Abstract
This article explores the impacts of floods on the economy, environment, and society and tries to clarify the rural community’s coping mechanism to flood disasters in Central Viet Nam. It focuses on the social aspects of flood risk perception that shapes the responses to floods. The research findings revealed that flooding is an essential element for a coastal population, whose livelihood depend on productive functions of cyclical floods. The findings also revealed that floods, causing losses and damages, often inhibited economic development. The surveyed communities appeared to have evolved coping mechanisms to reduce the negative impacts of the floods, yet these coping mechanisms are under pressure due to environmental degradation. Integrated flood risk management is considered as a suitable paradigm for coping with flood disasters.
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Notes
Bamboo or mixed material frame house, roof covered by thatch or corrugated metal or tiles.
House built with reinforced concrete materials but some parts are insecure due to improper construction techniques.
Reinforced concrete house with thick brick or block cement walls, secure doors and windows.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this research was provided by FAO Project Asia-Pacific: GCP/VIE/029/ITA, Integrated Management of Lagoon Activities in Thua Thien Hue Province, Viet Nam. The faculties of Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry who participated in the field survey are also highly acknowledged. The first author acknowledges the MEXT scholarship for his research in Kyoto University. The third author acknowledges the research grant from JSPS (Project Code: 816051600006, Subject Code No. 17401004) and Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies of Kyoto University.
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Tran, P., Marincioni, F., Shaw, R. et al. Flood risk management in Central Viet Nam: challenges and potentials. Nat Hazards 46, 119–138 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-007-9186-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-007-9186-2