Managing disaster risks in Moroccan Cities: Perceptions and preparedness with insights from the Rabat region

Morocco's geographical location and geological characteristics make it highly susceptible to disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Over the last three decades, these events, often considered exceptional, have increasingly become a significant concern in the Kingdom of Morocco. This situation has attracted the attention of various stakeholders in disaster risk management and prompted them to adopt a modern scientific approach to risk analysis and to continuously update emergency plans to promote a risk resilience culture in the community. This study presents the results of a study on multi-hazard risk perception behaviour in the Rabat region that sought to identify factors that lead to a better understanding of whether risk perception affects individual preparedness actions. A structured questionnaire was used to survey 418 adults. The study found that nearly half of the 206 participants had recognized living in disaster-prone zones, while others were unaware. Age, gender, marital status, and occupation were among the demographic factors linked to knowledge about disasters. Policy and publicity also had an active role to enhance awareness in relation to threats as well as advertising the use of specialized publicity for enhancing preparedness to handle disasters. These variables meet the elements of disaster risk and warrant situating the study within the context of already developed disaster risk reduction (DRR) paradigms. This case study highlights the importance of providing information on environmental perception to reduce disaster risk and improve emergency planning strategies.