Colombo : Exposure, Vulnerability, and Ability to Respond to Floods
This paper examines the exposure, vulnerability, and ability of households in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to respond to floods, and brings out significant policy implications. The study used detailed questionnaire-based surveys to obtain data on households...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/428881496669609310/Colombo-exposure-vulnerability-and-ability-to-respond-to-floods http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27285 |
| Summary: | This paper examines the exposure,
vulnerability, and ability of households in Colombo, Sri
Lanka, to respond to floods, and brings out significant
policy implications. The study used detailed
questionnaire-based surveys to obtain data on households, to
understand the vulnerability and impacts of the severe
floods of November 2010 and recurrent floods since then.
Households that were selected for the surveys were located
in and around flooding spots in the city. The study finds
that the floods have imposed a significant burden on poor
households. Poor and nonpoor households have suffered
damages to the structure of their houses, household assets
and appliances, and vehicles. With recurrent floods, they
continue to bear the cost of damages as well as short-term
measures to cope with floods. For poor families, these costs
are borne through very limited resources and borrowing from
informal sources, compared with the nonpoor who have more
savings in financial form and greater access to formal
sources of credit. Poor families tend to invest all their
earnings in their home, furniture, and utensils, which
suffer the most during floods. In addition, households
suffer indirect impacts due to non-availability of
transport, power, drinking water, food, and essential
supplies. They also tend to lose workdays, which leads to
loss of income and productivity. Many poor families have
considered relocation to flood-free areas, but they lack the
financial resources for the move. If the government offers
such a scheme, many would be willing to take it up, if
factors like job opportunities, clean surroundings, access
to medical facilities, transportation, and good social
networks are ensured in the new locations. |
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