Staying decision making process in disaster prone area: A grounded theory method study on fishermen community in Semarang Coast, Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose of the Study: In an increasing migration driven by climate change disaster, there are people who remain to stay in disaster-prone areas. Even though there is little research on migration to understand non-migrant people, this study seeks to understand the staying decision making process and understand how and why people stay in disaster-prone areas. Methodology: Grounded Theory Method (GTM) is used in this research. The qualitative approach in this study is intended to gain individual insights to reveal the process and steps of staying decision-making in disaster prone-areas. Applications: This study was conducted in the Semarang coastal area, which is simultaneously prone to three disasters, i.e., sea level rise, land subsidence, and tidal inundation. The study shows that staying decision-making was taken in household units. The staying decision-making process consists of interactions between four components: availability of options, motives, expectations, and incentives. Results: Exploring the decision to stay is an opportunity to understand migration processes in a new way. This research adds a conceptual study to the migration literature on the basis of existing theories to explain immobility in disaster-prone areas.