The Effectiveness of Risk Communication to Raise Awareness of Natural Hazards

This doctoral thesis studies the effectiveness of real-life risk communication efforts that include visuals and aim to increase the awareness of populations at risk of natural hazards. Several methods are used. To obtain a picture of the current state of research and practice, a qualitative approach is followed, including a literature review of risk communication concerning floods and interviews with designers of Smartphone Apps on avalanche danger. To measure the effectiveness of a real risk communication effort, a quantitative approach is followed, including statistical analysis of survey responses and Radio-Frequency Identification technology. The studied risk communication effort is the ‘Alerte’ exhibition, held in the French Alps, which was designed with the local stakeholders following an action-oriented approach.