Understanding Flood Risk Perception: A Case Study from Canada

Khalid Oubennaceur, Karem Chokmani, Florence Lessard, Yves Gauthier, Catherine Baltazar and Jean-Patrick Toussaint
Additional contact information
Khalid Oubennaceur: Centre Eau Terre Environnement, INRS, 490 De la Couronne Street, Quebec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
Karem Chokmani: Centre Eau Terre Environnement, INRS, 490 De la Couronne Street, Quebec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
Florence Lessard: Organization of Watersheds of the Rouge, Petite Nation and Saumon Rivers, 645 du Moulin Street, Office 1, Mont-Tremblant, QC J8E 2V1, Canada
Yves Gauthier: Centre Eau Terre Environnement, INRS, 490 De la Couronne Street, Quebec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
Catherine Baltazar: Organization of Watersheds of the Rouge, Petite Nation and Saumon Rivers, 645 du Moulin Street, Office 1, Mont-Tremblant, QC J8E 2V1, Canada
Jean-Patrick Toussaint: Federation of Canadian Municipalities, 24 Clarence Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 5P3, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-24

Abstract: In recent years, understanding and improving the perception of flood risk has become an important aspect of flood risk management and flood risk reduction policies. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of flood risk in the Petite Nation River watershed, located in southern Quebec, Canada. A survey was conducted with 130 residents living on a floodplain in this river watershed, which had been affected by floods in the spring of 2017. Participants were asked about different aspects related to flood risk, such as the flood hazard experience, the physical changes occurring in the environment, climate change, information accessibility, flood risk governance, adaptation measures, and finally the perception of losses. An analysis of these factors provided perspectives for improving flood risk communication and increasing the public awareness of flood risk. The results indicated that the analyzed aspects are potentially important in terms of risk perception and showed that the flood risk perceptions varied for each aspect analyzed. In general, the information regarding flood risk management is available and generally understandable, and the level of confidence was good towards most authorities. However, the experiences of flood risk and the consequences of climate change on floods were not clear among the respondents. Regarding the adaptation measures, the majority of participants tended to consider non-structural adaptation measures as being more relevant than structural ones. Moreover, the long-term consequences of flooding on property values are of highest concern. These results provide a snapshot of citizens’ risk perceptions and their opinions on topics that are directly related to such risks.

Keywords: perception of flood risk; flood risk management; survey; floodplain; information accessibility; governance; climate change; adaptation measures; flood risk communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:3087-:d:765598

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