Environment & Ecosystem Science (EES)

Flooding is a significant natural disaster that affects many communities around the world, including KwaZulu Natal Province in South Africa. Vulnerability to flooding is influenced by a variety of community characteristics, including social, environmental, and economic factors. Understanding the impact of these characteristics on vulnerability is essential for effective disaster risk reduction and management strategies. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of community characteristics on vulnerability to flooding in the iLembe district municipality. Data were collected from 67 households using a survey questionnaire and analysed using multiple regression analysis. The results of the regression analysis revealed that social and economic characteristics significantly predicted vulnerability to flooding, while environmental characteristics did not have a significant effect. Specifically, social characteristics had a negative relationship with vulnerability, indicating that higher levels of social characteristics were associated with lower vulnerability to flooding. The results further suggest that poverty and economic insecurity may increase vulnerability to flooding in this community. Interestingly, the coefficient for environmental characteristics was not statistically significant, indicating that these factors do not have a significant impact on vulnerability score in this context. This finding may reflect the fact that the study was conducted in a relatively homogenous geographic region, where environmental characteristics may be relatively consistent across the community. Overall, these results highlight the importance of social and economic factors in understanding vulnerability to flooding in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa. Policymakers and practitioners should consider interventions that address poverty and economic insecurity, as well as promote social cohesion and support networks, to reduce vulnerability to flooding in this community.