Public perceptions of flood and drought risk: Gender differences in Italy and Sweden

Hydrological extremes still cause severe damage worldwide. Understanding people’s perceptions of drought and flood risk, and their changes over time, can help researchers, practitioners, and policymakers assist communities at risk. In particular, identifying and highlighting gender differences in the perception of hydrological risk is fundamental to promote fair disaster risk reduction policies which take such differences into account. To this end, we collected national survey data three times over a year on risk perception, knowledge, and preparedness in regard to floods and droughts in Italy and Sweden. Preliminary results show that: i) the perceptions of drought and flood risk are heavily intertwined; and ii) women show a higher fluctuation in perception over time compared to men, especially when it comes to floods. These results and their implications show how important it is to integrate gender into the management of floods and drought and into risk communication, as well as to promote policies that simultaneously address flood and drought risk.