Identification of motivating factors to help decision-making to minimise flood risk by applying private mitigation measures

Abstract

Residential buildings in flood-prone areas have been observed to be vulnerable, resulting in high losses during flood events over the past few decades. Despite the development of private flood mitigation measures to reduce damage from future floods, many flood-prone residents have been hesitant to implement them. This article aimed to identify motivational factors to adopt resilient-type flood mitigation measures, i.e., elevation and wet flood-proofing, by flood-prone residents. To achieve the aforementioned objective, an extended framework of flood mitigation behaviour was proposed in this paper, which was then applied to data collected from household surveys conducted in flood-prone areas of Australia. The data were analysed using logistic regression with the AIC backward stepwise approach to identify the key incentive factors. The analysis showed that flood-coping appraisal (evaluating private mitigation measures based on their effectiveness, cost and capability to implement) and prior flood experience were the primary factors influencing decision-making by flood-prone residents to adopt resilient mitigation measures. These findings offer valuable insights into flood mitigation behaviour and the uptake of private mitigation measures. The research outcomes will inform the development of more effective floodplain management strategies by policymakers and practitioners.