Multi-hazard Environment Research Articles

A framework for appraising the status of disaster resilience within the multi-hazard environment of coastal Bangladesh

Fostering resilience is widely acknowledged as a crucial strategy for mitigating the escalating risks posed by climate-related disasters around the world. Resilience assessment plays a vital role in this endeavour by assessing the baseline level of resilience, identifying the key resilience factors, and monitoring progress towards building resilience with time. Given this context, and considering the evolving conceptualization of resilience, we devised a framework for appraising the status of resilience across the coastal region of Bangladesh. Our framework represents a significant scholarly contribution, as it encompasses a broad spectrum of resilience dimensions, including stability, recoverability, and transformability. To operationalize this framework, we selected thirty context-specific variables and organized them systematically around these three overarching components. Employing a simple weighted average methodology, we constructed sub-indices for each component, which were subsequently aggregated into a composite resilience index. For spatial visualization, our findings were mapped in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Our analysis revealed Chattogram, Barguna, and Khulna as the most resilient districts. This manifests the potential for resilience enhancement even within areas exposed and inherently sensitive to multiple hazards through the optimal use of available resources. Notably, in the trio of districts, Barguna exhibited the highest stability index score, Chattogram showcased the highest recoverability score, and Khulna emerged with the top transformability index score. This finding underscores the significance of incorporating diverse capacities in resilience frameworks. These insights offer valuable guidance for refining resilience assessment frameworks in other developing countries of the world. Furthermore, the outcomes of our assessment can serve as a baseline for the coastal administrators of Bangladesh while developing disaster management policies and actions centering around fostering resilient communities. Thus, our study not only contributes to disaster theory, but holds practical implications for evidence-based decision-making to secure a more resilient future of the coastal communities of Bangladesh.

Geomorphological Evolution of Volcanic Cliffs in Coastal Areas: The Case of Maronti Bay (Ischia Island)

The morphoevolution of coastal areas is due to the interactions of multiple continental and marine processes that define a highly dynamic environment. These processes can occur as rapid catastrophic events (e.g., landslides, storms, and coastal land use) or as slower continuous processes (i.e., wave, tidal, and current actions), creating a multi-hazard scenario. Maronti Bay (Ischia Island, Southern Italy) can be classified as a pocket beach that represents an important tourist and environmental area for the island, although it has been historically affected by slope instability, sea cliff recession, and coastal erosion. In this study, the historical morphoevolution of the shoreline was analysed by means of a dataset of aerial photographs and cartographic information available in the literature over a 25-year period. Furthermore, the role of cliff recession and its impact on the beach was also explored, as in recent years, the stability condition of the area was worsened by the occurrence of a remarkable landslide in 2019. The latter was reactivated following a cloudburst on the 26th of November 2022 that affected the whole Island and was analysed with the Dem of Difference technique. It provided an estimate of the mobilised volumes and showed how the erosion and deposition areas were distributed and modified by wave action. The insights from this research can be valuable in developing mitigation strategies and protective measures to safeguard the surrounding environment and ensure the safety of residents and tourists in this multi-hazard environment.

Multi-hazard risk perception: An empirical study of the remote Gilgit city, Hindukush-Karakorum-Himalayan (HKH) region, Pakistan

The frequency and severity of disasters have witnessed a substantial increase in Pakistan. Gilgit city, located in the formidable Hindukush-Karakorum-Himalayan (HKH) region, like other mountainous valleys in the country, is under severe threat from the catastrophic consequences of disasters. The region has experienced frequent hazards such as floods, especially Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), landslides, and earthquakes in recent times. Therefore, it is imperative for the local communities to comprehend and evaluate the disaster risks to prepare for unforeseeable circumstances. The current study, therefore, quantifies risk perceptions of Gilgit citizens in a multi-hazard environment through perceived hazard, disruptions, and impacts dimensions. The primary data is collected via household surveys using a semi-structured questionnaire. The paired sampled test and index analysis have been applied to determine the perceived risks in a multi-hazard environment. Results of the study reveal that most respondents perceived the impacts of floods/GLOFs on daily life activities as the highest in a multi-hazard environment. The findings of this study will be helpful for urban planners, environmental scientists, and decision-makers to formulate policies that will ultimately increase community resilience to cope with the impacts of multi-hazards.

