Types of Behavior of Flood Victims around Floodwaters. Correlation with Situational and Demographic Factors

Abstract

Recently, human behavior around floodwaters has been acknowledged as one of the factors that influence the risk of fatal incidents. The present study analyzes the behavior of flood victims by developing a systematic classification of their actions at the time of the flood. Based on this taxonomy, the study examines a flood fatality database for Greece (1960–2019) to quantify the different types of behavior and to examine potential correlations with various demographical and situational factors. Results show that three-quarters of the victims exhibit a risk-taking behavior by deliberately coming in contact with floodwaters. Statistically significant associations were found between behavior and the demographics of the victims, the type surrounding environment, and the use of vehicles, indicating that certain situations and certain individuals are more prone to risk-taking behaviors than others. A statistical model shows that the behavior of a flood victim can be predicted with high accuracy by knowing certain variables of a fatal incident. The prevalence of risk-taking actions identified is a strong indication that human behavior is a crucial factor in flood mortality. The present study shows that a systematic classification of behaviors can help future interventions by highlighting the most common mechanisms of fatal incidents.

The Role of Water Depth Perception in Shaping Car Drivers’ Intention to Enter Floodwaters: Experimental Evidence

“…However, this percentage is expected to be very limited given the very consistent results on the TPB's ability to predict behavioral intention. Besides, previous research on flood mortality has shown that only a very small number of fatalities are caused by individuals who are motivated by something that would be considered an emergency (e.g., rescuing someone or something and others) [12].…”

“…Risk perception as a subjective assessment of the likelihood of personal and material damage has been suggested to contribute to the predictive ability of the TPB [16], although its association with behaviors against flood risks is still debated [36][37][38]. Among the demographic variables commonly used to complement analyses based on behavioral models, age and gender have been associated with drivers' intention to enter or avoid floodwaters [12,20,39,40], although not consistently [41].…”

“…Recent studies provide a growing body of evidence indicating that risk-taking or dangerous behaviors are prevalent amongst flood victims [3][4][5][6][7][8]. Previous work has estimated that a significant portion of flood-victims, ranging from 43% to 90%, pursue inappropriate, risk-taking actions during floods [7,[9][10][11][12], even from an initial position of safety [12].…”

Faktor-Faktor yang Memengaruhi Jumlah Korban Meninggal Akibat Banjir dengan Pendekatan Model Zero Inflated Poisson

“…Hal ini mengisyaratkan bahwa kondisi lingkungan dan tempat tinggal dari korban memiliki peran penting dalam menjamin keselamatan dari korban pada saat banjir terjadi. Selain itu menurut (Diakakis, 2020), terdapat beberapa faktor yang berpengaruh terhadap ada tidaknya kematian pada saat bencana banjir, antara lain sebagai berikut: ciri-ciri demografis korban, yaitu karakteristik yang membedakan masyarakat berdasarkan faktor-faktor demografis seperti umur, jenis kelamin, pendidikan dsb; lingkungan sekitar berupa kondisi lingkungan dari tempat banjir terjadi seperti perkampungan atau perumahan; keadaan saat terjadi banjir menjelaskan keberadaan korban pada saat banjir terjadi misalnya korban sedang berada di luar atau di dalam ruangan; aktivitas korban pada saat terjadinya banjir; serta waktu terjadinya banjir. Diantara kelima faktor tersebut, faktor demografis dan kondisi lingkungan merupakan faktor yang dapat dihitung dan dikontrol secara agregat.…”

Vehicle-Related Flood Fatalities in Texas, 1959–2019

“…For the age group of 40-49 and 70-79, the numbers of male victims are more than twice that of females. In general, victims of flood incidents characterized by active behaviors were, on average, younger by a significant margin than the ones that perish exhibiting a passive behavior [34]. Storm Data provided information on the ages of individuals involved in 382 (67%) of the vehiclerelated flood fatalities.…”