The Right to Live Dangerously: Public Perceptions of Extreme Water Events in Urban Areas

The rising risks of climate change and Indonesia’s dynamic urban and industrial development has meant that many areas have become vulnerable to flood. Historical data from 1811 to 2017 clearly shows how floods have causing major disasters across Indonesia’s archipelago, and data from 1990 indicate that the number of deaths due to floods and heavy rains has risen far faster than any other hydroclimatic disasters in the same period. As the intense urban and floodplain development in Indonesia shows no sign of slowing down, it is possible the Indonesia could expect an increase in the number of people being exposed to flood risks. Therefore, the trade-offs between flood protection and the relocation of economic activities to safer areas are likely to remain a major public debate (Strauss, Kulp, & Levermann, 2015). However, when urban areas repeatedly suffer from floods, why don’t the people and businesses move to safer areas or even leave the city, and why do they tend to restore these vulnerable locations? This paper seeks to understand the public’s perceptions regarding the social construction of risk and the degree to which these perceptions are harnessed to develop a sustainable resilience. This paper explores the public perceptions of 926 urban residents in Indonesia, the data for which were extracted from the 4,985-person nationwide Climate Asia survey in Indonesia. This study aims to contribute to future urban development, population studies, and disaster risk. To urban Indonesian, religious and moral beliefs was the most important value. This value lead to people's higher susceptibility towards risk. In daily basis, risk perception translated to the higher value of worries on not having clean water, the urgency of having enough access to health care and adequate food for the family. Current flood management tends to be focused more on structural measures, very little attention is paid to the social processes involved in building a resilient society This study emphasis on the fact that to build sustainable resilience, it is essential to understand the public’s perception of the social construction of risk. Keywords—flood hazard, extreme weather, public perception, resilience