VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF FLOODS IN HOST REGIONS: A CASE STUDY OF T/A MAKHWIRA IN CHIKWAWA DISTRICT

Contrary to the nature of occurrence of floods in local authorities of Malawi like Chikwawa, floods have a social and economic face and should also be understood as a socio-economic disaster other than natural disasters only. A study was carried out in two villages of T/A Makhwira in Chikwawa, Malawi, to understand the levels and extent of socio-economic vulnerability people to floods in the lower shire. Assessment of the vulnerabilities of people in the area was critically reviewed with pressure and release model (PAR), GIS & statistical analysis. Data was collected from the communities through interviews, a questionnaire & a desk study using the fifth Household integrated survey [IHS5] & Malawi housing and population census 2018 complemented by geospatial analysis. It was found out that the socio-economic vulnerability is high in the study area, affecting a large segment of the population due to vulnerability conditions such as exposure to the flood zone, Poverty, poor settlements/poor housing, and reliance on rain-fed agriculture as their elite source of income. Those with a low score of access to resources (financial, human, material, physical & technical) and near to flood risk zone were more vulnerable.