Linking human perception and scientific coastal flood risk assessment (Anlo Beach Community, Ghana)

Policymakers concerned with coastal management issues have recently focused their efforts on how people perceive flood risk. Understanding the public's perception of risk has become an essential component of contemporary flood risk management, as it provides a basis for designing practical and effective flood mitigation strategies. This study was conducted in Anlo Beach, one of the most vulnerable coastal communities in Ghana. It investigated household perceptions of flood risk and examined them against independent physical measures that assess exposure. In parallel, multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify and establish the key factors influencing household perceptions of flood risk in the study area. The results showed that two variables, previous flood experience (data collected through the social survey) and factual exposure (assessed through GIS measurements), played an important role in determining the level of flood risk reported by households. In particular, the relationship between previous flooding experience and perceived level of coastal flood risk was both positive and statistically significant. Socio-demographic factors did not have a significant influence on risk reporting. We conclude that perception variables collected through social surveys can be used as proxy indicators of environmental risks when physical measures are not available. Biases based on the socio-economic status of respondents may exist, but they do not outweigh information derived from people's factual relationships with the environment. Further studies on the above factors would support flood risk reduction measures in the study area and West Africa, particularly in light of climate change.