Idukunda, C.,  Michellier, C.,  De Longueville, F.,  Twarabamenye, E. & Henry, S. 2025. ‘Assessing community vulnerability to landslide and flood in northwestern Rwanda’. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 123. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105329. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105329  (PR).

Article in a scientific Journal / Article in a Journal

Northwestern Rwanda’s hilly terrain, frequent torrential rainfall, and dense population make it highly vulnerable to landslides and floods. A contextual understanding of community vulnerability is crucial for effective risk assessment and mitigation. To address data scarcity in the region, this study adopted an original approach based on household survey (from May to July 2023) encompassing 904 households across 50 cells (administrative level 4), sampled according to the hazard affecting them. The objective was to assess and compare the community vulnerability across landslide, flood, and both hazards combined. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), five key components were identified, accounting for 73.2 % of the total variance in community vulnerability. These components included: (1) living conditions and location (23.4 %), (2) demographic characteristics (19.5 %), (3) education and economic status (12.6 %), (4) household structure and past disaster experience (8.7 %), and (5) land property ownership (9 %). While the first four components were associated with increased vulnerability, land property ownership was found to reduce vulnerability. The analysis yielded a Contextualized Vulnerability Index (CoVI), revealing higher vulnerability in 25 cells, primarily in landslide-prone areas. Vulnerability is unevenly distributed, with the most vulnerable communities concentrated in the western part. Some communities displayed lower vulnerability despite hazard exposure, owing to higher adaptive capacity. The findings highlight the need for localized, hazard-specific mitigation strategies to address vulnerability in highly vulnerable areas. They offer actionable insights for authorities to prioritize interventions, allocate resources effectively, and strengthen community resilience. By analysing multiple hazards, the study provides a robust framework for policymaking and sustainable disaster risk reduction.