Flood Coping Ability of Ultra Poor Household Women in a Flood Prone Area of Jamalpur District

The objectives of this study were to ascertain the flood coping ability of the ultra poor household women in a flood prone area of Jamalpur district and to explore the relationship between the flood coping ability of the ultra poor household women and their selected characteristics. Data were collected from 82 ultra poor household women (50 percent of the total population of 163) in the Dakatia village under Chaukibari union of Dewanganj upazila under Jamalpur district. Flood coping ability of the ultra poor women was measured though five aspects, namely crop production, poultry and livestock rearing, shelter and housing, means of livelihoods, and health and sanitation. A pre-tested structured personal interview schedule was used to collect data from the respondents during the period from 8 March to 23 April, 2009. Result indicated that a great majority of the ultra poor household women (72 percent) had low flood coping ability, 26.8 percent had medium and 1.2 percent of the respondents were found very low flood coping ability. Moreover, the respondent women had moderate flood coping ability in ‘health and sanitation’ and ‘means of livelihoods’ aspects, while their coping regarding ‘crop production,’ ‘livestock and poultry rearing’ and ‘housing and shelter’ remained very low to low. The ultra poor women’s education, family size, farm size, organizational participation, and annual family income showed significant positive relationships with their flood coping ability.