Place attachment and flood preparedness

Does place attachment and the consequent emotional connections and ties that people have with environments affect their preparedness for natural disasters, such as floods? This study took up this research question for the understudied geographical region of Orissa, India. In particular, investigation focused on three kinds of place attachment, viz. economic, genealogical, and religious. Contextualized scales for place attachment and flood preparedness were developed for a survey. Data were collected from 300 residents in flood prone areas. Validity and reliability of the scales were established. Overall, place attachment was found to significantly influence flood preparedness. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine whether the three factors of place attachment influence flood preparedness. Controlling for confounding effects of age and family type, regression analysis revealed that people having genealogical and economic place attachment prepared for floods, but those with religious place attachment did not prepare for floods. The implications of these findings for future studies are described.     

Information source and valence: How information credibility influences earthquake risk perception

The present research aims at the relationship between information credibility and perception of seismic risk in a group of people living in severe disaster areas. 243 adult residents exposed to seismic hazard participated in a questionnaire study. With respect to four types of information which are generated by information sources and valence, participants were instructed to recall one type of the information they obtained respectively and rate the recalled information in terms of its credibility. After that, they were asked to report their seismic risk perception and all socio-demographic data were also collected. Regression analyses suggested that information credibility significantly influenced risk perception. Furthermore, the credibility of word-of-mouth and negative information were positively associated with risk perception. Meanwhile, risk perception was also affected greatly by the credibility of negative public information but not positive word-of-mouth information. It was clear that both information source and valence moderated the process and the latter exerted a stronger influence on it. The results were interpreted in relation to the elaboration likelihood model, accessibility-diagnosticity model, and other cognitive theories. The findings were discussed in terms of their general implications for the improvement of risk communication about earthquake related messages.     

Evaluation of Flood and Landslide Risk to the Population of Italy

We have compiled a database of floods and landslides that occurred in Italy between AD 1279 and 2002 and caused deaths, missing persons, injuries, and homelessness. Analysis of the database indicates that more than 50,593 people died, went missing, or were injured in 2580 flood and landslide events. Harmful events were inventoried in 26.3% of the 8103 Italian municipalities. Fatal events were most frequent in the Alpine regions of northern Italy and were caused by both floods and landslides. In southern Italy, landslides were the principal agents of fatalities and were most numerous in the Campania region. Casualties were most frequent in the autumn. Fast-moving landslides, including rock falls, rockslides, rock avalanches, and debris flows, caused the largest number of deaths. In order to assess the overall risk posed by these processes, we merged the historical catalogs and identified 2682 “hydrogeomorphological” events that triggered single or multiple landslides and floods. We estimated individual risk through the calculation of mortality rates for both floods and landslides and compared these rates to the death rates for other natural, medical, and human-induced hazards in Italy. We used the frequency distribution of events with fatalities to ascertain the magnitude and frequency of the societal risks posed by floods and landslides. We quantified these risks in a Bayesian model that describes the probabilities of fatal flood and landslide events in Italy.     

Confronting flood risk: implications for insurance and risk transfer

The UK floods in late 2000 reinforced an emerging awareness which questioned the long-term sustainability of an exclusive reliance on hard-engineered flood defences to protect the UK population against increased flood risk. The debate has subsequently focused on a broader interpretation of the risks associated with flooding. This paper explores the notion that, although social and technical issues are already being integrated to understand and manage flood, practitioners are now realising the importance of accommodating public hazard understanding and perception of risk into their management models, and there remains a need to fit such ideas to the insurance-based system of flood management in the UK.     

Social Dimensions of Urban Flood Experience,Exposure, and Concern

With growing urban populations and climate change, urban flooding is an important global issue, even in dryland regions. Flood risk assessments are usually used to identify vulnerable locations and populations, flooding experience patterns, or levels of concern about flooding, but rarely are all of these approaches combined. Furthermore, the social dynamics of flood concerns, exposure, and experience are underexplored. We combined geographic and survey data on household‐level measures of flood experience, concern, and exposure in Utah's urbanizing Wasatch Front. We asked: (1) Are socially vulnerable groups more likely to be exposed to flood risk? (2) How common are flooding experiences among urban residents, and how are these experiences related to sociodemographic characteristics and exposure? and (3) How concerned are urban residents about flooding, and does concern vary by exposure, flood experience, and sociodemographic characteristics? Although floodplain residents were more likely to be White and have higher incomes, respondents who were of a racial/ethnic minority, were older, had less education, and were living in floodplains were more likely to report flood experiences and concern about flooding. Flood risk management approaches need to address social as well as physical sources of vulnerability to floods and recognize social sources of variation in flood experiences and concern.     

WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR FLOOD RISK REDUCTION AND ITS DETERMINANTS IN JAPAN1

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to clarify public preferences for flood control measures in Japan, willingness to pay (WTP), and the main factors involved in WTP by applying the contingent valuation method. Findings showed that most residents surveyed expected some flood control measures, and revealed a diversity of interest in river management. WTP levels for different measures ranged from a mean of ¥2,887 to ¥4,861 and from a median of ¥1,000 to ¥2,000. However, WTP for additional flood risk reduction beyond initial levels was found to be zero. This was considered to be because WTP for flood risk reduction must be determined within a multi‐risk context. WTP for flood control measures may increase with per capita income, individual preparedness, and/or experience with flooding, but may decrease with distance from a river, acceptability of flood risk, and provision of environmental information. Furthermore, perception of flood risk may increase WTP, while perception of other risks may decrease it. Methods of dealing with environmental risk that were proposed in the survey may have affected WTP levels.     

Public Perception of Flood Hazard in the Niger Delta,Nigeria

Summary Our study had the aim of understanding how floodplain dwellers regard the risk of flooding. About 500 questionnaires were administered to landowners in the selected settlements in the study area using systematic random sampling. The results of analysis show, among other things, that the population regards most important the causes of floods as heavy, prolonged rainfall and river overflow. Nevertheless, they have little knowledge of the frequency of severe floods, and flood alleviation schemes. Most flood victims do not get compensation or relief during flood disaster, and the reason why they remain in the study area is influenced by their occupations, especially fishing, subsistence agriculture, and the presence of crude oil in the region which has attracted many migrants who cannot afford the high cost of accommodation and are therefore forced to live in vulnerable areas of the floodplain. Finally, the study concludes that flood control in the region needs the cooperation of government, community efforts and an enlightenment programmes through environmental education and mass media.     

Status report on flood warning systems in the United States

One of the major changes in flash-flood mitigation in the past decade is the number of communities that have implemented warning systems. The authors conducted a survey of 18 early-warning systems in the United States developed by communities or regions to provide protection against flash floods or dam failures. Problems revealed by the study included the following: equipment malfunctions, inadequate maintenance funding, inconsistent levels of protection and expenditure, inconsistent levels of expectations and formalization, varying levels of local commitment to the systems, underemphasis on response capability, and a tendency to over-rely on warning systems. The study also revealed some unanticipated benefits experienced by the survey communities: the warning systems serve as valuable data collection tools, a great deal of interagency cooperation has been demonstrated, and warning systems offer increased alternatives to structural modification projects. The interjurisdictional nature of drainage basins, the evolving roles of the various federal agencies involved in flood mitigation, and the lack of governmental standards of operations for flood warning systems are issues that must be considered as communities make decisions regarding the adoption of warning systems. The record on these systems is too short for a precise assessment of how successful they are; however, results of the study indicate that if the goal of reducing loss of life and property from flooding is to be achieved, warning systems must be only one part of a comprehensive flood loss reduction program.     

Flood risk management in Dutch local spatial planning practices

Spatial planning is increasingly regarded as an important instrument to reduce flood consequences. Nevertheless, there are very few studies that show why local planning authorities do or do not systematically use spatial planning in advance to mitigate flood risks. This paper explores flood reduction strategies in local planning practices in the Netherlands. It also explores why spatial planning was or was not used to reduce flood consequences. The arguments for the use or non-use of planning mainly referred to requirements from other governmental bodies and the perceived role and the related responsibility of local planning authorities, previous disaster experience, and previous experience with spatial planning for flood risk management.     

Earthquake Planning for Government Continuity

/ The problem of assuring government operational continuity following earthquakes has been given little research attention. Recent earthquake experience has documented that government organizations without a public safety mission do incur damaged facilities and routinely see increases in public demands following an earthquake. Impediments to service delivery associated with such dam-ages can be minimized if agencies address earthquake plan elements likely to enhance postimpact functioning, including: the potential to relocate operations, protection for the workplace, possession of an organizational inventory, emergency instructions for employees, the ability to use volunteers, and communication capacity. Factors associated with the adoption of these plan elements were studied in one county government and its municipal county seat in the southwestern United States. A census of departments within these jurisdictions was asked to complete a questionnaire reporting the level of planning activity relative to each of these plan elements. It was found that the overall level of preparedness was low, but statistically significantly related to agency size, perceived risk, and information seeking. The implications of these findings underscore the potential for disruption to government service delivery and permit the identification of potential avenues for increasing levels of preparedness.KEY WORDS: Emergency planning; Earthquakes; Government preparedness     

