Flood resilience disparities: The intersection between economic and health risks in Can Tho, Vietnam

Flood risks pose increasing threats to societal every-day life and result in significant losses to economy. The monetary impacts related to infrastructure have been thoroughly studied and, although flood losses have been modelled, models for households are yet to be advanced. In addition, the increasing negative effects of floods on human health are often neglected or studied independently from risk assessments. Therefore, this contribution aims to fill the gap in risk research by providing a disaggregated study of economic and health losses in Can Tho city, a flood prone urban region located in the Mekong delta in South Vietnam. Quantitative survey data is analysed, including residential (n = 480) and commercial (shop-houses, n = 378) household interviews collected in 2013, as well as flood water and sewer samples for pathogen analysis, collected in 2016 after a flood event in the city. We present uni- and multivariable flood loss models for building, content, and sales decrease of households, based on water depth, building and content values, duration of closure of shop and the duration until full recovery. Water contamination models are developed to predict concentration and probability of infection. An expected result includes the development of complex interrelationships that can draw potential pathways towards flood risk adaptation. The models results will deliver a dynamic depiction of the diversity of risks in Can Tho city, providing critical insights for the flood-human-health system and risk management strategies.