The Impact of Financial Preparation and Disaster Experience on Households’ Disaster Risk Perception: Empirical Evidence from Quang Binh Province, Vietnam

Abstract

This paper is aimed at analysing the impacts of financial preparation and disaster experience on households’ disaster risk perception, including perceptions of likelihood and severity in Quang Binh Province of Vietnam, one of the areas strongly affected by natural disasters and climate change. With the data from direct surveying 308 households in Quang Binh province, the research methodology includes Cronbach’s Alpha, EFA and OLS regression models. The key findings are: First, disaster experience has positive impact on natural disaster risk perception. Second, financial preparation has negative impact on natural disaster risk perception. Third, the risk of natural disasters in Quang Binh Province are increasing and unpredictable due to rapid economic growth and urbanization. This fact requires the Government, provincial commitees, and stakeholders to go beyond traditional coping methods, implement more customized policies and specific actions to try to reduce the risks of natural disasters. Keywords: disaster risk, disaster risk perception, financial preparation, disaster experience.