Guidelines for flood disaster prevention and preparedness

The damage caused by flooding is a major obstacle in improving the economic and social well-being of people in developing countries. Consequently, there is an urgent need for effective flood disaster prevention and preparedness in those countries. Disaster relief from losses, damage, adverse social and cultural consequences and demand on emergency services resulting from flooding can only be achieved through planned flood loss prevention and management techniques, involving the recognition of flooding characteristics and the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures. Guidelines are necessary to plan and implement flood loss prevention and management measures on a rational, systematic and technically sound basis. Some guidelines have been prepared primarily for members of the Typhoon Committee (ESCAP), but they may be found generally useful to developing countries. These guidelines, which are presented here, have been prepared based on information collected in the field and a series of expert group meetings organized from November 1987 to July 1990 .     

Near-miss events,risk messages,and decision making

Decades of research have sought to understand how disaster preparedness decisions are made. We believe one understudied factor is the impact of near-miss events. A near-miss occurs when an event (such as a hurricane or terrorist attack) has some non-trivial probability of ending in disaster (loss of life, property damage), but the negative outcome is avoided largely by chance (e.g., at the last minute, the storm dissipates or the bomb fails to detonate). In the first of two experiments, we study reactions to a hurricane threat when participants are told about prior near-miss events. We find that people with information about a prior near-miss event that has no negative consequences are less likely to take protective measures than those with either no information or information about a prior near-miss event that has salient negative information. Similar results have been shown in prior research, but we seek to understand people’s reasoning for the different reactions. We examine the role of an individual’s risk propensity and general level of optimism as possible explanatory variables for the “near-miss” effect. We find risk propensity to be stable across conditions, whereas general optimism is influenced by the type of prior near-miss information, so that optimism mediates how near-miss information impacts protective decisions. People who experience a potentially hazardous near-miss but escape without obvious cues of damage will feel more optimistic and take less protective action. In the second study, we test messages about the hazard’s risk and examine the impact of these messages to offset the influence of near-misses. We end by discussing the implications of near-misses for risk communication.     

The florence floods—What the papers said

The floods of 1966 in Northern Italy provoked varying reactions from officialdom and the press. Political and administrative problems received as much coverage as the environmental effects of the disaster, but learned opinion gained a new, if rather temporary, status in the newspapers of the time. In retrospect, economic recovery seems to have occurred more rapidly than predicted in the gloomy forecasts of the time, although a clear picture of the disruption caused by the floods     

Stakeholders' views towards flood risk management in the Paz River catchment area of Guatemala and El Salvador

The river Paz is a transboundary river that flows through Guatemala and El Salvador. Its frequent floods endanger the lives and livelihoods of downstream communities. Attempts have previously been made to develop flood management programmes for this watershed. However, these approaches were generally made by high-level governmental institutions with few if any contributions from floodplain communities and other stakeholders. Recognising that public consultation is a key aspect in flood management programmes, we intend in this work to extract different stakeholders' views regarding current and future flooding and flood management programmes in the Paz River basin. This is achieved using Future Scenarios Workshops with a projected time horizon of 30 years. The exercise was expected to identify consensual short- and medium–long-term flood management strategies for the Paz River basin that draws on input from inhabitants of flood-prone areas and other stakeholders.     

AN EMPIRICAL MODEL OF FATALITIES AND INJURIES DUE TO FLOODS IN JAPAN1

ABSTRACT: This paper provides a framework for analyzing flood fatalities and injuries, and it describes the derivation of a generalized flood risk (i.e., flood consequences and their probabilities) function by introducing an integrated index (the number of residential buildings affected by a flood) that represents the major change in the power relation among the flood intensity, regional vulnerability, and resilience. Both the probabilities and the numbers of fatalities and injuries clearly increase significantly after the flood severity (in terms of the number of inundated buildings) passes a branch point. Below the branch point, it is still possible for fatalities and injuries to occur because of the variability in the data and the uncertainty in the predicted fatality values. The empirical models of fatalities and injuries due to floods in Japan suggested the usefulness in predicting fatalities and injuries and evaluating the efficacy of the warning or other emergency response measures.     

