Almost six in ten Europeans feel they are not well prepared for disasters or emergencies

In this analysis we examine the Special Eurobarometer 547 on risk awareness and preparedness of the EU population. The Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO) commissioned this survey to assess the awareness of EU citizens and their preparedness to face various disasters. Verian (formerly Kantar Public) conducted the survey.

3 key takeaways:

• Just 37% of EU citizens feel well prepared for disasters or emergencies in their area.
• Almost two thirds of respondents agree that they need more information to be able to prepare for disasters or emergencies.
• Individuals who use the internet less frequently, are less affluent and less educated report feeling less prepared for disasters and emergencies.

Context: Disasters and risk preparedness in the European Union

Between 1980 and 2020, natural disasters affected almost 50 million people in the EU. At the same time, projections suggest that the effects of climate change will only make disasters more frequent and severe. This emphasises the need for prevention and preparedness initiatives within the EU to face these challenges. Recently, devastating floods in Central Europe and raging wildfires in Southern Europe have further highlighted the necessity for such measures.

The EU plays a crucial role in coordinating disaster responses across Europe and beyond. For instance, the European Commission established the ‘European Disaster Resilience Goals’ to increase disaster-preparedness. Additionally, the ‘EU Civil Protection Mechanism’ is Europe’s key response to disasters and crises.

Risk preparedness in the European Union

According to the Special Eurobarometer 547, only 37% of the EU citizens agree that they feel well prepared for disasters or emergencies that may happen in the area where they live. In contrast, almost six in ten (58%) disagrees with this statement.

The following figures further reflect this perceived lack of preparation by EU citizens:

Only one third of respondents consider that emergency services or authorities encourage them to take training or prepare for disasters or emergencies. Similarly, only one quarter of respondents consider that their employer or school does so. Moreover, almost two thirds of respondents (65%) agree that they need more information to be able to prepare for disasters or emergencies.

On a positive note, more than eight in ten respondents (85%) across the EU trust emergency services and authorities to properly handle disasters or emergency situations. This trust is crucial for an effective disaster response.

Risk preparedness in the EU Member States

There are considerable differences in perception between EU Member States. For example, 65% of respondents in Slovenia agree that they feel well prepared for disasters or emergencies, compared to only 25% in Malta.

A further exploration of this finding reveals the following insights:

In Slovenia, Finland and Sweden, the three countries where the population feel the most prepared, the proportion of respondents who know what do in the event of a disaster and how they will be alerted by emergency services is well above the EU average.

By contrast, the figures for Malta and Portugal lie below the EU average. This highlights the large variability in perceived risk preparedness across Member States.

The Digital Divide, Financial Stability and Education

Additionally, an analysis of respondents’ risk preparedness based on their socio-demographic characteristics provides valuable insights.

Firstly, the frequency of internet usage may influence risk preparedness:

• Individuals who report never using the internet or having no internet access feel less informed about disaster risks than those who use the internet daily (respectively 34% and 36% vs 50%).
• This pattern also holds for awareness of how emergency services alert the population (respectively 38% and 49% vs 60%).
• Furthermore, people who use the internet daily are more likely to have three or more disaster emergency measures in place than those who never go online.

These findings hint towards consequences of the digital divide. In fact, digital technologies play a vital role in disaster-preparedness. Recognizing this, the UN ‘Early Warnings for All’ initiative aims to ensure everyone is protected by early warning systems by 2027.

Secondly, financial stability appears to affect risk preparedness:

• Those who report never having trouble paying their bills are more likely to agree that they feel well informed about disaster risks, compared to those facing financial difficulties most of the time (53% vs 33%).
• Similarly, relatively financially secure respondents are more likely to feel well prepared for disasters and emergencies than those facing difficulties paying their bills (39% vs 24%).

Across all EU countries, 39% of respondents say they have no time or money to prepare properly, thus emphasising the crucial role of financial stability for risk preparedness.

Lastly, the longer respondents are in education, the more prepared they seem to be for risks:

• 40% of respondents who ended education at the age of 20 or after feel well prepared for disasters and emergencies. This stands in contrast to 27% of respondents who ended education aged 15 or younger.
• Similarly, more than half of highly educated respondents (52%) report knowing what to do in case of an emergency vs 34% of those who left school earliest.
• This pattern also holds for knowing how emergency services will alert the population (64% vs 45%).

These patterns appear to confirm previous findings that, for example, one’s access to services and socio-economic status affect disaster risk and resilience. Overall, these findings highlight the need for extensive risk preparedness and risk awareness measures that incorporate these sociodemographic dimensions.

Methodological Information

This Special Eurobarometer 547 on the risk awareness and preparedness of the EU population was part of the Eurobarometer wave 101.1 and was conducted between 7 February and 3 March 2024. Interviews were conducted face-to-face with a total of 26.411 European citizens across all 27 Member States. At the national level, weights are used to match the responding sample to the universe on gender by age, region, and degree of urbanisation. For European estimates (i.e. EU average), an adjustment is made to the individual country weights, weighting them up or down to reflect their 15+ population as a proportion of the EU 15+ population.