Percepção da população sobre riscos de desastres naturais : um estudo pós-eventos climáticos decorrentes de chuva no RS

Abstract

Understanding the behavior of the population after experiencing natural disasters can contribute to the improvement of prevention and response strategies, since the way individuals perceive risks, assess their vulnerability, and are willing to adopt selfprotection measures is strongly influenced by previous experiences. In 2023 and 2024, the state of Rio Grande do Sul was affected by large-scale floods, which had significant impacts on the population, infrastructure, and local disaster response systems. In view of this context, the present dissertation focused on analyzing the population's perception of the risks associated with natural disasters, with particular emphasis on these events. To this end, the study examined disaster prevention and management mechanisms primarily based on data from the National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense (SEDEC) and the Brazilian Classification and Coding of Disasters (COBRADE). In order to identify the population's perception regarding climate-related events, the adopted methodology consisted of a survey based on the instrument applied by Shengnan et al. (2022), using a Likert scale, adapted to the target population: residents of municipalities located in the Taquari River Valley - RS. The collected sample yielded 184 valid responses, predominantly from female respondents aged between 18 and 44 years. The results revealed a higher frequency of previous experience with hydrological natural disasters, such as storms, flooding, and inundations. It was also possible to identify that male respondents displayed greater confidence in their ability to escape from disasters, and that individuals with children tended to be more aware of risks in order to safeguard their family's safety. The analysis of prior disaster experiences also indicated that those who had witnessed an extreme event, regardless of the number of occurrences, understood that disasters can impact not only themselves but also their properties and the municipalities in the region. Consequently, they demonstrated greater willingness to participate in Disaster Risk Reduction activities and training, as well as to cooperate with the community in the event of receiving early warning alerts. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]