Prioritization Community Selection Criteria for Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction Intervention

Since society is the first respondent to every disaster, it is essential that the community’s ability to cope with such a situation increase. Given the importance of the role of society in the current approach to disaster risk management, the choice of the primary society is important in order to achieve greater success and acceptance in other societies. This study aimed to determine the importance of community selection criteria in community-based disaster risk management interventions.

Using the qualitative technique with the nominal group technique, community-based selection criteria for implementing a people-centered disaster management intervention from the viewpoint of the 12 different organizations in Kerman, which have been involved with risk management, have been developed through four stages of idea creation, idea registration, idea clarification, and prioritization, which was investigated.

In this study, 38 criteria for choosing a community were outlined in the idea of registration. At the stage of defining ideas, the four criteria were combined due to non-relevancy and five criteria due to similarities with other criteria. The remaining criteria are classified into four main categories: hazard and risk, organizational capacities, social capacities, and social indicators.

Due to resource constraints and the impossibility of implementing the program in all societies, it is necessary to define the criteria for selecting communities (as one of the stages of implementing a people-centered disaster management plan), by the matrix system, by rating the best locations from the target communities carefully, and according to the views society itself.