Urban Flood Mitigation Strategies in Durban's Coastal Areas Employing Cost-Effective Engineering Approaches and Longevity Metrics

Durban's coastal areas face significant urban flooding challenges, necessitating innovative flood mitigation strategies that balance cost-effectiveness with longevity. The study employed a mixed-methods approach combining field observations, statistical modelling, and expert consultations. A Poisson regression model was used to assess the frequency and intensity of flooding events over five years. A notable proportion (35%) of surveyed flood-prone areas showed improvement in resilience metrics after implementing new drainage systems, with a 95% confidence interval for these improvements. The study highlights cost-effective engineering solutions that enhance urban flood mitigation while ensuring long-term sustainability. Policy makers are encouraged to adopt and scale up the tested methodologies based on this research. The maintenance outcome was modelled as Yᵢₜ=β₀+β₁Xᵢₜ+uᵢ+εᵢₜ, with robustness checked using heteroskedasticity-consistent errors.