Social Networks, Trust, and Disaster-Risk Perceptions of Rural Residents in a Multi-Disaster Environment: Evidence from Sichuan, China

Insights from China: understanding the impact of community resilience and government trust in psychological resilience and anxiety during COVID-19

Background

COVID-19 has the potential to greatly impact an individual mental well-being. However, an individual's psychological resilience, combined with support from their community and government disaster relief efforts can aid individuals in confronting crises with a positive mindset. The purpose of this study is to investigate how individuals, across three dimensions of individual resilience perception, community resilience perception, and government trust perception, mitigate individual anxiety during COVID-19.

Methods

This study employed an online survey method that was not restricted by geographical location. Data collection took place from January 2022 to June 2022, and the valid questionnaires covered all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China. The assessment of community resilience was conducted employing the Conjoint Community Resilience Assessment Measure-10 (CCRAM-10). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was also used to examine the relationship between community resilience, government trust, individual psychological resilience, and anxiety.

Results

The SEM results reveal that individual psychological resilience is significantly negatively correlated with anxiety (b = -0.099, p < 0.001), while there is a significant positive correlation between community resilience perception (b = 0.403, p < 0.001) and government trust (b = 0.364, p < 0.001) with individual psychological resilience. Furthermore, government trust perception enhances psychological resilience, consequently reducing anxiety (b = -0.036, p < 0.001). The results also revealed that women and increasing age had a mitigating effect on individual anxiety during COVID-19.

Conclusion

Individual's mental state is influenced on multiple dimensions during COVID-19. Not only can individual psychological resilience better cope with anxiety, but support at the community and government dimensions has a significant impact on individual psychology. These resources can enhance the resilience of both individuals and communities, helping them better cope with stress and difficulties.

Reconnoitering NGOs strategies to strengthen disaster risk communication (DRC) in Pakistan: A conventional content analysis approach

Risk communication is crucial since individuals need to understand how they are at risk and what proper steps to deal with flood events. Sharing information with the public opens the door for two-way communication about risks, wherein you learn about people's perspectives and work together to find ways to mitigate the risks. Beyond government scope, relief organizations play a big part in advising individuals about the likelihood of catastrophic events as they possess the commonalities that define community engagement. In numerous accounts of devastating events, the failure of risk management groups to coordinate their efforts and the public's mistrust of relief agencies are highlighted. One possible explanation for this skepticism could be relief organizations' failures in communicating risks. In addition, individuals' lack of skills and experience with catastrophes has left rural residents unprepared, which is why relief agencies need to raise their efforts or measures to communicate with people about possible risks. If these measures are uncovered, it could improve public communication and provide information for formulating recommendations to prevent fatalities. This study identifies the strategies used by relief organizations in enhancing disaster risk communication across four severely affected districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The qualitative research used semi-structured interviews with 50 participants from relief organizations, local institutions, and affected households. We employed qualitative content analysis and NVivo software to analyze the data. The findings of this study highlighted some significant strategies that relief organizations adopted in this line of work: the administration of educational and information transmission, managing obstacles in communication, and managing inter-organizational communications. The findings validate the potential for relief organizations to become change agents, facilitate communication between the public and relief organizations, and ultimately strengthen community resilience and reduce disaster risks as part of local responses.

Effect of individual characteristics, risk perception, self-efficacy and social support on willingness to relocate due to floods and landslides

People may have to leave their home, environment, region and country because of disasters or disaster risks. Effective and efficient disaster risk reduction activities involving the community can reduce disaster risks and enable people to reside more safely and peacefully in their environment. The objective of this study was to investigate whether individual characteristics, risk perception, self-efficacy and perceived social support were correlated with the willingness to relocate due to floods and landslides. The data were collected from 947 people residing in Gümüşhane Province (Türkiye) using a survey. In the study, a total of ten models were tested with the help of ordinal logistic regression analysis. Consequently, the participants' willingness to relocate due to landslides was determined to be higher than the willingness to relocate due to floods. University students and people with chronic diseases and flood and landslide experiences had a greater willingness to relocate. Residence duration and informal social support were negatively correlated with relocation willingness. Those who believed that they could protect themselves in the event of a flood and landslide were more likely to relocate. Among risk perceptions, probability increased relocation willingness mostly due to floods, while fear increased relocation willingness mostly due to landslides. This study attempted to provide policy makers and scientists insight into disaster risk reduction and disaster risk communication related to relocation.

