Riverine areas have long been avenues for the evolution and fostering of human civilization worldwide. Such areas are crucial for agriculture, fishing, navigation, and irrigation, but routinely face natural hazards like floods, sediment deposition, and channel shifts, putting local communities at risk of disaster. However, many of local communities with traditional livelihoods still live in such floodplains despite recurrent hazards and the availability of alternatives elsewhere. This study examines whether local people perceive disaster as a risk in floodplain villages adjacent to the Koshi River, Nepal, and investigates how disaster perception is influenced by age, income, education, and years of residency. Additionally, the study explores how social systems of the area—socio-economic, socio-cultural, and socio-ecological—interact and influence the risk perception. Results suggest that most respondents (67%) do not perceive disasters as a risk, but rather recognize the social, economic, and cultural advantages offered by these sites. The logistic regression reveals that income significantly influences disaster perception, with higher income associated with lower levels of perceived risk. Additionally, longer periods of residence in the area lead to a decreased perception of disaster. The connectivity analysis within systems highlights a strong correlation between economic security and the utilization of common property resources and productivity. This connection underscores the importance of communal resources in enhancing economic stability and resilience to disasters in a community. This is supported by an average monthly income of US $ 604, which is substantially higher than the national average. We conclude that the perception of disaster risk is shaped by social systems that usually provide responsive and adaptive measures specific to local circumstances to strengthen community resilience. It is important to implement community-based and community-led adaptation strategies tailored to local knowledge.