A situational harm-reduction approach to flood risk management

Influenced by situational crime prevention (SCP) and zemiology, this research proposes situational harm reduction (SHR) as a new way of thinking about flood risk management (FRM). SCP adopts a problem-oriented approach to crime by implementing techniques and strategies that reduce opportunity structures. The SHR framework applies these principles towards flood adaptation, demonstrating how the development of bottom-up, complementary strategies of flood mitigation and resilience can help individual community members and businesses reduce the social and economic harms associated with flooding. Drawing on a qualitative research methodology that included semi-structured interviews and a focus group with a total of forty local residents and business owners in Matlock Town, Derbyshire, the findings show that members of the community used prior flooding experience, knowledge of flooding precipitators, and social networks to develop sustainable solutions in flood adaptation and resilience. The strategies adopted by individuals and business owners include property-level flood defenses, early-warning systems, individual drainage maintenance, recognition of the role of nature-based solutions in flood mitigation, and collective challenging of unsustainable urban developments. A SHR approach to FRM provides a holistic, multidisciplinary framework that may serve as a practical foundation for future collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and flood-affected communities alike.