Understanding household-level flood responses in Ho Chi Minh City: who acts what and why?

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is characterized by rapid urbanization, socio-economic transitions and significant climate/environment influences at a low lying flood prone area, which in combination results in more frequent and intense floods. Accordingly, flood coping measures and adaptation actions have been carried out by various stakeholders for years, especially the diverse responses at household level. However, there is a lack of substantial understanding on the profiles of different households regarding their flood response measures, the driving factors, particularly with regards to dynamically changing socio-economic groups and the question of individual vs. collective action for flood risk reduction. Based on a large scale household survey conducted in HCMC in September and October 2020, the study classifies different flood coping/adaptation measures. A cluster analysis of multiple factors is carried out to clarify the major factors and to identify the features of households and their networks in each cluster. Specific data analysis indicates: 1) Majority of local people don’t receive external supports, due to the fact of moderate flood events and that they subjectively don’t concern much to the impacts (have got used to floods). 2) The most vulnerable groups did receive various supports, which indicates the existence of a basic flood-safe system in HCMC. 3) Long-term adaptation measures are not often applied, because vulnerable groups are not able to while rich people don’t need to. Findings of the study help to better understand the local status of flood responses against the backdrop of underlying socio-economic transformations.