Premium
Risk communication and risk perception: lessons from the 2011 floods in Brisbane, Australia
Author(s) -
Kammerbauer Mark,
Minnery John
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/disa.12311
Subject(s) - flooding (psychology) , risk perception , flood myth , risk communication , risk management , perception , poison control , warning system , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , environmental planning , injury prevention , business , geography , environmental resource management , public relations , environmental health , psychology , risk analysis (engineering) , engineering , political science , medicine , finance , economics , archaeology , law , psychotherapist , neuroscience , aerospace engineering
Risk communication and risk perception are critical factors in disaster management. Governments at all levels play a part in communicating risk, whereas the perception of risk entails active roles by community participants, including potential and actual victims of disasters. This paper discusses these matters in relation to the floods in Brisbane, Australia, in 2011. The findings are based on interviews with representatives of households whose dwellings or business premises were fully or partially inundated by the waters. The research shows how important it is to recognise the problems of institutional fragmentation in terms of communication and the active engagement of recipients in understanding and interpreting flood risk information (especially for slow‐onset riverine flooding, such as that suffered by Brisbane). Locally targeted information on risk is of vital importance in avoiding the misinterpretation of warning information in relation to environmental cues and in promoting adequate responses. The paper concludes with some recommendations.