Why did we undertake this study?
Flood and drought risks are increasing globally because of underlying social, economic, and environmental drivers. Understanding how countries and communities plan and prepare is critical to future disaster risk reduction and human development strategies.
How was it done?
This study systematically reviewed 147 peer-reviewed articles to assess the state of knowledge on pre-disaster planning and preparedness for floods and droughts in developed countries between 2005 and 2018. This included a review of the institutional frameworks, governance arrangements, and management strategies currently promoted in the context of floods and droughts.
What did we find?
As flood and drought risks continue to increase, it is important to approach governance and management through a more holistic lens. However:
- many countries are not engaging human development considerations consistently in disaster risk governance and emergency management;
- there is an over-reliance on technocratic solutions to manage flood risks in many countries, while droughts are managed through ad-hoc responses instead of through a disaster risk management framework; and
- planning and preparedness is moving towards a decentralized and privatized system, bearing more responsibilities on individuals and households for flood and drought risk management.
Implications
Overall, disaster risk reduction is dependent on the the broader systems that influence the impacts of floods and droughts. Past approaches to flood and drought risk management tend to underplay the roles and influences that these broader systems have on reducing these risks and improving disaster resilience. Research on the intersection between disaster risk reduction and human development in pre-disaster governance could provide an avenue for future policy making, planning, and preparedness.
Learn more
The full paper is available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101207
Citation: Raikes J, Smith TF, Jacobson C, & Baldwin C. 2019. Pre-disaster planning and preparedness for floods and droughts: a systematic review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 38, 101207.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects Funding Scheme (Project FT180100652) and a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship. This work contributes to Future Earth Coasts, a Global Research Project of Future Earth. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government, Australian Research Council or Future Earth Coasts.