Public perception of the risk of disasters in a developing economy: the case of Saudi Arabia

Alshehri, Saud Ali; Rezgui, Yacine; Li, Haijiang

doi:10.1007/s11069-012-0445-5

Cited by 42 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Also, advancing climate change adaptation is contingent upon managing the hazards of extreme events and disasters [8,9]. The literature stresses the importance of public perception and attitudes to disaster risks in developing and implementing disaster management plans, building resilience and adaptation measures, which refer to adjustment in the existing physical, socioeconomic or political systems in response to actual or anticipated risks [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Developing risk management procedures is also hampered by the dearth of data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public perception and attitudes to disaster risks in a coastal metropolis of Saudi Arabia

Alqahtany

Abubakar

2020

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

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A B S T R A C TDisaster risk reduction is an increasingly important policy issue, especially in developing countries that suffer most of the global human and economic losses associated with disasters. Indeed, public awareness and attitudes can help in disaster risk reduction and management efforts toward reducing mortality and economic losses. In Saudi Arabia, many cities have been recently experiencing incidences of disasters, such as floods, disease epidemics, and sandstorms. However, studies on public perception of disaster risk in the country are few and nascent. Therefore, based on a questionnaire survey (n ¼ 683), this paper explores public perception and attitudes to disaster risks in Dammam, a coastal metropolis in Saudi Arabia. The findings indicate that although almost two-thirds (64.7%) of the participants are aware of disasters, and 81% are concerned about disaster risks, less than half (47.3%) believe that their settlements could be at risk. While 37% opine that disasters are caused by both natural factors and human activities, about half (54%) indicate that they can personally contribute to reducing disaster risks. Chi-square analysis indicates a significant positive relationship between place of residence and perception of disaster risks (χ2 (6) ¼ 56.18, p < 0.05), and between place of residence and concern about disaster risks (χ2 (12) ¼ 68.47, p < 0.05). The paper recommends raising public awareness and encouraging positive behaviors in reducing disaster risks in the study area and similar environments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public perception and attitudes to disaster risks in a coastal metropolis of Saudi Arabia

Alqahtany

Abubakar

2020

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

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“…This finding is also supported by [6,13,22]. So, fatalism which is often associated with passivity and apathy in western connotation should be reexamined in the context of some developing countries [17].…”

Section: Thematic Analysis: the Impacts Of Religious Beliefmentioning

confidence: 63%

Religious Belief, Disaster Awareness, and Disaster Response: Findings and Implication For Disaster Risk Reduction

Sun¹,

Deng²,

Qi³

2017

Proceedings of the 3rd Annual International Conference on Social Science and Contemporary Humanity Development

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Through reviewing the literature about religion belief and natural disaster, this paper argues that religious belief is an important contextual and identity factor in how religious persons understand, interpret, and respond to natural disasters. Religious belief can impact the public's disaster response in both helpful and harmful ways. Based on these findings summarized and synthesized in this study, the implication for disaster risk reduction in religious communities is also discussed.

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“…This result broadly aligns with other studies (Alam and Collins [38] [35]), and is drawn from the Qur'an where it is stated "So We sent on them: the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood (as a succession of) manifest signs, yet they remained arrogant, and they were of those people who were Mujrimûn (criminals)" (Qur'an [40]). However, unlike the other studies (Paradise [34]), this survey determined that the respondents in general display a willingness to cope with disasters (Alshehri et al [14]). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…This may be due to the shortage of previous disasters in Saudi Arabia or the participants' lack of awareness of the sites (Alshehri et al [14]). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community resilience factors to disaster in Saudi Arabia: the case of Makkah Province

Alshehri

Rezgui

2013

WIT Transactions on the Built Environment

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Purpose: Saudi Arabia has recently experienced a number of natural disasters, including floods, epidemics and dust storms. Preparing a community to overcome disasters enhances its capacity to recover from potentially induced negative impacts. Therefore, building community resilience to disaster is a fundamental necessity for disaster management. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that can be used to improve readiness in Saudi Arabia in relation to disasters.Methodology: This study is based on a questionnaire survey across 13 regions in Saudi Arabia and focuses on Jeddah city in Makkah Province as a case study given its experience with flooding, in particular ones that occurred in 2009 and 2010. The questionnaire was conducted in March for two months in 2012 and resulted in 267 responses.Findings: The results show that a number of factors such as willingness and faith are essential to building community resilience to disaster. However, some factors which would assist in building community resilience, such as personal experience of disasters, are overlooked.Research limitations: This research was conducted amongst people who have access to email, consequently not allowing access to those who do not.

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Public perception of the risk of disasters in a developing economy: the case of Saudi Arabia

Cited by 42 publications

References 34 publications

Public perception and attitudes to disaster risks in a coastal metropolis of Saudi Arabia

Public perception and attitudes to disaster risks in a coastal metropolis of Saudi Arabia

Religious Belief, Disaster Awareness, and Disaster Response: Findings and Implication For Disaster Risk Reduction

Community resilience factors to disaster in Saudi Arabia: the case of Makkah Province

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