Factors distinguishing the decision to migrate from the flooded and inundated community of Sayung, Demak: a suburban area of Semarang City, Indonesia

Abstract This study is aimed at investigating the differentiating factors underlying the intention to migrate from a flooded and inundated community in suburban areas; in this case, the community is the Sayung subdistrict of Demak Regency. Previous studies have observed a variety of self-mitigation and patterns of local migrations among the communities in the city of Semarang. The suburban case, however, is frequently overlooked by local governments, which often focus more on handling city centre problems. In this study, we employed a quantitative approach using statistical descriptive analysis and Discriminant Analysis. In addition, an in-depth interview with key informants provided a complementary qualitative approach, to deepen understanding of the quantitative findings. The results suggested the factors distinguishing the residents’ desire to migrate or not were: income, private vehicle possession, community cooperation in maintaining environment cleaning and security, road condition and access, proximity to educational and health facilities and electricity, and the intensity of the flood entering the house. Unlike the urban society, the willingness to move of the suburban society was not only affected by their financial capability, the availability of settlement infrastructures, and the severe level of the flood but also their emotional bonds to the place and the community.