Protection Motivation Status and Factors Influencing Risk Reduction Measures among the Flood-Prone Households in Bangladesh

Md. Sazzad Ansari, Jeroen Warner, Vibhas Sukhwani and Rajib Shaw ()
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Md. Sazzad Ansari: Disaster Risk Management Professional, Bhaluka 2240, Bangladesh
Jeroen Warner: Social Sciences Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands
Vibhas Sukhwani: Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa 252-0882, Japan
Rajib Shaw: Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa 252-0882, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-21

Abstract: Bangladesh, a low-lying deltaic country, experiences recurrent floods. To reduce the subsequent losses and damages, self-preparedness measures are imperative. In that context, the present study attempted to assess the flood protection motivation status of local flood-prone households through the evaluation of threat and coping capacities, as well as the identification of the factors that influence preparedness actions. Using Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), this study employed a mixed-method approach at three different flood-prone locations in Bangladesh: (1) Type 1 settlement, an area with ‘hard (flood embankment)’ flood risk reduction measures; (2) Type 2 settlement, without any risk reduction measure; (3) Type 3 settlement, with ‘soft’ measures put in place as part of NGO-led disaster risk reduction interventions. The study findings revealed a comparatively higher protection motivation status among the respondents living in the Type 3 settlement, in terms of evaluating the flood risk and capacity to take flood preparedness measures. The correlation analysis further illustrated that the factors of the perceived probability and severity of flooding, coping capacity, previous flood experience, reliance on NGO interventions, and gender status had an influence on the protection motivation of flood-prone households. Remarkably, no such influence was found for socio-economic factors such as education and income. It is hoped that the study findings can support the future decision-making process for designing preparedness interventions for communities in flood-prone areas.

Keywords: flood risk; threat appraisal; coping capacity; protection motivation; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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