Data on Local Responses to Early Warning Communications on Flood Prevention in Northern Ghana

This data was collected from households with experience of flood hazards and disaster in northern Ghana using interviews and focus group discussions. It comprises both quantitative and qualitative responses from householders, seeking to measure the relationship between early warning communications and local responses to flood risk prevention. There are questions on households' knowledge of early warning communication systems, strategies and channels, households prior exposure to floods, the types of local actions adopted to mitigate flood risk and the nature of post-reconstructions interventions they have been part of. We set out to test the relationship between flood experience and households risk response behaviour using multivariate logistic regressions and bi-variate analysis such as chi-square. We found that flood experience significantly impacted the risk response adopted by householders. Similarly, the emotional state of households significantly influenced the local actions to prevent flood risk. Among the early warning communication channels adopted by disaster authorities, local FM radio proved to be more effective on the decisions of households relative to the adoption of risk mitigation measure. Despite this, based on data from 68 households and 6 separate focus groups, we found that, Early Warning information did not lead to effective local actions in disaster hot spot communities. Households were concerned about loss of properties and lives during flood disasters; nonetheless they were less likely to move away from disaster prone areas, citing factors such as inter-generational belief systems, cost of relocation, soil fertility around the riverbanks and fear of losing ancestral lands.本数据集通过访谈与焦点小组座谈的方式，收集自加纳北部曾遭遇洪涝灾害与洪涝风险的家庭。数据集包含受访家庭的定量与定性反馈，旨在探究早期预警通信与洪涝风险防控本地响应之间的关联。问卷内容涵盖受访家庭对早期预警通信系统、策略与渠道的认知情况、家庭既往洪涝暴露史、用于降低洪涝风险的本地应对措施类型，以及其参与过的灾后重建干预举措的相关信息。本研究采用多元logistic回归与卡方（chi-square）检验等双变量分析方法，以验证洪涝经历与家庭风险响应行为之间的关联。研究结果显示，洪涝经历会显著影响受访家庭采取的风险应对措施；同理，家庭的情绪状态也会显著影响其用于防控洪涝风险的本地行动。在灾害管理部门采用的各类早期预警通信渠道中，本地调频广播（FM radio）在影响家庭采纳风险防控措施的决策方面，被证明更为有效。尽管如此，基于对68户家庭及6个独立焦点小组的调研数据，本研究发现，在灾害热点社区中，早期预警信息并未促成有效的本地防灾行动。受访家庭虽担忧洪涝灾害中出现财产损失与人员伤亡，但仍不愿搬离灾害易发区域，其给出的理由包括代际传承的信仰体系、搬迁成本、河岸周边土壤的肥沃程度，以及对失去祖传土地的顾虑。