Household and community level vulnerability to disaster in Bangladesh: An exploratory study on the flash flood 2022 in Sylhet district

Main Article Content

Md. Abdus Sattar

Keywords

Household, Community, Vulnerability, Flash Flood, Bangladesh

Abstract

This study explored the household and community level vulnerability of flash flood 2022 affected people of Sylhet district in Bangladesh. However, this study was conducted in three unions namely Barhal, Biroshree, Kajalsar of Zakiganj upazila of Sylhet district. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to collect data from the field. To achieve the objectives of this study 360 respondents were surveyed from the flash flood 2022 affected area and 3 KIIs were conducted. The results of this study show that the households were rather often considered as low-to-moderate vulnerable to socioeconomic and disaster category (an average of mean value 2.08). Besides, the average of all mean value 1.49 highlights that there was a medium degree of social and structural vulnerability at community level. The Composite Social Vulnerability Index (SVI=1.54) shows that the social vulnerability was medium in the study area. However, the results of this study show that vulnerability to flash flood was multidimensional including socio-demographic factors, exposure to environmental factors, unstable economic conditions and institutional limitations in the study area. The results of this study would help every stakeholders to formulate own policy to lessen the vulnerability of flash flood affected people in Bangladesh.

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