Livelihood security has remained pervasive in most disaster areas irrespective of the interventions by governments as well as local and international development bodies. The inability to isolate distinct determinants of livelihood security may lead to interventions and solutions that may further increase, rather than mitigate livelihood insecurity. This study sorts out to identify determinants of livelihood security in the Lake Nyos area. Data was collected from both victims and non-victims in the three disaster villages and from three of the seven resettlement camps using a structured questionnaire. A probit analysis was used to identify the determinants of livelihood security in the research area. Results revealed that household size, education and age of the household head were influential in determining livelihood security. Household income had no influence on livelihood security in this region (R2 = 0.000). Of these variables, age of household head showed the strongest relationship (R2 = 0.022, P = 0.045). There is therefore a need for exchange of experiences between old and young household heads on livelihood security measures. Further research could be carried out in multiple case studies of natural disasters (e.g. floods and droughts) to test robustness of variables for relevance especially in developing countries.
