ABSTRACT
This chapter details how different sources of vulnerability underpin flooding and migration in Laos, based on field research in areas where sudden-onset and long-duration floods occur. It highlights how the intersection of flooding and migration is far from straightforward. Heavy reliance on agriculture increases susceptibility to the vagaries of the weather and heightens the risk of flooding, as reflected in the 2011 and 2012 flooding episodes. The decision to migrate may be shaped by a number of considerations including in situ vulnerability factors, assets available to households, and the overall livelihood strategies of the household. In the case of flooding and migration in Laos, four villages in two provinces at different altitudes were studied to explore how vulnerability manifests and are constructed in Laos by communities and households in different resource and environmental contexts. Migration was also made easier by the presence of personal or family networks in Thailand and the existence of brokers.
