Let's talk about flood risk – Evaluating a series of workshops on private flood protection

Abstract

Private flood protection measures can help reduce potential damage from flooding. Few intervention studies currently exist that systematically evaluate the effectiveness of risk communication methods. To address this gap, we evaluated a series of six workshops (N = 115) on private flood protection in flood-prone areas in Germany that covers different aspects of flood protection for individual households.Applying mixed-model analysis, significant increases in self-efficacy, subjective knowledge, and protection motivation were observed. Younger participants, as well as participants who reported lower levels of previous knowledge or no flood experience, showed a higher increase in self-efficacy and knowledge. Results suggest that a workshop can be an effective risk communication tool, raising awareness and motivating behaviour among residents of flood-prone areas.