Flash flood preparedness in Golestan province of Iran: a community intervention trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effectiveness of a community-based preparedness program for flash floods. DESIGN: A controlled community intervention trial with preassessment and postassessment. SETTING: Fifteen intervention villages and 16 control villages in Golestan province of Iran. PARTICIPANTS: People more than six years of age. INTERVENTION: Intervention program consisted assembling Village Disaster Taskforces (VDTs), training of VDTs and community, evacuation drill, and program monitoring. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Individual participation in household preparedness actions including, preparedness meeting, risk mapping, preparation of emergency supplies, assisting vulnerable people, and evacuation drill. RESULTS: Our intervention improved preparedness of local community for flash floods in term of all interested outcome measures. For instance, adjusted odds ratio for participation in an evacuation drill in intervention area in postassessment compared with preassessment was 29.05 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21.77-38.76), whereas in control area it was 2.69 (95% CI: 1.96-3.70). Difference in these odds ratios was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Participation in a family preparedness meeting and risk mapping were helpful in motivating individuals to take other preparedness actions. Women were found prepared as much as the men. Younger people showed lower participation in preparation of family emergency supplies but higher attendance in evacuation drills. Participation in evacuation drills decreased with increasing age. It was a positive association between risk perception and taking all preparedness actions. CONCLUSION: Flood preparedness programs should focus on participatory risk assessment and preparedness techniques, strive to improve risk perception and female capabilities, and ensure providing assistance to the older people during evacuation.

Evaluation of Golestan Province's Early Warning System for flash floods, Iran, 2006-7.

Golestan province located in NE Iran is well known for deadly flash floods. This study aimed to evaluate the region's Early Warning System (EWS) for flash floods. We used an adapted version of the questionnaire developed by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. We reviewed documents on the EWS of Golestan, and conducted a qualitative study comprising interviews with experts and affected people in Kalaleh and Minoodasht. Results were discussed by an expert panel. Regarding risk knowledge, there was a hazard map at Provincial Disaster Taskforce (PDT) drawn by the provincial Office for Water Resource Management, but no risk analysis was available. Local people were aware of their exposure to flooding, but not aware of the existence of a hazard map and their vulnerability situation. In terms of monitoring and warning, PDT faced serious limitations in issuing Early Warnings, including (1) an inability to make point predictions of rainfall, and (2) the absence of a warning threshold. Dissemination and communication issued by the Meteorological Office followed a top-to-bottom direction. The contents were neither clearly understood by other institutions nor reached the potential recipients within an appropriate time frame. There was a need for a comprehensive response plan with adequate exercises, and no evaluation framework existed. Golestan EWS is in dire need of improvement. To fill in the gaps ensuring local people receive timely warning, we propose a community-based model called "Village Disaster Taskforce" (VDT) in which individual villages act as operational units, but interlinked with other villages and PDT.