Spatial Distribution and Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate Hazards on Household Livelihoods in Informal Settlements of Homa Bay Town, Kenya

Ochieng Brytone, Hezron O. Agili & Isaac O. Ayuyo
Faculty of Biological and Physical Sciences
Tom Mboya University, Homa Bay, Kenya
Email: rollinsonbright@gmail.com / hagili@tmu.ac.ke / ongongaayuyo@gmail.com

Abstract: Climate hazards including flooding, prolonged water shortage, and extreme heat, impose severe and differentiated socio-economic burdens on residents of urban informal settlements. Drawing on a mixed-methods cross-sectional household survey (n = 310) across three informal settlements — Makongeni, Shauri Yako, and Sofia — in Homa Bay Town, Kenya, this study examines the spatial distribution of climate hazard exposure and its impacts on household livelihoods. Extreme heat was the most pervasive hazard, affecting 96.8% of respondents. Flood exposure was highest in Shauri Yako (95.8%) and differed strongly by settlement (Cramér’s V = 0.392, p < .001). Prolonged water shortage was most severe in Sofia (76.4%). Socio-economic impacts were near-universal: 93.5% reported heat-related income loss, 91.6% climate-related illness, 89.4% drought-driven income loss, and 89.0% food shortage. The findings demonstrate that climate risk in secondary East African lakeside towns is already a chronic development and public-health emergency, demanding spatially differentiated and multi-hazard policy responses.