Articles | Volume 24, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2633-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2633-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
01 Aug 2024
Research article |
| 01 Aug 2024
| 01 Aug 2024
Surprise floods: the role of our imagination in preparing for disasters
Joy Ommer
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
KAJO s.r.o., Bytca, 01401, Slovakia
Jessica Neumann
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Milan Kalas
KAJO s.r.o., Bytca, 01401, Slovakia
Sophie Blackburn
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Hannah L. Cloke
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
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Short summary
What’s the worst that could happen? Recent floods are often claimed to be beyond our imagination. Imagination is the picturing of a situation in our mind and the emotions that we connect with this situation. But why is this important for disasters? This survey found that when we cannot imagine a devastating flood, we are not preparing in advance. Severe-weather forecasts and warnings need to advance in order to trigger our imagination of what might happen and enable us to start preparing.
What’s the worst that could happen? Recent floods are often claimed to be beyond our...
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