Articles | Volume 25, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2929-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-25-2929-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
29 Aug 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 29 Aug 2025
| 29 Aug 2025
Turning regret into future disaster preparedness with no regrets
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
Milan Kalas
KAJO s.r.o., Bytca, 01401, Slovakia
Jessica Neumann
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
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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Executive editor
This paper reports on the role of regret from previous action or non-action, based on a survey with citizens who had been affected by a major flooding event in Germany. It is shown that regret can be primarily associated with
inaction (instead of actions) which is contrasting psychological studies from other fields than disaster science.
This paper reports on the role of regret from previous action or non-action, based on a survey...
Short summary
What do we regret about our disaster preparedness? This paper explores the regrets of 438 citizens who were affected by flooding in Germany in 2021. It shows that regret can primarily be associated with inaction (instead of actions), which contrasts with psychological studies from fields other than disaster science. The findings of this study suggest that the no-regret approach could be a suitable framework for moving towards longer-term disaster preparedness to reduce future regrets.
What do we regret about our disaster preparedness? This paper explores the regrets of 438...
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