Making Evacuation Routine Behavior: Impact of Experiencing Severe Flood Damage on Recognition and Advance Evacuation Behavior

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of experiencing a disaster on subsequent risk recognition and evacuation behavior using data collated from the interview of victims of the flood and landslides that followed the 2014 Hiroshima Heavy Rain Disaster. The high accuracy of the storm and flood damage prediction system has made it possible to limit human casualties by routinizing advance evacuation behavior. The study explores conditions for the routinization of evacuation behavior and its findings are as follows: (i) a series of experiences such as timing of incidental awareness, evacuation, housing damage, and human damage define the damage recognition of each victim. The difference between each damage recognition has different influences on their post-disaster risk recognition and behaviors; (ii) experiencing severe disasters generally enhances disaster risk recognition. However, whether it promotes advanced evacuation behavior is dependent on the magnitude of the damage and pre-disaster risk recognition. If risk recognition is ambiguous, the effect of the experience is minimal even if the damage is severe; (iii) for disaster victims to inculcate an evacuation behavior in preparation for the next disaster, they must first have clear pre-disaster risk recognition mechanisms. It is also necessary to have a reliable destination that is incorporated into the daily life of the residents, which can serve as an evacuation site.