The Philippines is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, with recurrent flooding posing persistent threats to livelihoods and sustainable development. This study examines the socio-economic impacts of flooding in the Pampanga River Basin using an analytical framework based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A household survey of 400 respondents was conducted in eight barangays of Candaba Municipality between June and July 2024. The analysis explores residents’ perceptions of flood risk, housing and farmland damage, and the socio-economic impacts of Typhoon Karding (September 2022). Results indicate substantial household burdens, including increased expenses and debt, as well as significant effects on quality of life and the water–food–energy nexus. These impacts operate as cascading effects across interconnected SDG-related domains rather than as isolated outcomes. Statistical analyses (correlation and one-way ANOVA) show that prolonged inundation (more than five days) significantly increases food shortages, livestock deterioration, debt accumulation, and difficulties in accessing education and healthcare. Inundation exceeding this duration thus emerges as a critical threshold amplifying multidimensional vulnerability. The findings demonstrate that disaster impacts extend beyond physical damage, undermining livelihoods and social functions. By applying the SDGs as an analytical lens, this study provides empirical evidence of how flood impacts propagate across sustainability-related domains at the household level. Policy implications highlight the need to integrate disaster risk reduction with livelihood recovery and to promote inclusive, community-based approaches to resilience.

1. [1] United Nations, “The Sustainable Development Goals.” https://globalgoals.org/goals/ [Accessed August 15, 2025]
2. [2] United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), “Disaster risk reduction and resilience in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development,” 2015. https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/disaster-risk-reduction-and-resilience-2030-agenda-sustainable-development [Accessed July 15, 2025]
3. [3] T. Koike, “Discussion on Inputs into the Statement of 14th AOGEO Symposium,” Presentation at the Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI) Session, Asia-Oceania Group on Earth Observations (AOGEO), 2021. https://www.pwri.go.jp/icharm/special_topic/20211029_aogeo_awci/6-1_Koike.pdf [Accessed July 15, 2025]
4. [4] H. C. Winsemius, B. Jongman, T. I. E. Veldkamp, S. Hallegatte, M. Bangalore, and P. J. Ward, “Disaster risk, climate change, and poverty: Assessing the global exposure of poor people to floods and droughts,” Environment and Development Economics, Vol.23, No.3, pp. 328-348, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X17000444
5. [5] S. Hallegatte, A. Vogt-Schilb, M. Bangalore, and J. Rozenberg, “Unbreakable: Building the resilience of the poor in the face of natural disasters,” World Bank, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1003-9
6. [6] B. Tellman, J. A. Sullivan, C. Kuhn, A. J. Kettner, C. S. Doyle, G. R. Brakenridge, T. A. Erickson, and D. A. Slayback, “Satellite imaging reveals increased proportion of population exposed to floods,” Nature, Vol.596, pp. 80-86, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03695-w
7. [7] M. R. Carter, P. D. Little, T. Mogues, and W. Negatu, “Poverty traps and natural disasters,” World Development, Vol.35, No.5, pp. 835-856, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2006.09.010
8. [8] G. Di Baldassarre, M. Sivapalan, M. Rusca, C. Cudennec, M. Garcia, H. Kreibich, M. Konar, E. Mondino, J. Mård, S. Pande, M. R. Sanderson, F. Tian, A. Viglione, J. Wei, Y. Wei, D. J. Yu, V. Srinivasan, and G. Blöschl, “Sociohydrology: Scientific challenges in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals,” Water Resources Research, Vol.55, No.8, pp. 6327-6355, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023901
9. [9] M. Nilsson, D. Griggs, and M. Visbeck, “Policy: Map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals,” Nature, Vol.534, pp. 320-322, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1038/534320a
10. [10] N. Weitz, H. Carlsen, M. Nilsson, and K. Skånberg, “Towards systemic and contextual priority setting for implementing the 2030 Agenda,” Sustainability Science, Vol.13, pp. 531-548, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-017-0470-0
11. [11] G. G. Singh, A. M. Cisneros-Montemayor, W. Swartz, W. Cheung, J. A. Guy, T.-A. Kenny, C. J. McOwen, R. Asch, J. L. Geffert, C. C. C. Wabnitz, U. R. Sumaila, Q. Hanich, and Y. Ota, “A rapid assessment of co-benefits and trade-offs among Sustainable Development Goals,” Marine Policy, Vol.93, pp. 223-231, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.05.030
12. [12] T. Bennich, N. Weitz, and H. Carlsen, “Deciphering the scientific literature on SDG interactions: A review and reading guide,” Science of The Total Environment, Vol.728, Article No. 138405, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138405
13. [13] H. Hoff, “Understanding the Nexus: Background Paper for the Bonn2011 Conference,” Stockholm Environment Institute, 2011.
14. [14] G. Rasul and B. Sharma, “The nexus approach to water–energy–food security: An option for adaptation to climate change,” Climate Policy, Vol.16, No.6, pp. 682-702, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2015.1029865
15. [15] G. Rasul, “Managing the food, water, and energy nexus for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in South Asia,” Environmental Development, Vol.18, pp. 14-25, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2015.12.001
16. [16] G. Pescaroli and D. Alexander, “A definition of cascading disasters and cascading effects: Going beyond the ‘toppling dominos metaphor’,” Planet@Risk, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 58-67, 2015.
17. [17] E. E. Koks, R. Pant, S. Thacker, and J. W. Hall, “Understanding business disruption and economic losses due to electricity failures and flooding,” Int. J. of Disaster Risk Science, Vol.10, pp. 421-438, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-019-00236-y
18. [18] Newton Consulting, “World Risk Report 2024,” 2024 (in Japanese). https://www.newton-consulting.co.jp/bcmnavi/backnumber/20241127/ [Accessed July 15, 2025]
19. [19] National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), “Disaster Reports.” https://ndrrmc.gov.ph/disaster-reports.html [Accessed July 15, 2025]
20. [20] ReliefWeb, “Disaster Situation Reports.” https://reliefweb.int/search/results?search=NDRRMC+Update+sitrep [Accessed July 15, 2025]
21. [21] N. Nagumo and H. Sawano, “Land classification and flood characteristics of the Pampanga River Basin, Central Luzon, Philippines,” J. of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), Vol.125, pp. 699-716, 2016. https://doi.org/10.5026/jgeography.125.699
22. [22] N. Nagumo, M. Ohara, and V. Ballaran, Jr., “Settlement location patterns in flood-prone areas of Central Luzon, Philippines,” Abstracts of the Autumn Meeting of the Association of Japanese Geographers, 2024 (in Japanese).