Public Hazard Perception and Adjustment Behavior in the Lao-Jie River Watershed, Taoyuan City

This research aims to study residents' hazard perception and adjustment behavior in the Lao-Jie River watershed, Taoyuan City. Based on document analysis and in-depth interviews, we try to understand residents' perceptions of the existence, cause, severity, and reoccurrence of flooding disasters. We also try to realize the spatial, temporal, and positional differences within these various perceptions. In addition, this research analyzes residents' adjustment behavior during the pre-disaster warning, flooding occurrence, and post-disaster restoration periods. Results show that residents with longer residence time and more experiences with flooding understand the hazard situation well. Residents generally consider that the heavy rainfall during typhoons is the most important cause of disasters. However, recently the function of flooding release is decreasing due to the river channel covering, market buildings, and garbage blockage. This enhances the impact of flooding disaster. During Typhoon Nari in 2001, residents downstream witnessed the collapse of buildings, and deeply felt the severity of flooding. Chiefs of villages often collaborate with disaster prevention and mitigation, so they also intensively understand the severity of flooding. After the improvement of the Lao-Jie River, residents mostly consider that the possibility of flooding recurrence is becoming lower, but some residents believe that natural disasters are inevitable in the near future. As for adjustment behavior, residents paid attention to the disaster prevention information after Typhoon Nari. Chiefs of villages spread news, and maintain close contact with the government disaster prevention center. When flooding occurs, residents often adopt evacuation strategies to maintain their own security. Post-disaster restoration depends on outside assistance, and residents try to seek relevant resources and technical support.