Assessment of Disaster Risk Reduction Practices in Mauritius

International audienceDisasters are phenomenon that occurs worldwide, and Mauritius being a small island state has not been spared from its wrath. Studies have been carried out on disaster and resilience in various developing countries; however those that involve the community are scant. Against this backdrop, this chapter attempts to gauge the level of awareness and engagement of the Mauritian community on disaster risk reduction along with highlighting most appealing innovations that should be adopted. A survey was administered online which garnered 384 responses and 4 focus groups were also conducted with a total of 12 participants from different institutional groups. The results show the community engagement in disaster risk management is low, and they found that the support provided has not been effective in the past. There is a relationship between knowing when a disaster will occur, and protection measures adopted in the country. A difference in the participation of the community in disaster risk management across the different sectors has been noted. Finally, the respondents chose Education measures, Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction Services, and Social Networking Services as the most effective innovations for disaster risk reduction in Mauritius