Examining the determinants of flood risk mitigation measures at the household level in Bangladesh

Abstract

Floods are the most common hazard in Bangladesh adversely affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of riverine people. Flood-affected households adopt a variety of post-disaster mitigation measures, to the best of their ability, in recognition that similar events are likely to occur again in the future. However, little is known about what drives a household to adopt risk mitigation measures after experiencing a severe flood. The objective of this study was to investigate the determinants of households' decisions on the implementation of flood risk mitigation measures, following the severe flood in 2017 in northern Bangladesh. The data used for this study were collected from the right bank of the Teesta River in Bangladesh through a survey of 377 households and six key informant interviews. Most of the households (83.3%) adopted at least one risk mitigation measure from either structural or nonstructural categories after the 2017 flood. Binary logistic regression models provide useful insights into the determinants of the implementation of mitigation measures and intention to implement mitigation measures in future. The results showed that the perceived probability of flood, perceived preparedness, flood experience, exposure to flood, membership, household head's sex, income source, and landownership significantly influenced households to implement mitigation measures in the post-disaster period. Additionally, the intention to implement mitigation measures was influenced by the membership and education of households. This study contributes in terms of useful information about the determinants of post-disaster mitigation measures in riverine areas of Bangladesh. These findings can be used to target specific households to promote disaster risk reduction interventions.