Earthquake and fire hazard risk perception: A study on the emerging Rangpur City of Bangladesh

Rangpur city is one of the emerging cities of Bangladesh. In 2012, this city upgraded from municipality to city corporation. Consequently, the population of the city started to grow very rapidly; as a result, the multi-hazard environment intensified in the city. Moreover, Ranpur city is very much vulnerable to earthquake and fire hazard. Therefore, we investigate the risk perception of earthquake and fire hazard in this city. Questionnaire survey and semi-structured interview have been conducted in fifteen electoral wards of Rangpur city. Afterwards, we analyse the data in SPSS and map in ArcMap platform. The study results show that sociodemographic indicators such as gender, household ownership type, residential floor etc. likely influence the risk perception of the citizens of the city. We also find that the spatial distribution of risk perception of both hazards is diversified at electoral ward level. At the same time, we also observe that the preparedness on both hazards is not satisfactory. Based on the findings of the study, we recommend a few planning guidelines and policy interventions for the disaster resilience of Rangpur city.