Geo-hydrological Risk Awareness and Disaster Preparedness in a Mountainous Area of Southern Peru Vulnerable to Disaster

Abstract

Disaster risk management involves reducing disaster damage to homes, critical infrastructure and the interruption of basic services and developing their resilience. This work analyzes the perception of geohydrological risk by the population living or working in the town of Cuyocuyo (southern Peru), which was affected in previous years by events of landslides, debris flow and floods. In order to analyze the effect of the social perception of geohydrological risk on disaster preparedness in areas under threat from landslides and debris flow, a survey was applied to 65 adult heads of household. The method for estimating results was logit regression. The results show the following: First, the preparation through the acquisition of items necessary to avoid the impact of the disaster is related to indicators of perception of disaster risk and the age of the population. Second, the knowledge and prevention of disaster mitigation significantly depends on indicators of dependency of the place and the affection of the place. Third, the participation of households in trainings and drills to prevent disasters organized by the government depends significantly on the indicators of the perception of probability of the disaster, threat of disaster risk and the identity of the place and Fourth, the modification and reinforcement of the buildings of the settlers depends positively on the dependence of the place.