Understanding How Rural Communities Experience Flooding

New doctoral research is shedding light on how rural communities experience and respond to flooding and why their needs often differ from those of larger towns and cities.

Dr Dan Jones, Data Analyst at the Rural Services Network has completed a PhD at University of Chester, exploring the flood experiences of rural communities along the River Severn. The research ‘Advancing Contemporary Understandings of Rural Community Flood Experiences’, fills a major gap in existing studies, which tend to focus on urban areas, by focusing squarely on the realities of life for those living and working in small villages and rural towns.

Drawing on surveys and in-depth interviews with over 200 people, including residents, business owners and flood-risk management professionals, the study found that rural areas are far from uniform when it comes to flood vulnerability and resilience.

• Village residents were more likely to experience direct damage to their homes and land, and to report stress and mental-health impacts — but they also benefited from strong neighbourly support and community spirit.
• Rural towns, by contrast, often had better protective infrastructure and closer engagement with agencies, but sometimes less of the informal mutual help seen in smaller settlements.

The research also revealed clear differences between business types. Farms and land-based enterprises were most exposed because of their dependence on flood-prone ground, while service and hospitality businesses tended to be more flexible and able to adapt during flood events.

Across the study, Dan found that people’s life stage, sense of place and role within their community all shaped how they prepared for, coped with, and recovered from flooding. He also highlighted concerns about fairness in flood-risk management, with many rural residents feeling their needs are overlooked compared with urban centres.

Dan’s work calls for flood policies that are more locally tailored and sensitive to the diversity of rural life, recognising that resilience looks different in a hamlet, a village, or a market town.

“By listening to lived rural experiences, we can design fairer and more effective approaches to managing flood risk,” Dan explains.