Flash floods result in substantial damage, yet flash floods are seldomly looked at independently of other natural hazards. Currently, flood experts perceive the public’s risk perception very differently from how the public views their own risk perception. This information gap leads to less effective and efficient communication methods of flood warning processes. Administering over 300 online surveys in southwest Virginia, the authors found that residents in that area do have a general knowledge base of floods, however, this knowledge base is not adequate for appropriate responsiveness of the possible effects of floods. Additional findings include: younger adults are not as concerned about floods since their knowledge base is not as complete, the public pays attention to floods, increased previous experience lowers perceived risk, and the current method of communicating flash floods does not meet the public’s expectations regarding the level of detail needed.
