Does the Nature of Floods Matter in the Risk Perception of Households? A Comparative Assessment among the Rural Households Prone to Flash and Riverine Floods in Pakistan

Abstract

Floods have caused major losses and damages to people, infrastructure, and the environment. This study aims to assess the risk perception of households prone to riverine and flash floods and the perceived damages to infrastructure and livelihoods. Data were collected from 382 households through a questionnaire survey and analyzed using chi-squared and t-tests. Overall, risk perception was higher for riverine floods. Similarly, ‘flood coping capacities’, ‘livelihood disruption’, ‘change in lifestyle/adjusting to floods’, and ‘change in the relationship’ were also high for riverine floods and statistically significant (p-value < 0.05). The ‘likelihood of future flood damages’ perception was higher for flash floods (mean values: 0.913 vs. 0.779), while the ‘infrastructural damages’ showed the same results. The perceptions of ‘livelihoods’ and perceived ‘economic loss’ were greater for riverine floods (p-value < 0.05). The perceptions of ‘livestock damages’ and ‘household damages’ were higher for flash floods.