Measuring capacities and protecting communities: strengthening regional resilience in the flooded industrial area in Thailand

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the capacities and identify the vulnerabilities of the communities to contribute to their flood disaster risk management. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire-style surveys and interviews in the four target communities and 25 critical facilities have been used. Their flood experience is also collected to explore the practical risk management solutions and preserve those as their local assets. Findings Findings show the capacity gaps among the target communities. For instance, the relatively populated urbanized communities tend to have high capacities. On the other hand, the not-so-populated farmer-based communities have low capacities, tending to focus more on droughts than floods, and lack scientific information. This research also identifies vulnerability groups and critical facility locations on the map with narratives. Originality/value The findings enable the communities to clarify their updated capacities, examine the vulnerabilities, identify the risks with possible hazard information and guide them to cope with flood risk to protect them with self, mutual and public help. This study can contribute to other industrial parks/estates in Thailand and anywhere in the world as an insightful reference to build resilient industrial complex areas.

Residential flood loss estimated from Bayesian multilevel models

Models for the predictions of monetary losses from floods mainly blend data deemed to represent a single flood type and region. Moreover, these approaches largely ignore indicators of preparedness and how predictors may vary between regions and events, challenging the transferability of flood loss models. We use a flood loss database of 1812 German flood-affected households to explore how Bayesian multilevel models can estimate normalised flood damage stratified by event, region, or flood process type. Multilevel models acknowledge natural groups in the data and allow each group to learn from others. We obtain posterior estimates that differ between flood types, with credibly varying influences of water depth, contamination, duration, implementation of property-level precautionary measures, insurance, and previous flood experience; these influences overlap across most events or regions, however. We infer that the underlying damaging processes of distinct flood types deserve further attention. Each reported flood loss and affected region involved mixed flood types, likely explaining the uncertainty in the coefficients. Our results emphasise the need to consider flood types as an important step towards applying flood loss models elsewhere. We argue that failing to do so may unduly generalise the model and systematically bias loss estimations from empirical data.

APPRECIATION, AWARENESS AND ATTITUDE OF THE NAMASUDRA COMMUNITY TOWARDS FLOOD-HAZARD AND ITS IMPRESSION ON SOCIAL LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS PATTERN IN DAKSHIN DINAJPUR DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL: A PERCEPTION STUDY

Understanding and improving the public perception and attitude has become an important issue regarding flood hazard and risk management worldwide. Extreme floods have serious social and economic impacts on environment and livelihood pattern of the world community. This paper reports a study of the perceptions, awareness and attitude of the Namasudra community regarding flood-hazard and its impact on their social lives and livelihoods pattern in Dakshin Dinajpur district, West Bengal. The research adopted both quantitative and qualitative techniques using pre-tested households questionnaires, group discussions, perception study and Life History Methods for key informants. A sample of 753 (1.73 %) Namasudra households were interviewed applying Purposive Multi-Stage Stratified Random Sampling method and sample size was validated by using the Fisher formula. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of the data. Microsoft Excel v2007, SPSS v17.0, QGIS v2.8 software platform were used for statistical analysis and preparation of map and diagrams. The present study revealed that previous flood experience, proximity to the river, and length of residence were positively related to perception and awareness level. The paper also highlighted that flood hazard has become a serious threat in the eyes of the Namasudra community and severe floods destroyed their livelihood patterns with its tangible and intangible elements.

Residential flood loss estimated from Bayesian multilevel models

Model predictions of monetary losses from floods mainly use physical metrics like inundation depth or building characteristics but largely ignore indicators of preparedness. The role of such predictors may vary between regions and events, challenging the transferability of flood loss models. We use a flood loss database of 1812 German flood-affected households to explore how Bayesian multilevel models can estimate normalised flood damage stratified by event, region, or flood process type. Multilevel models acknowledge natural groups in the data and allow each group to learn from others. We obtain posterior estimates that differ between flood types, with credibly varying influences of water depth, contamination, duration, implementation of property-level precautionary measures, insurance, and previous flood experience; these influences overlap across most events or regions, however. We infer that the underlying damaging processes of distinct flood types deserve further attention. Each reported flood loss and affected region involved mixed flood types, likely explaining the uncertainty in the coefficients. Our results emphasise the need to consider flood types as an important step towards applying flood loss models elsewhere. We argue that failing to do so may complicate reliable loss estimation from empirical data.

Understanding Households’ Perceptions of Risk Communication During a Natural Disaster: A Case Study of the 2011 Flood in Thailand

This study investigated households’ perceptions of risk communication during the 2011 flood in Thailand, which was the most devastating in Thailand since 1942 and affected 12.9 million people. The study aim was to analyze the determinants of people’s perceptions of early warning communication and its efficacy. It also examined key determinants in various aspects, including the accessibility and efficacy of warnings regarding the potential hazard from electrocution, household hygiene, and life and property issues. This study used the 2011 Flood Livelihood Survey of Thai households, conducted by the Thai National Statistical Office from July to December 2011. The results demonstrated that some household characteristics, head of household, and communication and transportation problems during the flood affected warnings regarding accessibility and the perception of warning efficacy during the 2011 flood in Thailand. The results also demonstrate the key factors in successful risk communication, i.e., flood experience and community interrelationship. It is also essential to provide comprehensive and useful information such as safety and health instructions, using the proper channels to disseminate information to the target audience.

How awareness and confidence affect flood-risk precautionary behavior of Greek citizens: the role of perceptual and emotional mechanisms

This study examines the mechanisms of flood-risk precautionary behavior among Greek citizens. To that end, we specify and test a mediation model in which awareness-raising factors and confidence attitudes influence the citizens' current flood preparedness and preparedness intention through perceptual and emotional processes. Raw data were obtained via an online survey that received 1855 responses. Causal relations were tested by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). Overall, results indicate that risk perception and worry are significant drivers of preparedness intention. In particular, they act as mediating variables, explaining how flood experience, access to more risk information, vulnerability awareness, and trust in authorities affect citizens' intention to invest in precautionary measures. Especially trust was found to have a negative effect on worry, leading to lower preparedness levels. Worry was also found to have a significant role in explaining the current preparedness levels. Interestingly, citizens who had already undertaken precautionary measures in the past appear to be more willing to invest in more measures. Implications for improving flood-risk management in Greece are discussed.