Uncertain Governance of a “Small Disaster”. Vulnerability to Recurrent Flooding in Lomé’s Second-hand Clothing Market (Togo)

In Lomé, the capital of Togo, urban markets are increasingly affected by seasonal floods. This phenomenon, particularly visible in the second-hand clothing market of Hedzranawoé, reflects a form of “small disaster” that is both chronic and under-governed. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2023 and 2025, this article offers a socio-environmental analysis of the recurrent floods affecting this market. It combines an investigation of structural vulnerability, the practices of market actors, and the institutional forms of risk management. 

The study reveals the coexistence of shared responsibilities and ambivalent regulation, whereby both municipal authorities and second-hand traders contribute to the ongoing vulnerability. Despite the existence of a waste management system, the inability to prevent these predictable risks is striking. The analysis shifts attention away from major disasters and instead focuses on ordinary and localized forms of risk exposure, as well as the fragile arrangements that support their daily management. The case of Hedzranawoé underscores the challenges of fragmented environmental governance in the urban peripheries of West Africa.