Applying the extended parallel process model to understand households' responses to tornado and earthquake risks in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is a multihazard environment where both natural (e.g., tornadoes) and technological hazards (e.g., induced seismicity) are significant, making Oklahoma a unique setting to better understand how to manage and prepare for multiple hazards. While studies have attempted to understand drivers of hazard adjustments, few have focused on the overall number of adjustments undertaken instead of individual adjustments or adjustments in a multihazard environment. To address these gaps, we employ a survey sample of 866 households in Oklahoma to understand households' danger control responses (protective hazard adjustments) for tornado and earthquake risks in Oklahoma. We apply the extended parallel processing model (EPPM) to categorize respondents according to their relative level of perceived threat and efficacy of protective actions in predicting the number of hazard adjustments they intend to or have adopted in response to tornadoes and induced earthquakes. In line with the EPPM, we found that households have the highest number of danger control responses when their perceived threat and efficacy are both high. Counter to the EPPM literature, we found low threat coupled with high efficacy moved some individuals toward the adoption of danger control responses in response to both tornadoes and earthquakes. When households have high efficacy, threat appraisals matter in tornado danger control responses but not in earthquake danger control responses. This EPPM categorization opens new research approaches for studies of natural and technological hazards. This study also provides information for local officials and emergency managers making mitigation and preparedness investments and policies.

Dynamic Resilience Quantification of Hydropower Infrastructure in Multihazard Environments

Ensuring the continued functionality of hydropower infrastructure is of the greatest importance, considering the devastating socioeconomic and environmental impacts of dam operation failures. Among the different approaches currently adopted in hydropower dam operational safety, those that are resilience-based are at the leading edge because they focus on assessing the dynamic system performance pre-, during-, and post-hazard exposures. However, the main challenge for such assessment pertains to the complexity associated with the dynamic operation simulation of hydropower dam systems that consist of several components with nonlinear interdependencies. Moreover, the infrastructure’s exposure to a multihazard environment, which may impact one or more hydropower critical system components, poses further challenges to understanding possible subsequent dam operation failure scenarios. This study develops a resilience-centric system dynamics simulation model that provides a holistic representation of hydropower dam system components to estimate the system’s dynamic resilience in multihazard environments. The study also discusses a combinatorial procedure to generate multihazard scenarios, where a primary hazard can trigger one or more subsequent hazards. Finally, an actual hydropower dam is employed to demonstrate the developed model utility in assessing the resilience of complex infrastructure under a wide range of multihazard scenarios. The proposed model provides valuable decision support tools for infrastructure systemic risk mitigation in multihazard environments—facilitating the development of effective resilience planning strategies.

Psychological resilience of children in a multi-hazard environment: An index-based approach

Children are psychologically most vulnerable to disasters. To quantitatively measure children's psychological resilience to disaster, this study proposes a children's resilience framework incorporating three components: mental health, attitude, and awareness. The proposed framework was applied and found effective by constructing Children Psychological Disaster Resilience Assessment Index. A questionnaire survey was conducted among children and their parent(s), in four disaster-prone communities of Peshawar, Pakistan. The result shows significant variations in the psychological resilience of children among the four areas. It is evident that a child's psychological resilience is an inherent characteristic, but it is not fixed or purely based upon intrinsic factors. It can be suppressed by various life stressors and enhanced with effective psychological disaster preparedness that enables children to adapt well to new perceived realities of life. The proposed framework and assessment methodology can be easily adapted and applied to quantify the psychological resilience of children and identify the precise component or set of indicators that can be improved for disaster risk reduction.

