Vulnerability assessment of households and its possible reflection in flood risk management: The case of the upper Myjava basin, Slovakia

As a result of a change in the flood risk management paradigm from flood control to flood adaptation, the strategy of vulnerability reduction has become an inseparable part of flood risk management. A key aspect of vulnerability management is knowledge of the social system's vulnerability at the local level. The aim of this paper is to present an assessment of household vulnerability to flood hazards in the six villages of the upper Myjava basin (Slovakia), based on data obtained from a household survey, and to discuss the possibility of vulnerability reduction in the framework of flood risk management. Questionnaire issues are related to the exposure of each household to flood hazards, proxy variables affecting the susceptibility of household property to damage, susceptibility of households to physical and mental harm and the household ability to recover from flooding. Assessment of the household vulnerability in the municipalities through proxy variables is based on rules, justifiable criteria and indices representing individual aspects of vulnerability, as well as overall vulnerability. In relation to the vulnerability assessment, individual and institutional measures are specified for each community to reduce the vulnerability of households to flood hazards.