 |
| Titel |
Economic motivation of households to undertake private precautionary measures against floods |
| VerfasserIn |
H. Kreibich, S. Christenberger, R. Schwarze |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
|
| Sprache |
Englisch
|
| ISSN |
1561-8633
|
| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ; 11, no. 2 ; Nr. 11, no. 2 (2011-02-03), S.309-321 |
| Datensatznummer |
250009147
|
| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/nhess-11-309-2011.pdf |
|
|
|
|
|
| Zusammenfassung |
| Flood damage is on the increase due to a combination of growing vulnerability
and a changing climate. This trend can be mitigated only through
significantly improved flood risk management which, alongside the efforts of
public authorities, will include improvements in the mitigation measures
adopted by private households. Economically "reasonable" efforts to
self-insure and self-protect should be expected from households before the
government steps in with publicly-funded relief programmes. To gain a deeper
understanding of the benefits of households' precautionary measures,
telephone interviews with private home owners were conducted in the Elbe and
Danube catchments in Germany after the floods of 2002 and again after the
floods in 2005 and 2006. Only detached, solid single-family houses were
included in this study, which is based on 759 interviews. In addition,
market-based cost assessments were solicited based on a "model building".
Expert interviews and a literature review – including catalogues and price
lists for building materials and household appliances – were used as back-up
information for the cost assessments. The comparison of costs and benefits
shows that large investments, such as building a sealed cellar, are only
economically efficient if the building is flooded very frequently, that is,
if it is located in a high flood risk area. In such areas it would be
preferable in economic terms not to build a new house at all – or else to
build a house without a cellar. Small investments, however, such as oil tank
protection, can prevent serious damage at low cost. Such investments are
still profitable even if the building is flooded every 50 years or less on
average. It could be argued that these low-cost measures should be made
mandatory through the enforcement of building codes. Financial incentives
built into insurance contracts coupled with limits set on governmental relief
programmes would provide an economic motivation for people to invest in
precautionary measures. |
| |
|
| Teil von |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|