Efficient and effective? The 100-year flood in the communication and perception of flood risk

Bell, Heather; Tobin, Graham A.

doi:10.1016/j.envhaz.2007.08.004

Cited by 102 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Their research emphasised that people "at risk" experienced difficulties in understanding technical language, such as return periods expressed as probabilities (cf. Bell and Tobin, 2007). The RISK MAP project examined how end-user participation in the mapping process may be used to overcome these barriers and enhance the communicative power of flood maps.…”

Section: Meyer Et Al: Recommendations For the User-specific Enhanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recommendations for the user-specific enhancement of flood maps

Meyer

Kuhlicke

Luther

et al. 2012

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

118

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Abstract. The European Union Floods Directive requires the establishment of flood maps for high risk areas in all European member states by 2013. However, the current practice of flood mapping in Europe still shows some deficits. Firstly, flood maps are frequently seen as an information tool rather than a communication tool. This means that, for example, local stocks of knowledge are not incorporated. Secondly, the contents of flood maps often do not match the requirements of the end-users. Finally, flood maps are often designed and visualised in a way that cannot be easily understood by residents at risk and/or that is not suitable for the respective needs of public authorities in risk and event management. The RISK MAP project examined how end-user participation in the mapping process may be used to overcome these barriers and enhance the communicative power of flood maps, fundamentally increasing their effectiveness.Based on empirical findings from a participatory approach that incorporated interviews, workshops and eye-tracking tests, conducted in five European case studies, this paper outlines recommendations for user-specific enhancements of flood maps. More specific, recommendations are given with regard to (1) appropriate stakeholder participation processes, which allow incorporating local knowledge and preferences, (2) the improvement of the contents of flood maps by considering user-specific needs and (3) the improvement of the visualisation of risk maps in order to produce user-friendly and understandable risk maps for the user groups concerned. Furthermore, "idealised" maps for different user groups are presented: for strategic planning, emergency management and the public.

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Section: Meyer Et Al: Recommendations For the User-specific Enhanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recommendations for the user-specific enhancement of flood maps

Meyer

Kuhlicke

Luther

et al. 2012

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

118

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…After decades of specialized training, experts have acquired a specialist lexicon that facilitates communication with other experts in their field, but may hamper their communications with non-expert audiences (Ericsson et al 1993;Wong-Parodi and Strauss 2014). For example, engineers may talk about a "100-year flood" rather than a flood that has a "1% chance of happening each year" without realizing that people interpret the former as occurring at more predictable regular intervals than the latter (Bell and Tobin 2007;Keller et al 2006). Experts may use seemingly simple terms such as 'climate' without realizing that people confuse it with 'weather' Read et al 1994;Reynolds et al 2010).…”

Section: Struggles To Meet the Maxim Of Mannermentioning

confidence: 99%

Informing Public Perceptions About Climate Change: A ‘Mental Models’ Approach

Wong‐Parodi

Bruin

2016

Sci Eng Ethics

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Informing public perceptions about climate change: A 'mental models' approach AbstractAs the specter of climate change looms on the horizon, people will face complex decisions about whether to support climate change policies and how to cope with climate change impacts on their lives. Without some grasp of the relevant science, they may find it hard to make informed decisions. Climate experts therefore face the ethical need to effectively communicate to non-expert audiences. Unfortunately, climate experts may inadvertently violate the maxims of effective communication, which require sharing communications that are truthful, brief, relevant, clear, and tested for effectiveness. Here, we discuss the 'mental models' approach towards developing communications, which aims to help experts to meet the maxims of effective communications, and to better inform the judgments and decisions of non-expert audiences.

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“…In fact, the use of the 100-year flood as a regulatory constraint for the boundaries of acceptable flood risk, which informs the determination of minimum residential floor levels, has been widely criticised [47]. When it is represented in technical language, the '100-year ARI flood' (where ARI is average recurrence interval) term might be filtered differently by the general public than by those who originally produced and applied its content for residential planning purposes [48].…”

Section: Involuntarinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors underlying the concept of risk acceptance in the context of flood-prone land use

Altarawneh¹,

Mackee²,

Gajendran³

2016

Int. J. SAFE

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The determination of acceptable risk levels for planning purposes is critical for policymakers concerned with floodplain management and safety issues; including the formulation of flood-prone land use policy and risk communication strategies. However, the concept of flood risk acceptance remains vague and is not yet fully understood in terms of how it is conceived and rationalised by the individuals engaged in flood-prone land use and development. In general terms, risk acceptance involves a complex weighing up of a range of influential factors that have evolved based on three key models: revealed preferences, expressed preferences and implied preferences. By investigating these models within the broader theoretical context of flood risk-related research, this paper, in essence, categorises six typologies that describe individuals' psychophysical/cognitive states when they face the risk, respond to it and determine its acceptability contextualised within the process of flood-prone land use change. The paper then focuses on identifying the key barriers influencing the adoption of an informed, consultative approach to acceptable flood risk assessment and governance.

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Efficient and effective? The 100-year flood in the communication and perception of flood risk

Cited by 102 publications

References 57 publications

Recommendations for the user-specific enhancement of flood maps

Recommendations for the user-specific enhancement of flood maps

Informing Public Perceptions About Climate Change: A ‘Mental Models’ Approach

Factors underlying the concept of risk acceptance in the context of flood-prone land use

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