical damage and displacement figures, missing deeper social effects.This paper examines recurrent flooding as a differentiated disaster that erodes livelihoods and community resilience. Fieldwork from the 2022-2024 flood seasons used multistage sampling to select 350 farming households across flood-prone communities. Data from structured questionnaires and life histories were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics.Socio-economic results show farming is family-based, with 70% married household heads. Mean farm size was 1.82 hectares; 47.5% cultivate under 2 hectares and 46.7% cultivate 2.1-4.0 hectares, indicating subsistence production. Regression analysis shows flood variables significantly affect livelihoods. ANOVA results: F = 14.450, p < 0.001, significant at 1%, with R² = 0.515, meaning 51.5% of variation in production and livelihood disruption is explained by flood occurrence, farm size and experience.Impacts unfold in layers: onset brings family separation and collapse of support systems; in camps, health challenges, school dropouts and heightened vulnerability of women emerge; on return, debts, land disputes and competition over high ground; over time, rebuilding fatigue, loss of indigenous knowledge and normalized displacement.The study advocates a shift from one-off to cumulative, community-based SIA integrating local early warning, gender-specific vulnerability and resilience
Dr. Aondonenge Dickson Teran, FIMC is a Social Impact Assessment expert, Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants, policy analyst and development consultant to government in Nigeria