Open AccessAn assessment of flood vulnerability in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province of Pakistan
Author(s) -
Said Qasim,
Mohammad Qasim,
Rajendra P. Shrestha,
Ataullah Khan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aims environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2372-0352
pISSN - 2372-0344
DOI - 10.3934/environsci.2017.2.206
Subject(s) - flood myth , vulnerability (computing) , preparedness , geography , emergency management , environmental planning , vulnerability assessment , socioeconomics , environmental resource management , sample (material) , safer , computer security , political science , computer science , psychological resilience , environmental science , psychology , sociology , archaeology , law , psychotherapist , chemistry , chromatography
In this research we have attempted to measure vulnerability of the communities living in the flood prone area of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Extensive literature review was conducted to identify the flood vulnerability indicators. Primary data were used to achieve the objective of this study. Questionnaires were used to collect the primary data from the selected households and from the director of Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management. Subjective assessment technique was used to allocate weights to the selected indicators of vulnerability. A sample size of 280 respondents was taken from three selected locations of Charsadda, Nowshera and Peshawar. Simple random sampling was employed for the selection of respondents. Results revealed that overall vulnerability as well as component vulnerability for the selected locations was very high. The study therefore recommends preparedness, provision of funds for building houses with flood resistant materials and building houses in safer places. There is also a need for enhancing the adaptive capacities of the concerned communities through their socio-economic uplift. Implementation of these policies would lower the vulnerability of the communities to flood disasters