Multi-hazard resilience assessment framework for prefabricated underground stations with a large-span roof structure

Prefabricated underground stations (PUSs) have been gradually applied as a new approach to urban low-carbon development; however, safe service for the city over the entire PUS life cycle remains a crucial issue. This study therefore investigates the resilience of PUSs with a large-span roof structure in multi-hazard urban environments. A joint vulnerability function is established to represent the PUS physical resilience, and a restorability function is established to represent the local community resilience. The physical resilience and community resilience are integrated to construct a PUS resilience assessment framework (PUS-RAF). The results indicates that: (1) the vulnerability function, experiment and FEA jointly present the PUS assembled joints' contact failure mode; (2) multi-hazard resilience assessment reveals the inherent sensitivity of PUS schemes (3) PUS-RAF predicts a joint scheme highly inclusive of multi-hazard factor; (4) the final PUS scheme accommodates the engineering and community. The PUS-RAF thus provides a practical assessment tool and application value for PUS resilience in multi-hazard environment.

Assessment of Performance Indicators of a Large-Span Reinforced Concrete Arch Bridge in a Multi-Hazard Environment

Assessment of a single bridge and management system for all bridges in the network is still a major challenge, although much research has been carried out and implemented in existing networks over the last four decades. This paper presents a case study of a long-span arch bridge, the Maslenica Motorway Bridge, located in a multi-hazard maritime environment. Although special attention was paid to durability during design, the bridge required repair after 20 years of operation. The analysis includes an overview of the design project, structural health monitoring during construction and operation, numerous laboratory and in-situ testing, numerical analysis of structural capacity and remaining service life, and meteorological monitoring of the bridge site. A new approach to bridge assessment is presented that includes not only a deterioration index, but five groups of key performance indicators: (1) safety, reliability, and security; (2) availability and maintainability; (3) costs; (4) the environment; and (5) health and politics. Incorporating all available data and evaluating various aspects of bridge performance provides greater insight into the condition of the bridge, not only at the structure level but also at the network level. The method is applied to the reinforced concrete arch bridge in a harsh maritime environment and evaluation is provided based on the comprehensive data analysis. The key performance assessment procedure and lessons learned from this case study can be applied to a wide range of structures.

Multi-hazard perception during COVID-19: Evidence from rural communities in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Risk perception in a multi-hazard environment improves the ability of risk prioritization management. The undertaken approaches to reduce the negative impacts of the disaster differ from the single hazard's effects. This work applies an online survey targeting West Sumatra-Indonesia rural communities, aiming to examine their perception of multi-hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistical results show that drought, the COVID-19, and earthquakes were perceived to have a proportionally more significant effect on rural communities. Unlike urban areas, rural characteristics have created barriers for the COVID-19 to spread. As a result, the economic sector is considered as the most important factors in comparison to health. Labor migration and social conflicts become more apparent, whereas farmer groups were absent in providing basic supports to their members. Likely, borrowing cash from relatives and financial institutions would be the most applicable option to reduce farmers' vulnerability.

Unified hazard models for risk assessment of transportation networks in a multi-hazard environment

