Prevention, Adaptation, and Threat Denial: Flooding Experiences in the Netherlands

Abstract

Delta areas such as the Netherlands are more and more at risk of future flooding due to global climate change. Motivating residents living in flood-prone areas to effectively cope with local floods may lead to minimization of material losses and loss of life. The aim of this research was to investigate whether the extent to which residents had been exposed to flooding in the past was a key factor in motivating residents to effectively cope with future flooding. We also focused on the psychological variables that mediated this relationship. We conducted a survey (N = 516) among flood victims and nonvictims. We assessed subjective experiences due to past flooding, affective and cognitive appraisals, and coping responses. Results show that victims reported stronger emotions (negative and positive), and the receipt of more social support due to past flooding than did nonvictims. Moreover, victims worry more about future flooding, perceive themselves as more vulnerable to future flooding, perceive the consequences of future flooding as more severe, and have stronger intentions to take adaptive actions in the future than nonvictims. Structural equation modeling reveals that the latter effect was fully mediated by specific experiences and appraisals. Insights into factors and processes that have the potential to motivate residents to effectively cope with future floods may prove helpful in developing interventions to inform residents how to act effectively in case of an imminent flood.

The impact of flood action groups on the uptake of flood management measures

“…Response efficacy is significant for the use of insurance (D3 and D5) and flood warnings (A5). This confirms findings of other studies (Grothmann and Patt 2005, Zaalberg et al 2009, Bubeck et al 2013 showing that the belief in the effectiveness of a measure and the level of confidence to implement the measure play a central role in the uptake of household flood management measures. The third variable of coping appraisal, response cost appears to be mostly non-significant.…”

“…In line with other studies (Grothmann and Reusswig 2006, Zaalberg et al 2009, Bubeck et al 2013, Osberghaus 2015, socio-economic variables explain relatively little of the data. Here, we only find that ownership positively influences the uptake of insurance (D2-D5) which is not surprising given the owners financial responsibility.…”

“…Similar results were found in other studies (Botzen et al 2009, Terpstra et al 2009, Botzen and van den Bergh 2012 confirming the importance of the coping appraisal for adaptation intentions. Zaalberg et al (2009) carried out a comparative study between flood victims and non-victims in the Netherlands, showing that exposure positively affects protective motivation for future flooding. In addition to the PMT variables, a number of other factors may influence uptake.…”

“…Several studies have found PMT a suitable framework for exploring flood adaptation behaviour (Grothmann and Reusswig 2006, Zaalberg et al 2009, Bubeck et al 2012b, Bubeck et al 2013, Le Dang et al 2014.…”

Risk Perception of Climate Change: Empirical Evidence for Germany

“…A key driver of adaptation and prevention at the household level -be this the purchase of insurance, investment in home insulation, or some other measure -is the perception of risks due to climate change (O'Connor et al, 1999;Peacock et al, 2005;Siegrist and Gutscher, 2006;Zaalberg et al, 2009). These risk perceptions vary substantially among countries (Eurobarometer, 2014) and individuals (e. g. Botzen et al, 2016).…”