Abstract
The study aimed at determining the coping strategy of rural people for flood. Coping
strategy was determined on the basis of extent of practice by the rural people and
exploring the relationship of their selected characteristics with coping strategy for flood.
Three periods viz. pre-flood, during flood and post-flood were considered. Data were
collected during September 2015 to December 2015 through pre-tested interview schedule
from randomly selected 221 respondents from eight villages of four unions (Karaichora,
Balijuri, Jorekhali and Sidhli) under Madarganj Upazila of Jamalpur district. In addition,
focus group discussion, causal diagram, key informant interviews and case study from
experts in respective field were also employed to obtain necessary information from the
study area. The selected 13 characteristics of the rural people were considered as
independent variables while coping strategy of rural people for flood constituted the
dependent variable. The coping strategy score of the respondents ranged from 25-126
against the possible range of 0-172, with an average of 69.21 and standard deviation 8.89.
The highest proportion (51.13 percent) of the respondents showed low coping strategy
while 29.41 percent showed medium and 19.46 percent showed high coping strategy for
flood. Among the characteristics of the respondents, years of schooling, farm size, annual
household income, contact with extension media, organizational participation, training
exposure, innovativeness, risk orientation, credit support and awareness about occurrence
of flood correlated with their coping strategy for flood. Among these, annual household
income, contact with extension media, years of schooling, risk orientation, credit support
and awareness about occurrence of flood had significant contribution. About fifty percent
of the total variation in coping strategy was explained by these six predictors. Rural people
who had more household income, close contact with extension media, more years of
schooling, high risk orientation, sufficient credit support and proper awareness about
occurrence of flood were found to have positive influence on coping strategy. The major
root causes of low coping strategy for flood were lack of credit support, lack of proper
extension activities, lack of high safe place, problems in crop cultivation, lack of
consciousness about water contamination disease and lack of government policy.
Perceiving more social safety net programs, create opportunity to provide credit facilities
easily, increase the level of education in rural areas, creation of awareness among rural
people and participation in different organizations could improve their coping strategy for
flood as well as livelihoods.