Transportation networks play a vital role in the economic prosperity of modern societies. Recent hazardous events in Greece, for instance, the 2021 Crete earthquake, the 2021 Thessaly earthquakes and floods, and the heavy 2019 rainfall in Crete, have revealed the vulnerability of roadway networks to natural hazards, resulting in severe physical damage and important economic and societal losses. Severe damage on bridges and tunnels of roadway networks is commonly related to the effects of multiple hazards that may act independently during their life span. However, the literature on risk assessment of the above elements commonly focuses on the effects of a single hazard, disregarding the effects of various hazards in a multi-hazard environment. In this context, there is an increasing need for a reasonable and practical evaluation of the multi-hazard risk of transportation infrastructure. Research project INFRARES (https://www.infrares.gr/) aspires to gain further insight into the risk and resilience assessment of bridges and tunnels subjected to independent and/or multiple subsequent natural hazards, proposing a comprehensive framework toward a more efficient risk assessment of the above critical transportation infrastructure components. This paper presents the first part of the framework. More specifically, a unified methodology for the development and graphic presentation of single seismic- and flood-hazard scenarios, as well as of novel multi-seismic-flood hazard scenarios, are presented, providing a valuable tool for risk assessment of roadway networks for separate, combined (triggered), or subsequent hazards. The unified approach followed to develop single seismic and flood hazard scenarios is initially presented. The data required to develop such scenarios are derived from recently published and freely available data accessible via European databases; hence, allowing for a straightforward application of the proposed methodology throughout Europe. The unified approach in developing single hazard scenarios is further exploited to develop integrated seismic-flood hazard scenarios. Single and multi-hazard scenarios are graphically displayed in the form of GIS format maps, with the methodology being applied to the Greek terrain for various hazard scenarios. Recent hazard events that caused significant damage to the Greek road network are also presented to emphasize the importance of proper evaluation of natural hazards and their effects on roadway networks in multi-hazard environments. The methodology developed within this study contributes toward the generation of uniform multi-hazard scenarios for the risk assessment of various structures and networks in a multi-hazard environment.

Holistic Multidimensional Vulnerability Assessment: An empirical investigation on rural communities of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, Northern Pakistan

The rural communities in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region live in a multi-hazard environment where climate change has exacerbated the frequency of extreme weather events and caused huge social and economic losses. Vulnerability assessment has emerged to understand various dimensions and effects of natural hazards on human settlements. This study has proposed a modified multidimensional vulnerability assessment method. Relevant indicators have been quantified through indices under six dimensions of vulnerability, i.e., social, economic, physical, institutional, attitudinal, and gender. This study introduces ‘gender’ as a sixth non-static dimension of vulnerability. The model was operationalized for three rural communities from the Hunza-Nagar districts in the Pakistani Hindu Kush Himalayan Region. The results revealed that communities are highly vulnerable to natural hazards in all dimensions. Low economic status, inadequate infrastructure, poor risk perception, and gender-exclusive plans are responsible for high vulnerabilities. Overall, this study contributes to an updated methodology, which can be implemented in other hazard-prone mountain communities at national and regional levels.

Towards smallholder food and water security: Climate variability in the context of multiple livelihood hazards in Nicaragua

• We develop a framework and case study for jointly assessing household food and water security in a multi-hazard environment. • Water insecurity and food insecurity are positively related across households, even after controlling for household characteristics. • In 2017, a drought ended, contributing to improved food and water security, but adverse agrifood price risks persist. • Higher incomes, larger farm areas, and diversified farm production are correlated with improved food and water security. • Climate risks should be assessed within the context of interactions with other hazards and changing terms of access. Climate variability and change affect both food and water security, as do other hazards, such as shifting food prices, plant pathogens, and political economic changes. Although household food and water insecurity affect billions, most studies analyze them separately. This article develops a relational approach to explaining household access to food and water in a multi-hazard context. We identify pathways linking hazards to livelihood vulnerability and assess the relative importance of climate-related hazards. Analyzing longitudinal data collected from two surveys of the same 311 smallholder households in northern Nicaragua, conducted in 2014 and again in 2017, we find that peak seasons of food and water stress are asynchronous across the agricultural calendar, resulting in a total of five to six months of food and/or water stress. Across households, we find a significant positive relationship between water and food insecurity, even after adjusting for household fixed effects. Households experienced less food and water insecurity in 2017 than in 2014, due in part to the end of a severe drought in 2016, but remained concerned about damage from a severe coffee leaf rust outbreak and unfavorable agrifood prices that reduce income and threaten food security. Higher incomes and larger farm areas correlated with improved food and water security. We propose a generalizable approach for the joint assessment of household food and water security, which foregrounds the influence of seasonality and climate variability in the context of multiple hazards. This approach and our findings can contribute to developing integrated risk reduction strategies, building resilient livelihoods, and informing policy changes and partnerships with organized smallholders to improve resource access and sovereignty.

