Immersive Flood Education for Effective Risk Communication: Field-Based Testing of Virtual Reality and Gamified Simulations for Flood Preparedness in Terai region of Nepal

Flooding is one of the most frequent natural hazards affecting Nepal’s lowland river basins, particularly during the monsoon. Among others, students and children are continuously exposed to these floods, as many schools are proximate to these rivers. Although flood risk awareness is high due to recurrent exposure to flooding incidents and the incorporation of flood education into the school curriculum, there remains a persistent gap in translating this awareness into informed response behavior. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of an immersive Virtual Reality (VR)–based flood preparedness intervention for secondary school students in the Kamala River Basin of Nepal. Over the period of three months, We first (a) organize an orientation session to collect baseline information of the students (b) collect the data on local landmarks and perform drone based mapping along with 360° imagery (c) perform content analysis of national hydrometeorological agency (d) develop a scenario based gamified simulation in Unity 3D tailored for Meta Oculus 3S VR set that was used with controlled group of students aged between 12-16 years. A pre- and post-intervention mapping was conducted with 180 students to assess their knowledge gains in comprehension of flood warning signals, understanding of early warning systems, and recognition of safe evacuation zones. Results show statistically significant improvements across all preparedness indicators following the intervention (p < 0.001) with VR experience. The findings demonstrate the potential of immersive VR tools to strengthen preparedness and behavior in hazard-prone communities and support school-based disaster risk reduction as a complementary risk reduction measure within flood risk management frameworks.