Flood Disaster Risk Perception and Sense of Place Among Households Along the Ocoy River in Negros Oriental, Philippines

Abstract

This quantitative study using a survey method aims to understand the relationship between flood disaster risk perception and the sense of place of people living in communities along a river. The survey covered a non-probability sample of 120 respondents from households located along with the downstream, midstream, and upstream sections of the Ocoy River in Negros Oriental. Generally, the respondents have very high flood disaster risk perception and sense of place scores which do not significantly differ across communities. But the significant positive relationship between these two major variables contradicts the common understanding that disaster makes people devalue particular places and relocate to safer areas. The majority who conditionally agreed to relocate may not proceed if they perceived a more difficult life in the resettlement site. Adaptive resettlement programs and policies are recommended where the desired characteristics of a place of flood survivors are reconstructed. At the same time, risk reduction and mitigation mechanisms are designed for those who decided to remain in riverside communities.