Risk perception of the people in the flood prone Khyber Pukhthunkhwa province of Pakistan

The hydro-meteorological disasters around the globe are on the rise. Floods are also a recurrent phenomenon in Pakistan, but the floods of 2010 were most severe in terms of financial loss and area affected. Researchers expect that in the coming decades, the floods would be more frequent and would cause more damages than the past, if proper measures for preparedness and mitigation are not taken. The objective of this research is to analyse the perception of the people living with the flood risk in the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan. The field survey was conducted from May 2014 to November 2014. Both primary and secondary data were collected for this study. The secondary data were collected from the journals and government reports and the primary data were collected through group discussions and questionnaire survey. The group discussions were performed with the government officials, farmers and community members. The questionnaire survey was prepared for households. A total of 180 households from the selected sample sites were randomly selected for survey. Multivariate statistics were used to find the risk perception of the people based on their socio-economic and demographic characteristics. The study revealed that the flood risk perception greatly varies between the government officials and community members. Results also showed that risk perception is affected by the ownership of the house, education, distance from the water source and past experience with the floods. The study recommends policies and programs for creating awareness and preparedness for flood risk perception among the people. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.