Dual Burden: Physical and Psychosocial Health Impacts of the 2024 Flood in Bauchi State, Nigeria — A Cross-Sectional Household Survey

Abstract

Background: Flooding is Nigeria’s most frequent natural disaster, yet its combined physical and psychosocial health consequences remain poorly characterised, particularly in resource-constrained sub-Saharan African settings. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of physical morbidity and psychosocial distress following the August 2024 floods in Bauchi State, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted among 411 heads of household across six flood-affected Local Government Areas (Katagum, Itas/Gadau, Jama’are, Gamawa, Shira, and Zaki), approximately three months after the flood peak. A structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire captured socio-demographic characteristics, flood exposure history, environmental and infrastructural impacts, self-reported physical morbidity, and psychosocial events. Data were analysed in IBM SPSS v.28 using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests of association, and binary logistic regression.Results: Most respondents (85.2%) rated the flood’s household impact as severe, and 72.3% (297/411) reported flood damage to property. Self-reported physical morbidity was high: malaria (93.4%), self-reported waterborne disease/suspected cholera (77.4%), acute watery diarrhoea (56.4%), and self-reported undernutrition (56.9%). Financial strain (92.9%) and homelessness (92.5%) were near-universal, while 39.7% of households reported a suspected mental-illness event (post-traumatic stress, depression, or anxiety, as recognised by the respondent). Self-reported mental illness varied markedly by LGA, from 10.0% in Itas/Gadau to 82.4% in Jama’are (χ²=109.0, p<0.001), and was independently associated with property damage (adjusted OR=2.32, 95% CI 1.25–4.29, p=0.008) and LGA of residence, but not with sex, age, or household income. Sanitation access was strongly associated with waterborne illness and diarrhoea (both p<0.001).Conclusion: Flooding in Bauchi State produced a substantial and geographically uneven dual burden of physical and psychosocial ill-health, driven more by asset loss and locality-specific exposure than by individual demographic characteristics. Disaster response should integrate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) restoration, health-facility rehabilitation, and psychosocial support, with resources weighted toward the worst-affected LGAs.