An empirical study of the effect of a flooding event caused by extreme rainfall on preventive behaviors against COVID-19

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, wearing masks, vaccinations, and maintaining a safe distance has become social behaviors advocated by the government and widely adopted by the public. At the same time, unpredictable natural disaster risks brought by extreme climate change compound difficulties during epidemics and cause systemic risks that influence the existing pattern of epidemic prevention. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the effect of natural disaster risk caused by climate change on the response to outbreaks in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. This study will focus on individual-level epidemic prevention behaviors, taking as an example the significant risk of severe destructive flooding caused by heavy rains in Henan, China, on July 20, 2021, which claimed 398 lives, to explore the effect of floods on the preventive behaviors of residents in the hardest hit areas against COVID-19. Through the multi-stage stratified random sampling of the affected residents in Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Hebi, Luoyang, Anyang, and other cities in Henan Province, 2,744 affected people were surveyed via questionnaires. Through the linear regression model and moderating effect analysis, the study found that after floods, the individual's flood risk perception and response behaviors significantly correlated with the individual's prevention behaviors against COVID-19. Specifically, both flood risk perception and response behaviors strengthened the individual's prevention behaviors. Furthermore, the study also found that community risk preparation behavior and social capital can moderate the above relationship to a certain extent. The research can guide risk communication under the compound risk scenario and prevent risky public behavior under the consistent presence of COVID-19 in the community.

Effects of Conformity Tendencies on Farmers' Willingness to Take Measures to Respond to Climate Change: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China

Encouraging farmers to respond to climate change is very important for agricultural production and environmental governance. Based on the data of 540 farmers in Sichuan Province, China, the effects of conformity tendencies on farmers' adaptive behavior decisions to climate change were analyzed using the binary logistic model and propensity score matching method (PSM). The results show that (1) relatives' and friends' adaptive behaviors to climate change positively affect farmers' adaptive behaviors to climate change. (2) Compared with relatives and friends who do not visit each other during the New Year (weak ties), the climate change adaptation behavior of relatives and friends who visit each other during the New Year (strong ties) has a more significant impact on the climate change adaptation behavior of farmers. (3) Farmers with higher education levels and agricultural products without disaster experience are more significantly affected by peer effects and more inclined to take measures to respond to climate change. (4) Social networks and social trust play a partially mediating role in the peer effects of farmers' adaptation to climate change, but there are differences between relatives and friends with different strong and weak ties.

Social Stability Risk Assessment of Disaster-Preventive Migration in Ethnic Minority Areas of Southwest China

Disaster-preventive migration (DPM) is an important method for disaster risk management, but migration itself entails a potential social stability risk. This study took County D in Yunnan Province, one of the counties most severely threatened by geological disasters in China, as an example to construct an indicator system of social stability risk factors for disaster-preventive migration based on a literature survey and in-depth interviews. The system consists of 5 first-level risk factors and 14 s-level risk factors. The social stability risk of DPM in County D was assessed using a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method based on experts’ weights. The results showed that the overall social stability risk level of disaster-preventive migration in County D is ‘high’. In terms of importance, the five first-level risk factors were ranked as follows: public opinion risk > compensation risk > livelihood recovery risk > cultural risk > geological disaster risk. Among the risk factors, the level of public opinion risk and compensation risk appeared to be high, whereas that of livelihood recovery risk, cultural risk and geological disaster risk resulted to be medium. To our knowledge, this paper is the first research to evaluate the social stability risk of DPM; it not only enriches the theories of social stability risk assessment, but also has important guiding significance for people relocation and resettlement in Chinese ethnic minority areas.

Does Trust Help to Improve Residents' Perceptions of the Efficacy of Disaster Preparedness? Evidence from Wenchuan and Lushan Earthquakes in Sichuan Province, China

Disaster preparation can reduce the impact of an earthquake on residents. Residents are more likely to undertake disaster preparedness if they perceive it to be effective. However, few studies have analyzed the influence of trust on this perception. This study surveyed 327 households in areas stricken by the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes to explore these issues. Trust was divided into government trust, emotional trust, and social trust, while the efficacy of disaster preparedness was divided into self-efficacy and response efficacy. A partial least squares structural equation model was used to explore the influence of trust on perceptions of the efficacy of disaster preparedness. The results show that: (1) government trust can directly increase perceived efficacy and indirectly increase self-efficacy via emotional trust; (2) emotional trust can directly increase self-efficacy; (3) social trust can directly reduce self-efficacy while indirectly increasing it by increasing emotional trust. This study deepens our understanding of the relationship between trust and perceptions of the efficacy of disaster preparedness. This study can provide inspiration to improve risk communication and construct systems of community-based disaster-prevention.

