As temperatures rise, climate change causes increased frequency and magnitude of natural disasters. In the tropics, hurricanes and heavy rainfall are fuelling the intensity of floods, posing a risk for millions living along floodplain regions. The increased intensity and unpredictability of natural disasters is rendering communities vulnerable to their impacts, thus making it paramount for climate policy and disaster aid to reflect the complexity of vulnerability. This study utilizes the 2011 flood in Peru’s Ucayali River to examine how assets, social identity and social networks impact vulnerability and examines how vulnerability varies by exposure, impacts, responses.