Multi-hazard risk assessment for roads: probabilistic versus deterministic approaches

Abstract. Mountain hazard risk analysis for transport infrastructure is regularly based on deterministic approaches. Standard risk assessment approaches for roads need a variety of variables and data for risk computation, however without considering potential uncertainty in the input data. Consequently, input data needed for risk assessment are normally processed as discrete mean values without scatter or as an individual deterministic value from expert judgement if no statistical data are available. To overcome this gap, we used a probabilistic approach to analyse the effect of input data uncertainty on the results, taking a mountain road in the Eastern European Alps as a case study. The uncertainty of the input data are expressed with potential bandwidths using two different distribution functions. The risk assessment included risk for persons, property risk and risk for non-operational availability exposed to a multi-hazard environment (torrent processes, snow avalanches and rockfall). The study focuses on the epistemic uncertainty of the risk terms (exposure situations, vulnerability factors and monetary values), ignoring potential sources of variation in the hazard analysis. As a result, reliable quantiles of the calculated probability density distributions attributed to the aggregated road risk due to the impact of multiple mountain hazards were compared to the deterministic outcome from the standard guidelines on road safety. The results based on our case study demonstrate that with common deterministic approaches risk might be underestimated in comparison to a probabilistic risk modelling setup, mainly due to epistemic uncertainties of the input data. The study provides added value to further develop standardized road safety guidelines and may therefore be of particular importance for road authorities and political decision-makers.

Multi-hazard vulnerability of buildings to debris flows

Landslide hazards often occur in succession with multiple hazardous processes. The elements at risk such as buildings are therefore exposed to a multi-hazard environment. Multi-vulnerability assessment is a critical component of multi-hazard risk analysis. In this paper, effect of hazard interactions on the physics of building damage is formulated from the perspective of triggering and temporal relations. A fragility analysis framework for generating physics-based vulnerability models for sequentially and concurrently occurring hazards is proposed. Monte Carlo simulation is used in the framework to include the uncertainties from both hazard intensity and building properties. The framework is illustrated by evaluating the failure probability of a typical reinforced concrete building impacted by multiple surges of debris flows. Considering specific debris flow-building interaction mechanisms, nonlinear finite-element pushover analysis is adopted to obtain the building response under debris flow impact. By quantifying the physical damage caused by the primary debris flow, the cumulative damage effect of the sequentially occurring debris flows is formulated. The amplified damage effect of the concurrently occurring debris flows is however case specific. The proposed methodology shows potential to address more complex multi-hazard scenarios and enhance the multi-vulnerability assessment, filling the research gap on multi-vulnerability assessment for landslide hazards.

Seismic failure analysis of concrete bridges exposed to scour

Scouring has been known as one of the most frequent cause of failure observed in bridge infrastructures. Not to mention, the evaluation of scour mechanism sheds light on pile foundation design and helps to prevent scour induced structural deficiencies. Thus, the scouring mechanism around bridge pile foundations should be extensively evaluated in order to predict the bridge safety under critical multi-hazard environment. In this study, the local scour mechanism around bridge piles was appraised considering discrete element methods (p-y curves) in order to reflect the nonlinear nature of soil structure interaction (SSI). Following that, bridge seismic behavior and relevant failure mechanism was evaluated with regard to nonlinear time history analyses (THA). In the conducted research, river crossing 7 – span Boğaçay Bridge located in Antalya, Turkey was selected as the case study. After SAP2000 finite element modeling (FEM), the bridge was exposed to twelve incremental scour depths up to six meters at all piers and was subject to subsequent seismic effects as concordant to the site that mimics a probable earthquake occurs after scouring regarding the Turkish Earthquake Code (TEC-2018). The modal responses indicated a simultaneous increase in natural periods with augmenting scour depth. In the analyses, the influence of scouring on pier displacement demands, pier accelerations and the internal forces at piers and piles were investigated. The analysis results indicated a significant increase in pier displacement demands with increasing scour depth especially in the transverse direction of the bridge. Further, due to the migration and spreading of plastic hinging from piers to piles due to scouring, the internal forces that were resisted by the strong axis of the pier columns decreased significantly. This fact led to the increase in pile bending moments and rotations in both orthogonal directions of the bridge. Thus, it was concluded that the probable multi-hazard effects of scouring and earthquake in river crossing bridges should be considered in bridge substructure design.

