The Pan-Asia Risk Reduction (PARR) Fellowship Program has released three knowledge briefs on urban disaster risk and vulnerability under global environmental change. The knowledge briefs are outputs from competitive grants on topics ranging from the creation and testing of a decision support system in the Philippines, an analysis of the linkage between urbanization and disaster in India, and validation of a framework for school-community collaboration for coastal community resilience.

This knowledge brief, “Flood Risk Vulnerability of Peri-urban Communities: The Case of Surat” was written by PARR Fellow, Aparna, describing her work in Gujarat state of India. The brief examines the impact of the 2006 floods on peri-urban households by identifying the most affected communities; determining the extent of inundated areas in Surat and its surroundings; and revealing the coping mechanisms and adaptation strategies being used.