Abstract
The aim of this paper is to highlight one of the most important factors influencing the effectiveness of early warning (EW) systems — that is, how those who are at risk from hazards perceive that risk, and how this in turn influences their response to warnings. It takes particular note of how vulnerable people, principally in the Third World, assess risk in the context of their lives and livelihoods as a whole. The paper goes on to consider how, by taking such factors into account, EW systems might be made more effective. To achieve this, it is argued, conventional ideas about how to communicate with communities at risk need to be updated by drawing upon approaches that are used in many long-term development projects in the Third World.
How much human behaviour, whether the interactions between persons themselves or between groups and groups, is intelligible in terms of human experience? R. D. Laing
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Twigg, J. (2003). The Human Factor in Early Warnings: Risk Perception and Appropriate Communications. In: Zschau, J., Küppers, A. (eds) Early Warning Systems for Natural Disaster Reduction. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55903-7_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55903-7_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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