Household-level disaster-induced losses and rural–urban migration: Experience from world’s one of the most disaster-affected countries

Losses due to natural disasters induce rural–urban migration throughout the world. It is also a major driver of population influx in Dhaka city, the capital of one of the most disaster-affected countries in the world, Bangladesh. While the relationship between natural disasters and migration is evident, the magnitude of household-level losses inducing rural–urban migration has not been widely discussed. This paper approaches this issue based on an empirical study. Using appropriate sampling procedure, a total of 407 households in Dhaka statistical metropolitan area were interviewed. This research finds out that 18.43% of rural–urban migrants in Dhaka city are disaster induced. A sharp drop in income immediately after the disaster is the predominant reason behind their migration. The river bank erosion-affected migrants encountered as high as 89% drop in income, whereas the flood-affected migrants experienced 70% drop. This article identifies five post-disaster components that ultimately determine migration. To conclude, the paper offers several approaches to minimize mass rural out-migration.