Leung, Ching Yee Rhea;
(2025)
Evaluation of Compliance with and Effectiveness of Disaster Risk Reduction Measures Enacted in Remote Mountainous Rural Areas Affected by Debris Flows Induced by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: Case Studies of Two Counties.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
After the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, the Chinese Government implemented risk avoidance and risk reduction measures to protect residents from secondary geohazards. However, comprehensive investigations and evaluations of such measures are so far limited. This thesis investigates the relocation decisions, risk perceptions and disaster responses of populations threatened by secondary geohazard. It evaluates the compliance level and effectiveness of government measures, together with demographic variables, in influencing such decisions, perceptions and behaviour. The core of this study consists of a survey of debris flow risk reduction measures imposed by the government and their impact on risk perception and anticipated disaster response. Analysis of vulnerability indicators and compliance with mitigation directives is also performed. The focus is on rural remote mountainous areas where debris flow risks are tolerated but needed to be managed. Comparisons are made between two Sichuan counties: Pingwu and Wenchuan. This research identifies ethnicity as the variable that has great influence on people’s moving decisions and risk perceptions. Risk exposure, cultural factors and individual competencies also affected moving decisions. Village affiliation, debris flow experience and perception of substantial debris flow all affected risk perceptions. People’s roles in their villages particularly influenced their responses. Significance and limitations of government impacts are revealed. People’s coping capacities influenced by government is crucial to relocation decision making. For risk perception, awareness of the gong as an early warning tool was impactful in both study areas. Awareness of designated evacuation routes significantly influenced disaster response. The degree of accessibility of government information affected risk perception and disaster response. This research concludes that, although the overall reasons behind the relocation decisions, risk perceptions and disaster responses of respondents from the two counties varied, some factors were influential in both places. The government should allocate more resources to distinguish in detail the most useful measures to alleviate vulnerability and promote risk reduction. Disaster policies should be tailored to the needs of particular ethnic groups.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Evaluation of Compliance with and Effectiveness of Disaster Risk Reduction Measures Enacted in Remote Mountainous Rural Areas Affected by Debris Flows Induced by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: Case Studies of Two Counties |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10207099 |
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