Stefan Leeffers (University College London): “It Will Rain: The Effect of Information on Flood Preparedness in Urban Mozambique”

Abstract:
Floods are among the costliest and most recurring natural disasters. Many governments provide disaster preparedness information, but there is limited evidence of the efficacy of such policies. Using a large-scale randomized experiment across 300 urban communities in Mozambique, I show that providing information on flood risk increased the implementation of suggested mitigation strategies, measured objectively (using a machine learning-based algorithm to detect solid waste, a major flood hazard, in over 25,000 photos) and through self-reported behaviors. I find evidence that increased risk awareness and positive spillovers on non-targeted households contribute to the treatment effects. I do not find differential effects by information medium or the number of targeted families within communities, which implies that even the cheapest mode of information delivery can have large effects. The findings show that information interventions are important in disaster risk management, even when prevalent risks occur.