Abstract

PurposeMombasa City in Kenya is one of the most vulnerable towns to flood risk due to its low-lying coastal location. Those at the highest risk in the city are households living in the flood-prone informal settlements. However, little is known about the perception of these vulnerable households to the flood risks and its health impacts, which is important for developing effective long-term adaptation strategies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the general perception of the residents regarding flood risks, its impact on their health and their adaptation strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis study surveyed 390 randomly selected households in three informal settlements in the city of Mombasa using a semi-structured questionnaire. This was supplemented with six focus group discussions (FDGs) and six key informant interviews (KIIs).FindingsThe majority of respondent households perceive future flooding as high risk or severe with high negative health impact. Despite this, many do not evacuate their homes because they do not have alternative places to move to. Flooding was indicated to have had a negative physical and mental health impact on members of households. Although majority of households had taken some adaptation measures, most of these were short term, mainly due to financial constraints, lack of knowledge and government support. Perception of flood risk and gender were found to have a strong influence on taking long-term adaptation measures at the household level.Practical implicationsReducing flood risk and averting its health consequences in flood-prone informal settlements require empowering and supporting those living in these areas with ability to initiate long-term adaptation measures and creating awareness about future risks.Originality/valueThis study provides evidence about how residents of flood-prone informal settlements perceive flood risk and how the exposures to perennial flooding impact their health. The paper augments existing knowledge of flood risk in poor urban neighborhoods of developing countries.

Highlights

  • Flooding has become one of the leading disasters worldwide and is predicted to increase in frequency over the coming years as a result of climate change and other human-induced activities (Bich et al, 2011; Ding et al, 2013; Mumuni, 2013; Tempest et al, 2017)

  • Mombasa City is one of the cities that have borne the biggest brunt of flooding over the recent past, and with the predicted rise in the sea levels due to climate change, the low-lying coastal city is at more scaled risk of experiencing greater and frequent devastating flood events

  • The findings of this study showed that households living in flood-prone areas in informal settlements in Mombasa City view flooding as one of the major problems they face

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Summary

Introduction

Flooding has become one of the leading disasters worldwide and is predicted to increase in frequency over the coming years as a result of climate change and other human-induced activities (Bich et al, 2011; Ding et al, 2013; Mumuni, 2013; Tempest et al, 2017). The flooding events in Kenya are influenced by a wide range of factors, including: the overflow of rivers, flash floods, coastal floods, floods as a result of unprecedented amounts and intensity of rainfall, inadequate or lack of drainage systems and in some cases, human interference with drainage basins, riparian zone and watersheds Flooding affects both rural and urban Kenya, but in the recent past, it has become more frequent and severe in the urban areas. The situation will be further exacerbated by the rise in the sea level due to the impact of climate change This informs the need to find out how these people at heightened risk of flooding perceive their situation. Knowledge on vulnerable people’s perception of flood risk can help policy makers develop communication strategies to engage the communities most effectively to deal with the recurrent flooding and to develop an action plan for mitigation strategies based on these perceptions (Toan et al, 2014)

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