Relationship Between Disasters, Development and Vulnerabilities

The widening gap between rich and poor, rural and urban incomes and hence the disparity in living standards can be witnessed in the flood plains of developing countries. For small landowners with marginal, degraded land, frequent flooding can decrease the returns from cultivating the land, thus reducing food security. The rural poor who depend on incomes from farming or other agricultural activities, with no reserves to help them them get back on their feet after a disturbance or pay for basic needs, are often obliged to migrate to the cities and are driven into debt. Newcomers to an urban setting, not being able to afford safe locations in the city, are obliged to settle in makeshift dwellings in informal settlements on marginal lands near the river or other drainages where they are extremely vulnerable to flooding.