Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological Burden

ABSTRACT Effective, timely, and fair evacuation is crucial to mitigate flood impacts. We aim to identify socio‐economic attributes and flood event characteristics influencing evacuation and to quantify the psychological burden of people who experienced evacuation. We implement regression models and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nivedita Sairam, Doménica Michelle Jaramillo Sánchez, Lisa Dillenardt, Annegret H. Thieken
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Flood Risk Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.70065
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849433039610839040
author Nivedita Sairam
Doménica Michelle Jaramillo Sánchez
Lisa Dillenardt
Annegret H. Thieken
author_facet Nivedita Sairam
Doménica Michelle Jaramillo Sánchez
Lisa Dillenardt
Annegret H. Thieken
author_sort Nivedita Sairam
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Effective, timely, and fair evacuation is crucial to mitigate flood impacts. We aim to identify socio‐economic attributes and flood event characteristics influencing evacuation and to quantify the psychological burden of people who experienced evacuation. We implement regression models and matching methods on an empirical dataset (n = 557) collected from the people affected by the 2021 flood in Germany. Homeowners, people with low socioeconomic status, and younger age groups were more likely to be evacuated before/during the flood event. In addition to the severity of the flood experience, high income and insured households were more likely to be evacuated after the event. In instances of evacuation before or during a flood, the psychological burden on those evacuated was found to be 10.3% higher compared to those who were not evacuated. Evacuation did not directly impact the psychological burden of people evacuated after the event. However, the duration of evacuation influenced the psychological burden on the evacuated people. The identification of the drivers of evacuation and quantification of the resulting psychological burden call for improved risk communication, preparedness, and support systems to recognize and address psychological distress in evacuated people.
format Article
id doaj-art-a81190e489ec48248f2ce7b100e673f1
institution Kabale University
issn 1753-318X
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Journal of Flood Risk Management
spelling doaj-art-a81190e489ec48248f2ce7b100e673f12025-08-20T03:27:11ZengWileyJournal of Flood Risk Management1753-318X2025-06-01182n/an/a10.1111/jfr3.70065Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological BurdenNivedita Sairam0Doménica Michelle Jaramillo Sánchez1Lisa Dillenardt2Annegret H. Thieken3Section 4.4 Hydrology GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam GermanySection 4.4 Hydrology GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam GermanyInstitute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam Potsdam GermanyInstitute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam Potsdam GermanyABSTRACT Effective, timely, and fair evacuation is crucial to mitigate flood impacts. We aim to identify socio‐economic attributes and flood event characteristics influencing evacuation and to quantify the psychological burden of people who experienced evacuation. We implement regression models and matching methods on an empirical dataset (n = 557) collected from the people affected by the 2021 flood in Germany. Homeowners, people with low socioeconomic status, and younger age groups were more likely to be evacuated before/during the flood event. In addition to the severity of the flood experience, high income and insured households were more likely to be evacuated after the event. In instances of evacuation before or during a flood, the psychological burden on those evacuated was found to be 10.3% higher compared to those who were not evacuated. Evacuation did not directly impact the psychological burden of people evacuated after the event. However, the duration of evacuation influenced the psychological burden on the evacuated people. The identification of the drivers of evacuation and quantification of the resulting psychological burden call for improved risk communication, preparedness, and support systems to recognize and address psychological distress in evacuated people.https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.70065disaster responsemental healthpropensity score matchingrisk management
spellingShingle Nivedita Sairam
Doménica Michelle Jaramillo Sánchez
Lisa Dillenardt
Annegret H. Thieken
Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological Burden
Journal of Flood Risk Management
disaster response
mental health
propensity score matching
risk management
title Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological Burden
title_full Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological Burden
title_fullStr Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological Burden
title_full_unstemmed Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological Burden
title_short Evacuating Flash Flood Victims: Key Drivers and Psychological Burden
title_sort evacuating flash flood victims key drivers and psychological burden
topic disaster response
mental health
propensity score matching
risk management
url https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.70065
work_keys_str_mv AT niveditasairam evacuatingflashfloodvictimskeydriversandpsychologicalburden
AT domenicamichellejaramillosanchez evacuatingflashfloodvictimskeydriversandpsychologicalburden
AT lisadillenardt evacuatingflashfloodvictimskeydriversandpsychologicalburden
AT annegreththieken evacuatingflashfloodvictimskeydriversandpsychologicalburden