Through a Glass Darkly: The Esk Valley Floods

Recent decades have seen a refocus from flood mitigation to risk reduction in favour of more proactive approaches to risk reduction and flood risk management. This study draws on the findings from surveys of residents in the Esk catchment of Hawkes Bay who experienced two significant flood events in 2018 and 2023 and residents’ perceptions of flood risk and precautionary behaviour. Key findings include residents’ low perception of flood risk, limited evidence of precautionary behaviour, a high level of trust in their local council's long track record in flood mitigation and the apparent reluctance of residents to make additional personal expenditure that supports precautionary behaviour for flood protection. Progress in adopting people‐centred approaches to flood risk management relies on stronger communication with residents about the limitations of existing flood mitigation measures, future flood trends, the potential cost savings of precautionary behaviour and the availability of simple, low cost actions for proactive protection.