Implementation of property level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures: choices and decisions

Effective response requires effective risk management concepts and strategies at individual and watershed level to increase community resilience. Focusing on flood risk and the information associated with it, individual risk behaviour in the shape of implementing property‐level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures is often overlooked. For this research, a comprehensive overview of possible PLFRA measures for homeowners in flood risk areas was made, as well as the possible costs and technical feasibility for new and existing buildings.

This overview highlights that human behaviour and adaptive actions are crucial in response to potential future changes in the frequency of flood hazard events. Nevertheless, this approach is highly challenging: the variance of different influencing factors is often not linear, and decisions on self-responsibility are complex, uncertain and often part of dealing with biased expectations. Individuals and communities need to be more active in flood risk management. A central aspect is that policymakers allow homeowners to be involved in flood risk management process and if possible in a collective manner through grassroots organizations. However, the requested behavioural change is far more complex and difficult, but in many cases feasible as this overview highlights.