Flood Risk Perception of People Living in Gümüşhane

Abstract

Flood hazard may causes fear, panic, anxiety and depression in people. In addition, people may constantly worry that they, their families, friends and material assets will be damaged due to the flood and that the flood will not be managed. The objective of this study is to investigate the flood risk perception of people living in Gümüşhane city center. In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from individuals aged 18 and over in May and June 2023 using the Flood Risk Perception Scale, which consists of two factors: affective and cognitive flood risk perception. A total of 404 participants participated in the study, 207 of whom were female and 234 of whom were between the ages of 18 and 30. Confirmatory factor analysis, independent sample t-test and ANOVA analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the participants are most concerned that the flood poses a great financial danger and that the flood may cause great destruction. The affective and cognitive flood risk perception of women is higher than the affective and cognitive flood risk perception of men. Participants who think that they cannot protect themselves and help others in case of floods have higher risk perceptions in both factors. Both affective and cognitive flood risk perceptions of the participants who stated that their place of residence was not safe against flooding were the highest. Training should be organized in Gümüşhane so that people can protect themselves and help others in case of floods. It is expected that this study will contribute significantly to the Turkish literature and that the results of the research will give an idea to the managers and scientists working in the field of flood risk perception. © 2025, Ankara University. All rights reserved.