Between Rock and a Hard Place: Flood-Induced Mobility, Change in Population Dynamics, and Human Health

Girimallika Borah, Cotton University
Bhaswati Das, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Nandita Saikia, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

India experiences some of the highest rates of internal displacement globally every year, and a large share of them are natural disaster-related. Assam is one of the states that has had the most impact. We aimed to analyse the nature of flood-induced mobility in Bongaigaon District in Assam and explore how such mobility, short- and long-term, is associated with the health and well-being of the population. The condition of comorbidity after flood exposure is not adequately addressed in the Indian context; we made a humble attempt to fill the gap. We also explore how spatial mobility alters population dynamics in flood-prone areas. For this study, we obtained and analysed individual-level data on morbidity collected through a cross-sectional primary survey conducted six to seven months after the August 2021 floods in parts of Bongaigaon; the sample comprised 2296 individuals divided between 'exposed’ and ‘controlled’ households. Even in regions susceptible to flooding, mobility is a two-way process in a district as densely populated as Bongaigaon. Selective outmigration and a long history of inmigration alter the social composition of the area. Displacement and relocation have contrasting effects on physical and psychological ailments, acting both as risk and protective factors.  

Keywords: Population, Environment, and Climate Change, Health and Morbidity, Mixed methods research

See extended abstract.