Creating effective flood warnings: A framework from a critical review

This study systematically reviews academic and grey literature to examine the factors that influence the effectiveness of flood early warning systems (FEWS), with a specific focus on risk perception and warning communication rather than risk communication more broadly. Recognising the growing importance of non-structural, low-cost flood adaptation measures under climate change, the review analyses how personal attributes shape individual risk perception and deconstructs flood warnings into three core components: content, format, and dissemination channel. 

Across the literature, the study identifies 21 distinct elements within these components, each supported by varying levels of empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness. Key gaps are highlighted, including limited research on speech-based warnings and SMS dissemination. The study also presents a conceptual framework that visualises the warning creation process to guide practice. However, rapid technological change is rendering many well-studied warning formats increasingly outdated, underscoring the need for continued research into new channels and formats, the interaction between different warning elements, and the applicability of findings beyond industrialised countries, which currently dominate the evidence base.