Communication of flood early warnings and community response: the case of Sinop-Kastamonu, Türkiye

Abstract A flood disaster occurred in Türkiye in 2021. Due to the flood, Sinop-Ayancık and Kastamonu-Bozkurt were seriously affected and experienced physical, social, and economic losses. The research aimed to reveal how individuals experiencing flood disasters received early warnings, how they behaved after the warnings, and the lessons learned by evaluating early warnings in the context of societal capacity. Phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. Interviews were conducted with 15 individuals from the affected region. The data obtained were analyzed with the MAXQDA 2020 program. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that individuals were aware of the hazards in their province and that they knew its disaster history. On the other hand, although there were individuals who heeded the early warnings, there were also people who ignored the warnings. There were losses, deaths and injuries due to the flood disaster. It was determined that, after the lessons learned, individuals took the warnings into account and evacuated correctly. The accessibility and reliability of early warning systems to society are of vital importance for societal capacity. It is recommended that early warning systems and societal capacity be developed in disaster risk management.