ABSTRACT
Bangladesh is located on an active delta with a high instability of the atmosphere and is highly exposed to climate risks and nature disasters. This research shows the social vulnerability caused by different natural disasters and indicates community knowledge and practice to minimize the major effects due to natural hazards. Outcomes of this study are to analyze elements that contribute to disaster risk reduction via community knowledge sharing. The study has been conducted at three villages as, Henchi from Shyamnagar, Satkhira; Barunpara from Batighata, Khulna and Holdibuniya from Mongla Upazila under Bagerhat district. A community’s preparedness for natural disaster is measured by their level of knowledge. Henchi village’s real level of knowledge is 1.55. Holdibuniya villager’s disaster preparedness knowledge score is 1.62. Barunpara and Henchi belongs to medium resilient status having 60% and 57% of the community resilience score respectively where Holdibuniya belongs to resilient status having 63% of resilience score. Hypothesized relationship between knowledge sharing and social exchange variables tells mixed story about each study area. The findings show that local communities’ trust, reciprocity, and readiness to share information are influenced by sharing behavior, trust, and reciprocity. This discovery will help us understand the motivations of individuals to share knowledge and conduct the risk management of hazards in their communities.
