Catastrophes of various kinds occur worldwide inflicting major human sufferings, more so in the less privileged regions of the world. Human beings react differently to different traumatic situations and to the threat of an event in spite of many common and constant underlying factors. Psychological reactions to catastrophic natural events like flooding and the perception of risk of flooding across varying communities thus becomes an interesting study.

Economic situation, lack of knowledge, resources, is assumed to give a totally different perspective to reactions and perception of risk and interpretation, especially in an underprivileged country like India compared to other countries. For the proposed session I would like to present the result of a study carried out in India. This will include reactions and responses of individuals and general public affected by flooding and perceptions of risk of flooding. The study will also focus on a comparison between the people affected and people at risk of flooding. Socio-cultural values, religion and superstition, common beliefs and expectations from authorities will be studied as underlying variables to what extent they might have an impact on behaviour of the individual in the situation and perception of oncoming risks.

Broader aspect of this study will be a comparative evaluation between India and Norway, two widely varying countries in terms of economic, social and cultural norms.

Majority of the Indian population reside in areas which have been previously affected by flooding or highly prone to flooding. Could perceptions vary among individuals within the society or is it simply poverty and unaffordability that drive these people into such hazardous areas. Lack of consciousness may seem to be an important variable, but what matters and what needs to be looked into is how threatened they actually feel?

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