Wading out the storm: Exploring the effect of flooding on energy poverty amidst disaster management strategies in Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Although flooding is well-thought-out as one of the deadliest natural disasters, there is scarce evidence on how such an environmental shock affect energy poverty prevelence in a developing country context amidst the implementation of disaster risk management strategies. Using the Disaster Poverty Household Survey in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam, we examine the effect of flooding on multidimensional energy poverty while estimating the moderation effects of non-structural ex-ante risk management strategies. After employing a myriad of robust methods, we observe that flooding increases energy poverty prevalence by about 32 %. The mediation analysis shows that income reduction serves as a pathway through which flooding affects energy poverty. Furthermore, estimates from the interaction analysis reveal how effective fiscal non-structural ex-ante risk management methods are in reducing the incidence of energy poverty among flood victims. However, the defense strategies were noted to be inefficient. These results provide policymakers with the necessary tools to create policies that address energy-related needs in areas affected by natural disasters, especially in developing countries.