Flood shocks and post-disaster recovery of households: An empirical analysis from rural Odisha, India

Abstract

This paper uses primary household survey data collected after the severe flooding that occurred in the Bhadrak region of Odisha in 2014. We contribute to the literature by examining the factors that enhance rural households’ disaster recovery capacities. We distinguish two main recovery outcomes: an income (economic) recovery and a housing structure (structural) recovery outcome. A Generalized Ordered Logit Model (GOLM) is employed where the recovery is determined by socioeconomic characteristics and coping mechanisms available to the households. The findings reveal that rural agricultural households adopted several measures in response to the flood. Migratory labor-based strategies significantly increased the likelihood of economic recovery one year after the disaster. Selling productive assets reduced the likelihood of recovery. Community-level coping strategies were not effective, as floods caused devastating effects on a large part of the village community. Poorer households were more constrained in their capacities to recover from disaster shock. However, there was evidence of community-level support in terms of labor exchange between households in close neighborhoods. Finally, the study finds that post-disaster public assistance was mainly provided to land-owning farmers rather than poor, landless agricultural households.