Disaster risk awareness and preparedness of the EU population: Spain

The survey on disaster risk awareness in Spain reveals that citizens feel most vulnerable to extreme weather events (35%), followed by wildfires and forest fires (29%). In contrast, Spanish citizens perceive themselves as less vulnerable to disasters compared to other EU residents. Despite similar access to risk information, Spaniards feel less informed, engage less with disaster risk content, and take slightly fewer proactive steps to prepare. Most of their information comes from national and social media, and they place more trust in authorities and emergency management agencies than other EU citizens. However, despite this trust, there remains a need for stronger disaster awareness efforts in Spain.

This serial survey assesses the awareness of EU citizens about the disaster risks that could affect them, their preparedness to face various disaster risk scenarios, and the reliance they place on a range of actors in disaster situations. The survey also explores the engagement of EU citizens in voluntary work to increase disaster resilience.