Stay in Risk Area: Place Attachment, Efficacy Beliefs and Risk Coping

For residents living in earthquake-threatened areas, choosing suitable risk coping behaviors can effectively reduce the loss of family life and property. However, some residents still choose to continue to live within areas at risk of earthquake disaster. Place attachment may play an important role. Based on place attachment theory and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM), this study explores the possible relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and evacuation/relocation intention. Furthermore, it examines the mediating role of efficacy beliefs. The study also used the partial least squares method (PLS-SEM) to test samples of 327 rural households in Wenchuan and Lushan earthquake-hit areas. The results show that: (1) Place attachment has a significant effect on response efficacy (RE), but not on self-efficacy (SE); (2) Place dependence (PD) has a negative and significant effect on relocation intention (RI) but has no significant effect on evacuation intention (EI). However, place identity (PI) can indirectly affect EI by influencing RE; (3) Efficacy beliefs have a significant positive effect on EI and RI. These results help us understand the complex relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and residents’ risk coping behavior, thus providing decision-making references for the formulation and improvement of regional disaster risk management policies.

Scientometric Analysis of Disaster Risk Perception: 2000-2020

This paper used 1526 works from the literature on disaster risk perception from 2000 to 2020 in the Web of Science core collection database as the research subject. The CiteSpace knowledge graph analysis tool was used to visual analyze the country, author, institution, discipline distribution, keywords, and keyword clustering mapping. The paper drew the following conclusions. Firstly, disaster risk perception research has experienced three stages of steady development, undulating growth, and rapid growth. Secondly, the field of disaster risk perception was mainly concentrated in the disciplines of engineering, natural science, and management science. Thirdly, meteorological disasters, earthquakes, nuclear radiation, and epidemics were the main disasters in the field of disaster risk perception. Residents and adolescents were the main subjects of research in the field of disaster risk perception. Fourthly, research on human risk behavior and risk psychology and research on disaster risk control and emergency management were two major research hotspots in the field of disaster risk perception. Finally, the research field of disaster risk perception is constantly expanding. There is a trend from theory to application and multi-perspective combination, and future research on disaster risk perception will be presented more systematically. The conclusion can provide a reference for disaster risk perception research, as well as directions for future research.

Driving Forces for the Spatial Reconstruction of Rural Settlements in Mountainous Areas Based on Structural Equation Models: A Case Study in Western China

Rural settlement development in mountainous areas is the key to eliminating global hunger and poverty. The spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas can promote rural development in mountainous areas. In this study, the Panxi area—a typical mountainous area in China—was chosen as the study area. The driving forces for the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas were explored from the perspective of peasant households by combining participatory rural appraisal (PRA) with structural equation modeling (SEM). Results showed that: (1) 62.03% of the 266 peasant households included were willing to have spatial reconstruction, indicating that most peasant households in mountainous areas have a very strong intention towards the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements. (2) Infrastructure, medical conditions, living environment, farming culture, and dietary habits significantly influenced the reconstruction intention of peasant households. In contrast, development opportunities, place attachment, language, and living mode each had a slight influence. (3) Geological disasters were the main driving force for the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas, whilst the driving force of living cohesion was the smallest. This study provides insights for future planning and construction of rural settlements in the Panxi area and spatial reconstruction practices. It has important practical significance for overcoming poverty and realizing rural revitalization in mountainous areas.

Building Capacity for a User-Centred Integrated Early Warning System for Drought in Papua New Guinea

Drought has significant impacts on the agricultural productivity and well-being of Pacific Island communities. In this study, a user-centred integrated early warning system (I-EWS) for drought was investigated for Papua New Guinea (PNG). The I-EWS combines satellite products (Standardised Precipitation Index and Vegetation Health Index) with seasonal probabilistic forecasting outputs (chance of exceeding median rainfall). Internationally accepted drought thresholds for each of these inputs are conditionally combined to trigger three drought early warning stages—”DROUGHT WATCH”, “DROUGHT ALERT” and “DROUGHT EMERGENCY”. The developed I-EWS for drought was used to examine the evolution of a strong El Niño-induced drought event in 2015 as well as a weaker La Niña-induced dry period in 2020. Examining the evolution of drought early warnings at a provincial level, it was found that tailored warning lead times of 3–5 months could have been possible for several impacted PNG provinces. These lead times would enable increasingly proactive drought responses with the potential for prioritised allocation of funds at a provincial level. The methodology utilised within this study uses inputs that are openly and freely available globally which indicates promising potential for adaptation of the developed user-centred I-EWS in other Pacific Island Countries that are vulnerable to drought.