Resilience assessment framework for critical infrastructure in a multi-hazard environment: Case study on transport assets

The exposure of critical infrastructure to natural and human-induced hazards has severe consequences on world economies and societies. Therefore, resilience assessment of infrastructure assets to extreme events and sequences of diverse hazards is of paramount importance for maintaining their functionality. Yet, the resilience assessment commonly assumes single hazards and ignores alternative approaches and decisions in the restoration strategy. It has now been established that infrastructure owners and operators consider different factors in their restoration strategies depending on the available resources and their priorities, the importance of the asset and the level of damage. Currently, no integrated framework that accounts for the nature and sequence of multiple hazards and their impacts, the different strategies of restoration, and hence the quantification of resilience in that respect exists and this is an acknowledged gap that needs urgently filling. This paper provides, for the first time in the literature, a classification of multiple hazard sequences considering their nature and impacts. Subsequently, a novel framework for the quantitative resilience assessment of critical infrastructure, subjected to multiple hazards is proposed, considering the vulnerability of the assets to hazard actions, and the rapidity of the damage recovery, including the temporal variability of the hazards. The study puts forward a well-informed asset resilience index, which accounts for the full, partial or no restoration of asset damage between the subsequent hazard occurrences. The proposed framework is then applied on a typical highway bridge, which is exposed to realistic multiple hazard scenarios, considering pragmatic restoration strategies. The case study concludes that there is a significant effect of the occurrence time of the second hazard on the resilience index and a considerable error when using simple superimposition of resilience indices from different hazards, even when they are independent in terms of occurrence. This potentially concerns all critical infrastructure assets and, hence, this paper provides useful insights for the resilience-based design and management of infrastructure throughout their lifetime, leading to cost savings and improved services. The paper concludes with a demonstration of the importance of the framework and how this can be utilised to estimate the resilience of networks to provide a quantification of the resilience at a regional and country scale.

Construction of regional multi-hazard interaction frameworks, with an application to Guatemala

Abstract. Here we present an interdisciplinary approach to developing comprehensive, systematic, and evidenced visual syntheses of potential natural-hazard interactions at regional scales (or regional interaction frameworks). Frameworks can help with understanding the multi-hazard environment of a specific spatial extent. We explain our approach and apply this in Guatemala, developing regional interaction frameworks for national and sub-national (southern Guatemalan Highlands) spatial extents. The frameworks are constructed and populated using five evidence types relevant to natural-hazard interactions: (A) internationally accessible literature (93 peer-reviewed and 76 grey-literature sources), (B) locally accessible civil-protection bulletins (267 bulletins from 11 June to 15 October 2010), (C) field observations, (D) stakeholder interviews (19 semi-structured interviews), and (E) a stakeholder workshop (16 participants). These five evidence types were synthesised to determine an appropriate natural-hazard classification scheme for Guatemala, with 6 natural-hazard groups, 19 hazard types, and 37 hazard sub-types. For a national spatial extent in Guatemala, we proceed to construct and populate a regional interaction framework (matrix form), identifying 50 possible interactions between 19 hazard types. For a sub-national spatial extent (southern Guatemalan Highlands), we construct and populate a regional interaction framework (matrix form), identifying 114 possible interactions between 33 hazard sub-types relevant in the southern Guatemalan Highlands. We also use this evidence to explore networks of multi-hazard interactions (cascades) and anthropogenic processes that can trigger natural hazards. We present this information through accessible visualisations to improve understanding of multi-hazard interactions in Guatemala. We believe that our regional interaction framework's approach to multi-hazards is scalable, working at global to local scales with differing resolutions of information. Our approach can also be replicated in other geographical settings. We demonstrate how regional interaction frameworks and the discussion of potential scenarios arising from them can help with enhancing the cross-institutional dialogue on multi-hazard interactions and their likelihood and potential impacts. We review future research directions and steps to embed interaction frameworks into agencies contributing to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Gender-based approach for assessing risk perception in a multi-hazard environment: A study of high schools of Gilgit, Pakistan

