Case study: exploring demographic dimensions of flood vulnerability in rural Charsadda, Pakistan
Abstract
This paper explores the demographic characteristics that affect flood vulnerability in rural Charsadda, Pakistan. It develops a Demographic Vulnerability Ranking (DVR) method and applies it to vulnerable households in Charsadda, in order to distinguish between the more vulnerable and less vulnerable households. The ranking assesses household vulnerability using the demographic composition of the individuals that make the household. The method is validated against the Fawad Khan Damage and Recovery Index, developed by the Institute of Social and Environmental Transition Pakistan (ISET-PK; Khan 2012), which differentiates between vulnerable and resilient households to floods, using damage and recovery data. Although, specific to Charsadda, the DVR method can be used in other locations, provided that they are geographically and culturally similar to Charsadda. The DVR examines household size, gender, adult illiteracy, age dependency and income dependency of the individuals within the household in order to assess vulnerability to floods. This study identifies gender as the most vital demographic characteristic, in households recovering from floods in Charsadda. It then follows that early relief and recovery operations for floods could focus on targeting households with a higher gender ratio in order to be most effective.
This report forms appendix 4 of the Final Technical Report of the Indus Floods Research Project.
Citation
Malik, S. Case study: exploring demographic dimensions of flood vulnerability in rural Charsadda, Pakistan. Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET), Boulder, Colorado, USA (2012) 69 pp.
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