A Comparison of the Reasons for Evacuation Behavior during Floods

Abstract

The state of so-called disaster consciousness has generally been seen as one of the typical determinants of evacuation behavior during floods. However, the preconception that a high level of disaster consciousness ought to lead to a high rate of evacuation, and that a low rate of evacuation is because of a low level of disaster consciousness, is overly simplistic. In this paper, a counterexample from Thailand is given in which a high level of disaster consciousness leads to a low rate of evacuation, and this is then contrasted with a case from Japan in which a high level of consciousness leads to a high rate of evacuation. Using a questionnaire survey, unified data were collected. The investigation found that the respondents in Thailand tended to remain in their own homes during a flood disaster because of their high disaster consciousness. Consequently, in such a region, disaster risk management education that aims to raise disaster consciousness should be implemented after social unrest is quelled.