Impact of risk experience and personal exposure on coastal flooding and coastal erosion risk perception and coping strategies

Abstract

The increasing vulnerability of coastal areas to climate change and coastal Risks, is now clearly established due to sea level rise. These events, which have become commonplace, constitute a danger for residents and for public facilities, roads, homes, etc. and make these areas more and more vulnerable. Although measures to reduce this vulnerability of coastal cities have been identified by experts and authorities, a resistance exists to their implementation by the inhabitants of these areas exposed to coastal risks. The aim of our study is to investigate risk perception and coping strategies used by inhabitants of areas at risk of coastal flooding and coastal erosion, and to identify potential differences between these two types of coastal risks. More precisely, this study seeks to identify the major predictors of the willingness to cope using Bayesian regression. 208 inhabitants of coastal areas exposed at risk of coastal flooding and erosion in Pays de la Loire, region of western France, participated to our study. Results reveal that coastal erosion is perceived as a greater threat, essentially because it is perceived as more frightening than coastal flooding. Moreover, our results showed that past experiences of coastal risks had an impact on the willingness to use active coping strategies and that there were major differences in the choice of strategy depending on the risks. These results are discussed in terms of risk management.