An assessment of multiple variables predicting the psychological effects of flooding: Case study in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract. Floods are among the most disastrous environmental hazards, causing devastating tangible and intangible impacts. The psychological impact, which can be classified as intangible damage, is an important aspect of human’s well- being. The psychological impact of flooding has begun to receive attention in recent years, but the complexity of measuring it makes it less attractive to be considered in actual flood damage and risk studies. The present study seeks to evaluate the psychological impact of flooding experienced by households and business premises and the different factors that could be the determining variables of the psychological impact. A total of 217 respondents have participated in the empirical face-to-face survey conducted in different vulnerable places in Peninsular Malaysia. Through the willingness-to-pay (WTP) method, only 107 and 34 respondents from residential and business premises, respectively, expressed their agreement to spend on flood risk reduction efforts. The study found that flood durations and family sizes are statistically significant contributors to intangible damages for households, reflecting the intangible damages to residential sector. The results suggest a greater investment to support affected people’s welfare by improving community awareness and shelter facilities. These will enhance risk management efforts and reduce the psychological impacts to people at risk of flooding. The findings also revealed a key challenge: the inability to reliably infer intangible flood damages for business sectors through empirical evidence.