Risk perception is a vital constituent of disaster risk. It is a measure to assess predisposition of individuals to seek disaster preparedness measures. Understanding gendered risk perception in a multi-hazard environment is important for launching proper disaster risk reduction strategies. This study proposes a risk perception assessment methodology, and is operationalized in context of high school students in a multi-hazard area of Gilgit, Pakistan. Risk perception was measured using four components, i.e., fear, attitude, awareness and trust. Indicators were identified using rigorous literature review, and index-based approach was used to calculate overall risk perception. Slovin's sampling method was used to identify sample size of 486 high school students, including 248 boys and 238 girls. Data was collected through structured questionnaires. Chi-square and t-tests were employed to ascertain differences between the two genders. Results have shown poor risk perception of high school students regarding natural hazards. Among the measured risk perception indicators, the fear component received the highest score. The study also observed significant differences in the risk perception indicators. This study highlights that for better understanding of the multifaceted nature of disaster risk, the gender aspect must be incorporated in risk perception assessment.

Hydrogeological and Climatological Risks Perception in a Multi-Hazard Environment: The Case of Greece

Climate-related hazards, such as wildfires and hydrogeological phenomena, cause extensive damages and casualties around the world. Despite the recent advances and technologies for risk mitigation, it is acknowledged that public risk perception is a critical factor for these tools to succeed. Greece and the broader Eastern Mediterranean is an area where, despite the diversity of natural disasters, there is a lack of understanding of the hazard types that people are most concerned with and how they measure against other groups of hazards (i.e., geophysical). This work uses an online survey targeting Greek people, aiming to provide a better understanding of their perception of different natural hazards. Statistical results show that people consider climate-related hazards less dangerous and likely to occur than earthquakes, which occur often as zero-impact events. Laymen may thus underestimate certain risks, which may inhibit appropriate preparation. Disaster experience was found to increase threat perceptions and to motivate preparedness. However, in what concerns climate-related hazards, the effect of experience may fade out over time. Awareness activities were found to associate with higher emergency response efficacy. Males exhibit lower risk perception and higher coping appraisals. However, prioritization of risks is almost identical between genders. Implications for risk management are discussed.

Natural disaster preparedness in a multi-hazard environment: Characterizing the sociodemographic profile of those better (worse) prepared.

The growing multi-hazard environment to which millions of people in the world are exposed highlights the importance of making sure that populations are increasingly better prepared. The objective of this study was to report the levels of preparedness of a community exposed to two natural hazards and identify the primary sociodemographic characteristics of groups with different preparedness levels. A survey was conducted on 476 participants from two localities of the Atacama Region in the north of Chile during the spring of 2015. Their level of preparedness at home and work was assessed to face two types of natural hazards: earthquakes and floods.The findings show that participants are significantly better prepared to face earthquakes than floods, which sends a serious warning to local authorities, given that floods have caused the greatest human and material losses in the region’s recent history of natural disasters. Men claimed to be more prepared than women to face floods, something that the authors attribute to the particular characteristics of the main employment sectors for men and women in the region. The potential contribution of large companies on preparedness levels of communities in the areas in which they operate is discussed. The sociodemographic profile of individuals with the highest levels of preparedness in an environment with multiple natural hazards are people between 30 and 59 years of age, living with their partner and school-age children. The implications of the results pertaining to institutions responsible for developing disaster risk reduction plans, policies and programs in a multi-hazard environment are discussed.