Risk perception – issues for flood management in Europe

Bradford, R. A.; O’Sullivan, John; Craats, I. M. van der; Krywkow, Jörg; Rotko, P.; Aaltonen, Juha; Bonaiuto, Marino; Dominicis, Stefano De; Waylen, Kerry A.; Schelfaut, K.

doi:10.5194/nhess-12-2299-2012

Cited by 296 publications

(284 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Low levels of preparedness are related to information, which is a clear driver that determines the effectiveness of non-structural mitigation measures at large (Lindell et al, 2007). The relationship between knowledge of evacuation routes and levels of preparedness revealed by our results can be compared with similar evidence, associated with high levels of worry, obtained by Bradford et al (2012), who interviewed people in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland and Italy (n = 1231). Regarding information and preparedness, their research had similar results to ours, as only 34 % of their participants considered themselves prepared for future floods.…”

Section: Context Information and Experiencesupporting

confidence: 74%

Flood warnings in coastal areas: how do experience and information influence responses to alert services?

Pescaroli

Magni

2015

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Many studies discuss the economic and technical aspects of flood warnings. Less attention has been given to the social and behavioural patterns that affect alert services. In particular, the literature focuses on warnings activated in river basins or marine environments without providing clear evidence on Mediterranean coastal areas, even though these are subjected to growing flood risk related to climate change. This paper is a first attempt to bridge this gap. Our research develops an in-depth analysis of the village of Cesenatico on the Adriatic Sea coast. Here the municipality adopted two complementary warning systems: a siren and an alert via short message service (SMS). The analysis focuses on a survey conducted in 2011 and 2012 with 228 participants. The relationships between social and behavioural variables and warning services are investigated as well as flood preparedness and information dissemination. Qualitative evidence from informal interviews is used to support the understanding of key responses. The conclusions show how different social and behavioural patterns can influence the effectiveness and use of warning systems, regardless of the technology adopted and the structural mitigation measures implemented. Education, training and accountability are seen to be critical elements for implementation. Finally, the statistical output is used to suggest new questions and new directions for research.

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Section: Context Information and Experiencesupporting

confidence: 74%

Flood warnings in coastal areas: how do experience and information influence responses to alert services?

Pescaroli

Magni

2015

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…In any case, this appears to be an incentive to inform residents living in flood-prone areas about how to protect their property against floods. The same notion has also been presented in other studies [1,2]. However, landowners were more interested in insurance.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…1,2] have suggested that massive flood protection constructions are not sustainable solutions in the long term. Instead, greater emphasis should be placed on flood mitigation measures implemented by private households.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Willingness of residents to invest in flood mitigation measures and to purchase flood insurance

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Approximately 12,000 people live in the flood risk areas in Finland. New flood risk management plans were prepared for 21 areas as a part of the EU Floods Directive in 2015. In connection with this work, we conducted a survey in three flood risk areas in 2014. The total number of recipients was 4,710 and the response rate 39%. The study provided an indication of how local citizens perceive flood risk, and specifically whether they have already invested or would be willing to invest in private flood mitigation measures or to purchase flood insurance. We also examined how previous personal experiences of flooding affected their responses. The questionnaires were georeferenced in GIS and compared with flood hazard maps on a detailed scale. Over 27% of the respondents had experienced a recent flooding event, but only 9% had implemented flood mitigation measures and 10% knew that flood coverage was included in their insurance. A young age and having property at risk of flooding increased the willingness of respondents to consider implementing flood protection measures and purchasing flood insurance.

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“…Therefore one possible implication of these results is that it is not so much important to improve communication about risk perception and concern per se: it is equally important to improve the communication about how citizens should behave in case of flood. The URFlood addressed this more in detail, by giving guidelines on ways to improve flood risk communication in order to address local behaviours and to increase the resiliency of the affected communities (Bonaiuto et al, 2011;Bradford et al, 2012;O'Sullivan et al, 2012). Indeed, according to and consistent with the abovementioned results, for a flood risk communication to be effective it is fundamental to improve awareness about the current flood information sources among the citizens at risk, and to develop clearer and more understandable statements on flood risk.…”

Section: Dvsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood risk management in Italy: challenges and opportunities for the implementation of the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC)

Myšiak

Testella

Bonaiuto

et al. 2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Italy's recent history is punctuated with devastating flood disasters claiming high death toll and causing vast but underestimated economic, social and environmental damage. The responses to major flood and landslide disasters such as the Polesine (1951), Vajont (1963), Firenze (1966), Valtelina (1987, Piedmont (1994), Crotone (1996), Sarno (1998), Soverato (2000, and Piedmont (2000) events have contributed to shaping the country's flood risk governance. Insufficient resources and capacity, slow implementation of the (at that time) novel risk prevention and protection framework, embodied in the law 183/89 of 18 May 1989, increased the reliance on the response and recovery operations of the civil protection. As a result, the importance of the Civil Protection Mechanism and the relative body of norms and regulation developed rapidly in the 1990s. In the aftermath of the Sarno (1998) and Soverato (2000) disasters, the Department for Civil Protection (DCP) installed a network of advanced early warning and alerting centres, the cornerstones of Italy's preparedness for natural hazards and a best practice worth following. However, deep convective clouds, not uncommon in Italy, producing intense rainfall and rapidly developing localised floods still lead to considerable damage and loss of life that can only be reduced by stepping up the risk prevention efforts. The implementation of the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) provides an opportunity to revise the model of flood risk governance and confront the shortcomings encountered during more than 20 yr of organised flood risk management. This brief communication offers joint recommendations towards this end from three projects funded by the 2nd CRUE ERA-NET (http://www.crue-eranet.net/) Funding Initiative: FREEMAN, IMRA and URFlood.

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Risk perception – issues for flood management in Europe

Cited by 296 publications

References 43 publications

Flood warnings in coastal areas: how do experience and information influence responses to alert services?

Flood warnings in coastal areas: how do experience and information influence responses to alert services?

Willingness of residents to invest in flood mitigation measures and to purchase flood insurance

Flood risk management in Italy: challenges and opportunities for the implementation of the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC)

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