Flood risk and household losses: Empirical findings from a rural community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study evaluates the effects of household-level flood risk on post-flood losses in Pakistan. Pakistan experienced devastating flooding, leading to numerous fatalities, extensive destruction of homes, and millions of displaced or otherwise affected individuals. Using survey data from households in Chitral District, we apply indicators from the literature on exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to generate actual vulnerability scores for households. We then determine household-level risk as a function of vulnerability and hazard. Finally, we employ Kruskal-Wallis one-way variance analysis to measure the association between household risk and flood impact in terms of both agricultural and non-agricultural losses. The findings indicate that loss due to floods is not a random function of nature's impact; instead, households with higher levels of risk also face higher agricultural and non-agricultural losses. These results emphasize the importance of addressing underlying risk factors to reduce household vulnerability rather than simply responding to post-crisis emergencies.