Abstract
Few studies have examined people’s subjective perceptions of risk after secondary disasters. This study selected 12 towns in the areas where secondary geological hazards (SGH) occurred after the Wenchuan earthquake as the survey research areas and obtained a total of 957 valid samples to assess the risk perceptions of residents and the factors influencing them 10 years after the disaster. Using four indicators (possibility, awareness, apprehension, and impact) to construct the Resident Risk Perception Index (RRPI), the results show that residents in the affected areas have high, moderate, and low-risk perceptions of SGH at 27.59, 48.38, and 24.03% respectively. The study found that people who suffered in the past from geological disasters had a higher risk perception. Perceptions of secondary geological hazard risk varied significantly with age, education, marital status, and experience. It was also found that residents in the 30–40 age group have the highest risk perception, young people in the 20–30 age group have the highest risk awareness, and older people over 60 are more fearful of SGH. The study recommends awareness campaigns and adequate disaster preparedness exercises to improve the risk perception of local people, especially to foster ownership of learning about disasters among residents.
Highlights
Since the 20th century, major sudden natural disasters such as earthquakes (Tsai and Chen, 2011), tsunamis (Suppasri et al, 2013), volcanic eruptions (Muir et al, 2020), floods (Salvucci and Santos, 2020), and tornados (Silver and Grek-Martin, 2015) have occurred frequently and have become important factors affecting national economies and sustainable development (Park and Reisinger, 2010)
This study investigates the correlations and variations between disaster experiences, personal characteristics, risk communication, and disaster risk perception of residents in disaster areas, in the hope of improving the ability of residents in disaster areas to cope with secondary geological hazards (SGH) and enhance disaster prevention and mitigation
Some scholars believed that age is positively correlated with risk perception (Lindell and Hwang, 2008), negative outcomes have been found (Kellens et al, 2013). we found that middle-aged people in their 40 and 50s have the highest perception of risk
Summary
Since the 20th century, major sudden natural disasters such as earthquakes (Tsai and Chen, 2011), tsunamis (Suppasri et al, 2013), volcanic eruptions (Muir et al, 2020), floods (Salvucci and Santos, 2020), and tornados (Silver and Grek-Martin, 2015) have occurred frequently and have become important factors affecting national economies and sustainable development (Park and Reisinger, 2010). Understanding individual perceptions of risk in disaster-prone areas will assist in developing and implementing risk management measures and planning for the full disaster management cycle (Parsizadeh et al, 2015; Raikes et al, 2019). It has been argued that risk perception is a kind of risk cognitive thinking based on an intuitive sensory experience model (Savadori et al, 2004) and is a key factor to encourage protective actions in natural disaster situations (Lindell and Perry, 2000). Disaster risk perception is conditioned by factors internal to the individual and is sensitive to shocks and perturbations in the external environment (Gold, 1980). Extensive and intensive coverage of disaster occurrence and damage may enhance people’s judgment of the likelihood of a disaster occurring and the severity of its consequences, causing excessive risk perception (Slovic, 2000; Perlaviciute et al, 2017). Lack of disaster information or asymmetry in information acquisition can lead to low levels of risk perception (Nahayo et al, 2017; Netzel et al, 2021)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
