“Three times is enemy action” – flood experiences and flood perceptions

Abstract

In the context of anticipated climate change, particularly the frequency and intensity of rainfall events likely to affect the UK in future, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the ways in which people perceive, and therefore respond to, natural hazards such as flood risk. Behavioural models, incorporating key predictive factors, are sought by the policy-making bodies, in order to develop effective interventions for improving community resilience to extreme weather events. An examination of factors relevant to flood risk perception is presented, including the degree of exposure to the threat; concepts such as 'controllability' and 'dread' associated with different hazards; and the wider issues of perceived responsibility, blame-shifting and ontological security. The complex interactions between the factors, together with some UK-specific issues, pose challenges for the development and testing of any model seeking to explain and predict the behaviour of people in the UK exposed to flood risks. Some innovative techniques, capable of modifying aspects of the perception of risk, which can be incorporated into community engagement initiatives, are also discussed.

An investigation of patterns of response and recovery among flood-affected businesses in the UK: a case study in Sheffield and Wakefield

“…The range of number of adopted measures varied between 1.6 (flooded once), 2 (flooded twice) and 1.8 (flooded more than twice). This is slightly different outcome from the usual trend seen in the residential sector where it takes more than two or three times for the flood-affected population to understand the importance of mitigation [35]. In commercial sector it seems that those who decide to undertake mitigation activities choose to do so in the light of fewer events.…”

Improving the Uptake of Flood Resilience at the Individual Property Level

“…The most commonly reported factor that contributes to the desire to adapt property to flooding is flood experience, usually direct experience of flood damage to the property [11]. Householder interviews confirmed that their motivation for adaptation was typically triggered by the desire to avoid further flood damage, with its attendant distress and often lengthy displacement from their homes.…”

Extreme weather, complex spaces and diverse rural places: An intra-community scale analysis of responses to storm events in rural Scotland, UK

“…One respondent from site 2 explained: This response, like the majority of others from the recent in-migrant group, reveals that the event in question resulted in a significant degree of what Edelstein (2004: 125-128, 136-142) refers to as 'lifescape' change or the production of 'ontological insecurity'. While ontological insecurity is more commonly associated with technological-type disasters, such as oil spills, its presence has been noted in communities affected by natural disasters, extreme weather, civil war and political violence (Brewer, 2003;Carlin et al, 2014;Harries, 2008;Hawkins and Maurer, 2011;Rose et al, 2012), and also in indigenous communities where livelihoods have been suppressed by decades of colonial dominance (Samson, 2004). 'Lifescape change', produced in the context of environmental crises, consists of perceptions of a sense of isolation, abandonment, loss, distrust in others, distrust of the environment, and feelings of losing control over ones future destiny (Edelstein, 2004;Edelstein et al, 2007).…”