Fear and floods in Serbia: Citizens preparedness for responding to natural disaster

Abstract

The consequences of the floods that had affected the area of Serbia in 2014 indicated a very low level of preparedness of population to respond to natural disasters. Therefore, the aim of quantitative research is to examine the impact of fear on the willingness of citizens to respond to a natural disaster caused by the flood in the Republic of Serbia. Bearing in mind all local communities in Serbia where floods occurred or there is a high risk of flooding, there was selected a random sample consisting of 19 out of 150 municipalities and 23 towns and the city of Belgrade. In the selected communities, a research was undertaken in those areas that had been most affected in relation to the amount of water or potential risk of flooding. The survey used strategy of testing in households with the use of a multi- stage random sample. The research results indicate that the citizens who have a fear of floods are familiar with safety procedures to a greater extent in relation to citizens who do not have the fear; they have taken the preventive measures; they point out that they still are not ready to respond, but plan to do so in the next 6 months; they would evacuate to the upper floor of the house; they point out that someone in the family has educated them about the flood. In contrast to that, citizens who do not have the fear are not doing anything to prepare themselves to react in such situations, they are confident in their own abilities to cope with the consequences of floods, etc. The originality of the research lies in the fact that in Serbia there has never been conducted a research to examine the state of preparedness of citizens to respond. Bearing in mind that the research is based on the territory of Serbia, conclusions can be generalized to the entire population. The research results can be used when creating a strategy for improving the level of preparedness of citizens to respond.