Public Risk Perception Attitude and Information-Seeking Efficacy on Floods: A Formative Study for Disaster Preparation C
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ARTICLE
Public Risk Perception Attitude and Information-Seeking Efficacy on Floods: A Formative Study for Disaster Preparation Campaigns and Policies Do Kyun David Kim1 • T. Phillip Madison1
Accepted: 19 September 2020 / Published online: 12 October 2020 The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Floods are among the most frequent and devastating natural hazards and disasters in many southern states in the United States. This study examined the relationship and reciprocal predictability between two theoretical constructs—risk perception attitude (RPA) and informationseeking efficacy (ISE)—in regard to pluvial floods. In addition, this study extended these theoretical constructs to investigate differences in RPA and ISE among potential audience segments, providing practitioners with applicable insights for designing effective flood prevention and risk management campaigns. Analysis of data from 716 residents in south Louisiana revealed a statistically strong relationship between RPA and ISE. This research also identified specific audience segments that would benefit from an increase in RPA and ISE concerning floods. These meaningful findings inform a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the relationship between RPA and ISE and guide future disaster preparation campaigns and policies. Keywords Communication campaign Disaster preparation Flood victims Information-seeking efficacy Pluvial flood Risk perception attitude
& Do Kyun David Kim [email protected] 1
Department of Communication, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70503, USA
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1 Introduction On Thursday, 11 August 2016, rain began to fall. It was not unusual for Louisiana to have heavy rain at that time of the year. However, the water began to rise over the thresholds of thousands of homes, and within days people had to be evacuated with the help of emergency rescuers or by their own fishing boats (Yan and Flores 2016). The heavy rain did not stop for four days and, as a result, south Louisiana experienced unprecedented and disastrous flooding, which caused severe damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure. An official investigative report of the flood damages showed that more than 30,000 people were rescued and at least 40,000 homes were damaged by this historic flood (NOAA 2016). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) found that more than 66,000 people filed for assistance from FEMA, and more than 9000 flood insurance claims were subsequently filed with insurance companies (Crisp 2016). The flood swept through not only high risk flood zones but also locations that had never flooded before. Regardless of where they lived, many flood victims did not have flood insurance (Isidore and Vasel 2016). Only 42% of structures in flood-prone zones were covered by flood insurance and, worse, 88% of homes outside of designated flood zones were uninsured for floods. Despite the fact that south Louisiana has historically had more floods and hurricanes than most other states in
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