V3I1P14

Disaster Preparedness for Wildfires and Floods: A Multidisciplinary Critical Analysis Based on Primary Field Evidence

Chitresh kumar banjare^1*

Abstract

Disaster preparedness is a critical factor in the process of defining the vulnerability and resilience of the increasingly more vulnerable locations, which are regularly affected by climate-related risks, including wildfires and floods. Despite the fact that the concepts of early warning systems and disaster management structures have experienced significant growth over the past few years, the level of performance at societal scale continues to falter significantly.The study is a multidisciplinary, critical, and analytical one dealing with preparedness to wildfires and floods, combining sociological, environmental, institutional and behavioural approaches.Principles of empirical foundation on the study are on primary data that was gathered as a result of household survey, key informant interview, and systematic field observations conducted in disaster prone areas.The readiness was measured using a set of indicators, such as knowledge about risk, availability of early warning systems, evacuation preparedness, institutional trust, and adaptability.Quantitative data have been assessed using descriptive statistics and regression methods to single out main determinants of preparedness, whereas the qualitative data have been interrogated using thematic analysis to reveal contextual and experience-based information.The result suggests that there is a strong community diversity in preparedness levels, which is jointly determined by the social hospitality of the societies, the success of the governance, and the knowledge systems of the localities as well as the nature of the hazard.The communities that were prone to floods showed enhanced experiential sensitivity due to repetitive exposure but exhibited more palliative infrastructural and institutional resilience.On the other hand, the regions at risk of wildfires showed massive vulnerabilities in the evacuation strategy, neighborhood organization, and communication of risks.Weaknesses in policies, communication measures, and the involvement of the vulnerable groups were found systemically.The paper ends by highlighting the need to have an integrated, participatory and hazard-specific preparedness measures that enhance institutional accountability and increase the resilience of communities.

Keywords:

Disaster preparedness; Wildfires; Floods; Climate risk; Community resilience; Primary data; Risk perception; Disaster governance; Adaptive capacity