Investigating the Feasibility of Using Virtual Reality to Study Human Response to Flood Risk in 3D Flood Simulation

Mortality during floods is often related to human actions and perception of risk during emergencies. However, the lack of real-world data makes it difficult to study how people make decisions and act. Virtual reality (VR) offers a solution by simulating flood scenarios in controlled settings, enabling a deeper understanding of human risk perception and actions. Taking advantage of VR, this study designs a game-like flood event by simulating the continuously rising water on the street in the Unity 3D game engine, and aims to study how human responses vary when human are walking on the street or sitting in the driver's seat under different conditions of rain level (``normal" or ``heavy"), illumination (``day" or ``night"), and warning (``warning notification" or ``no warning"). Also, learning from protection motivation theory (PMT), this study aims to investigate how people's perception of flood risk and their belief in self-protection during preparedness affect their decision making for exiting a flood emergency. Results from 50 participants show that: 1) Females exhibit longer response times and greater tolerance for flood risk compared to males; 2)Risk recognition takes less time when people are in the car than on the street; 3) ANOVA results show significant differences in response times between ``day" and ``night" conditions, and between ``no warning" and ``warning notification" scenarios; 4) Linear mixed-effects models suggest that higher confidence in self-protection efficiency correlates positively with earlier Flood risk recognition; 5) Higher levels of education and income may be associated with faster risk recognition and evacuation in the event of flooding. These findings highlight the variability in human perception based on different contextual factors, such as rain level, illumination and warning. Finally, the paper also discusses limitations and future research. Overall, this paper highlights the potential of VR simulations to enhance public understanding of Flood risks, promote awareness, and improve decision making in emergency contexts.