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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
"Washed away"-assessing community perceptions of flooding and prevention strategies: A North Queensland example
Natural Hazards, Volume 73, No. 3, Year 2014
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Description
This article explored the perceptions of residents of a regional city in North Queensland of how to remain safe during flood events. It also explored reasons for and how to prevent risk-taking behaviour in floodwater using the protection motivation theory (PMT). PMT is a psychological theory which has recently been applied to assess behaviour during floods and was used as a framework to analyse the themes of responses to the online survey. The online survey was conducted prior to the wet season of 2011/2012 with 130 Townsville residents participating. The results indicate that about half of respondents (55 %) had some experience with floods of which driving through floodwater (38 %) was the most common type of flood experience listed and was more common amongst male respondents. Respondents' advice to keep friends and family safe during floods was consistent with "coping appraisal", which would improve their ability to cope with the flood. Prior experiences with floodwater influenced the reasons given for why people drive through floodwater and were taken to be indicative of an actor/observer bias. Respondents who had experience driving through floodwater (the actors) indicate how the context of the situation can influence decision-making, whereas those respondents who had no personal experience of driving through floodwater (the observers) were more likely to cite low perceived vulnerability of harm as a motivator. Prevention strategies focused on structural mechanisms to block access, information provision and punishment of offenders. It is suggested that in communities which regularly experience flooding, timely and context-specific reminders of the dangers inherent in floodwater along with the type, effectiveness and cost of protective action could minimise the public's contact with floodwater and prove useful regardless of past experiences. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
Authors & Co-Authors
Franklin, Richard Charles
Australia, Townsville
James Cook University
Australia, Sydney
Royal Life Saving Society - Australia
King, Jemma C.
Australia, Townsville
James Cook University
Aitken, Peter J.
Australia, Townsville
James Cook University
Leggat, Peter A.
Australia, Townsville
James Cook University
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Statistics
Citations: 44
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1007/s11069-014-1180-x
ISSN:
0921030X
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Participants Gender
Male