Pre-rainy Season Rainstorms in South China—Risk Perception of the 11 April 2019 Rainstorm in Shenzhen City

Abstract

With the acceleration of urbanization in South China, rainstorms and floods are threatening the safety of people in urban areas. The 11 April 2019 (4·11 hereafter) rainstorm in Shenzhen City was a typical pre-rainy season rainstorm that caused great damage, yet such pre-rainy season events have not attracted sufficient attention in research. Risk perception of the public may indirectly affect their disaster preparedness, which is important for disaster management. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey that considered demographic factors and the level of risk perception, knowledge of risk, impact of the 4·11 rainstorm event on public risk perception, and degree of trust in the government. We used a two-factor model of risk perception to evaluate the factors that influenced public risk perception of the 4·11 rainstorm in Shenzhen. The main conclusions are: The 4·11 rainstorm improved public awareness of both risk and impact through the medium term, but the public’s perceived low probability of disaster occurrence and lack of knowledge of the pre-rainy season rainstorm phenomenon led to serious losses during this event. Although the public has high trust in the Shenzhen government, the management of rainstorm disasters in the pre-rainy season needs to be further improved.