Combating drought through preparedness

Drought is a complex, slow–onset phenomenon that affects more people than any other natural hazard and results in serious economic, social, and environmental impacts. Although drought affects virtually all climatic regimes and has significant consequences in both developed and developing countries, its impacts are especially serious in developing countries where dryland agriculture predominates. The impacts of drought are often an indicator of unsustainable land and water management practices, and drought assistance or relief provided by governments and donors encourages land managers and others to continue these practices. This often results in a greater dependence on government and a decline in self–reliance. Moving from crisis to risk management will require the adoption of a new paradigm for land managers, governments, international and regional development organizations, and non–governmental organizations. This approach emphasizes preparedness, mitigation, and improved early warning systems (EWS) over emergency response and assistance measures. Article 10 of the Convention to Combat Desertification states that national action programmes should be established to identify the factors contributing to desertification and practical measures necessary to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. In the past 10 years, there has been considerable recognition by governments of the need to develop drought preparedness plans and policies to reduce the impacts of drought. Unfortunately, progress in drought preparedness during the last decade has been slow because most nations lack the institutional capacity and human and financial resources necessary to develop comprehensive drought plans and policies. Recent commitments by governments and international organizations and new drought monitoring technologies and planning and mitigation methodologies are cause for optimism. The challenge is the implementation of these new technologies and methodologies. It is critical for governments that possess this experience to share it with others through regional and global networks. One way to accomplish this goal is to create a network of regional networks on drought preparedness to expedite the adoption of drought preparedness tools to lessen the hardships associated with severe and extended drought episodes.     

An intelligent disaster decision support system for increasing the sustainability of transport networks

The increase in extreme weather events arising from climate change is posing serious threats to the sustainability of transport systems, creating the need for improved tools for decision support for more effectively managing natural disasters. There are numerous transport‐related decisions that are required during the response, recovery and preparedness stages of the disaster management cycle. This paper describes the development and application of the Intelligent Disaster Decision Support System (IDDSS), which provides a platform for integrating a vast range of road network, traffic, geographic, economic and meteorological data, as well as dynamic disaster and transport models. Initial applications to the response and planning for floods and fires are presented to illustrate some of its capabilities. The IDDSS can be used to improve disaster management, which in turn will increase the sustainability of transport networks.     

An Analysis of the Effects of Land Use and Land Cover on Flood Losses along the Gulf of Mexico Coast from 1999 to 2009

Major coastal flooding events over the last decade have led decision makers in the United States to favor structural engineering solutions as a means to protect vulnerable coastal communities from the adverse impacts of future storms. While a resistance‐based approach to flood mitigation involving large‐scale construction works may be a central component of a regional flood risk reduction strategy, it is equally important to consider the role of land use and land cover (LULC) patterns in protecting communities from floods. To date, little observational research has been conducted to quantify the effects of various LULC configurations on the amount of property damage occurring across coastal regions over time. In response, we statistically examine the impacts of LULC on observed flood damage across 2,692 watersheds bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, we analyze statistical linear regression models to isolate the influence of multiple LULC categories on over 372,000 insured flood losses claimed under the National Flood Insurance Program per year from 2001 to 2008. Results indicate that percent increase in palustrine wetlands is the equivalent to, on average, a $13,975 reduction in insured flood losses per year, per watershed. These and other results provide important insights to policy makers on how protecting specific types of LULC can help reduce adverse impacts to local communities.     

Risk-sharing policies in the context of the French Flood Prevention Action Programmes

This article analyzes the consequences for risk distribution of the French Flood Prevention Action Programme (PAPI). By redirecting floods from the most vulnerable to the least vulnerable areas, PAPIs expose farmers to greater flood risks. This has led local water management institutions to introduce compensation payments. The article outlines the results of an exhaustive survey of all PAPIs in France, which examined the way the compensation policies are set up locally. Results of the survey showed that the proposed policies may be financially non-viable. Several more viable risk-sharing solutions are then discussed, involving insurance schemes, state intervention and local institutions.     

Multi-level network governance of disaster risks: the case of the Metropolitan Region of the Aburra Valley (Medellin,Colombia)

Cities have increasingly been confronted with disasters, ranging from earthquakes and storms to floods and landslides. Traditional technocratic top-down approaches have proved inadequate to face disaster risks in urban agglomerations. Thus, expectations have risen that through multi-level governance, metropolitan regions could become more resilient by joining forces across scales and sectors, enabling them to implement adaptation strategies collectively. Under the leadership of the city of Medellin and integrated within the national risk governance system of Colombia, such a governance arrangement has been established in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburra Valley. Applying social network analysis, this paper analyses the institutional relationships within the multi-level risk governance network Red Riesgos. It demonstrates that the effectiveness of multi-level disaster risk governance networks depends primarily on the protagonist role of local governments and on their abilities to involve local communities and citizens and to interact constantly with higher-level authorities in the implementation process.