The role of individual well-being in risk perception and evacuation for chronic vs. acute natural hazards in Mexico

This paper examines how situational and cognitive measures of well-being associated with chronic and acute hazardous conditions affect perception of risk. The research was conducted in two disaster sites in the state of Puebla, Mexico; risk perception from chronic exposure to volcanic eruptions of Popocatépetl was investigated in San Pedro Benito Juárez, and risk perception from acute exposure to a flood/mudslide event was explored in Teziutlán. The research employed structured questionnaire surveys in both communities to collect information that included demographic information (e.g., age, sex, affinity to place, etc.), evacuation history, hazard belief systems, social networks, and physical and mental health related to hazard exposure. While well-being scores were worse for Teziutlán residents than for people in San Pedro Benito Juárez, with few exceptions it was in the chronic hazard site of San Pedro Benito Juárez and not in Teziutlán that individual well-being predicted risk perception. The results of this research can be used to tailor risk communication and educational policies differently for acute disaster vs. chronic hazard settings, as well as identify subpopulations for specific kinds of support or education.

Research highlights► A difference was found between chronic and acute hazard sites, in terms of perception of risk. ►More health symptoms (from physical and mental) were reported in the acute site than the chronic site. However, in three of the risk perception measures, these symptoms are correlated with perceived risk in the chronic site, but not the acute site. ► An association of household conditions with perceived risk in the chronic site, but not in the acute site. Economic conditions appear to be worse in the chronic site than in the acute site. ► Although the literature suggests a variety of demographic variables to be important, for risk perception and evacuation, specifically religion and gender, this study did not replicate those results in either the chronic site or the acute site. ► Chronic vs. acute hazard sites differed in terms of predictors of intended future evacuation, with post-traumatic stress symptoms being significant in the acute site, but mainly prior experience and risk perception as major predictors in the chronic site.