Understanding of risks and the necessity of taking preventive measures by people living in risk areas

People living near the Mount Cameroon volcano in West Africa do not prepare for the volcano eruptions since they believe that their sacrifice is the only way of “calming the God's anger” (Brewer, 2013, as cited in the World Disaster Report; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2014). This is not an uncommon in the Western countries, either. For example, some local governments in the USA refuse to apply preventive measures to avoid damages caused by heavy storms since “their culture leads them to deny that climate change is happening” (McKie, 2014, as cited in the World Disaster Report; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2014).

Note: See source document for full reference.

Cultural Factors: Worldviews, Norms/values

Hazards: Natural hazards, Man-made non-intentional hazards or emergency situations, Man-made intentional hazards

Disaster Phases: Prevention, Preparedness

Types of Actors Concerned: Non-active citizens

Recommendations:

• Develop guidelines for disaster practitioners that take into consideration the different needs of and approaches to different ethnical groups
• Develop risk assessments methodologies, which consider cultural factors, the manner in which people cognitively process information and which employ a gender perspective