Starominski‐Uehara, M. (2021). How structural mitigation shapes risk perception and affects decision‐making. Disasters, 45(1), 46-66. 

summary by Claude:

This paper examines the relationships between risk perception and structural measures like dams for flood mitigation in southeast Queensland, Australia. The key findings are:

1. Most residents believe that existing dams on the Brisbane River can reduce damage from major floods in the future, despite the dams not preventing damage from the 2010-2011 Queensland floods.

2. Residents attribute the 2010-2011 flood damage primarily to organizational decision-making regarding dam water releases, rather than a lack of trust in the dams themselves. They have low risk acceptance of future flood losses caused by mismanaged dam releases.

3. Contrary to the "levee paradox", most residents take protective actions like buying flood insurance and making home improvements, indicating they do not have a false sense of security from the dams.

The paper argues that enhancing organizational decision-making processes around dam operations, rather than residents' risk perceptions, should be the priority for reducing future flood impacts. It recommends facilitating protective actions by residents as part of an integrated flood risk mitigation approach.