Introduction
Despite advancements in engineering to mitigate flood disasters in recent decades, the occurrence of floods has remained a significant challenge. These floods can cause deaths and economic losses. Currently, flood risk management strategies focus on non-structural measures such as land use planning improvement, flood resilience, flood forecasting, flood warning, and insurance (Bradford et al., 2012). Integrated flood risk management, which takes into account the complete disaster cycle in flood prevention and management, is used by several countries worldwide (European Environment Agency, 2010). The importance of public participation in decision-making processes, particularly in flood risk management, has been recognized by international and regional treaties (Wehn et al., 2015). Therefore, establishing mechanisms for public participation is a crucial component of integrated flood management. The factors affecting public participation in processes to reduce flood risks are multidimensional and complex (Grothmann & Reusswig, 2006). They include individual/personal, psychological/cognitive, and environmental/geographical factors (Saravani et al., 2021; Masud et al., 2018; Bodoque et al., 2019; Grothmann & Reusswig, 2006); Poussin et al., 2014; Bubeck et al., 2012). Understanding these factors is essential for developing appropriate policies that encourage public participation in flood risk management programs. Therefore, the present study was aims to identify the factors affecting the participation of residents in flood risk management in the flood-prone rural areas of Golestan Province in Iran.

Method 
This is a descriptive survey study. The study population consists of the heads of households from 22 flooded villages in March 2019 in Golestan Province. Of these, 395 heads of households were selected, proportional to the population of each village. The tool for collecting data was a questionnaire designed based on the review of previous studies and interview with expert. The final draft of questionnaire had three main sections measuring demographic characteristics; flood characteristics and knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding floods; and required measures to reduce the damage caused by floods. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed based on the opinions of three experts, and the reliability was confirmed by calculating Cronbach’s α, which was obtained 0.79. The statistical analyses were done in SPSS  software, version 16 and Excel using descriptive and inferential statistics. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of participation in flood risk management from among demographic, environmental, and KAP variables. Before implementing the regression analysis, its various assumptions were checked.

Results 
The results showed that most of the participants were not familiar with the principles and methods of flood management and perceived that floods cannot be prevented and managed. In some measures such as controlling the safety of the building’s electricity, water, and gas networks (48.86%), avoiding placing expensive furniture and personal documents in the basement and other possible pathways of water (47.09%), obtaining weather information and news from government agencies regarding flood warning (45.32%), avoiding putting toxic and dangerous substances in the pathways of water (45.06%), the participants had more participation, maybe because they did not need to spend cost and were related to the asset safety and protection. Some educational and financial measures were given less attention, including participation in food preparedness maneuvers/events at at the local level (1.77%), participation of family members in educational classes related about preventive measures before and during floods (2.78%), participation in educational classes on for gaining knowledge of preventive measures before and during floods (5.32) and having enough savings for current household expenses during floods (6.33%), may be because they did not had the conditions for their implementation. 
The results of the regression analysis showed that the variables of literacy (P=0.000, β =0.357), annual income (P=0.000, β=0.243), distance of the house from the nearest river (P=0.000, β=0.242), perception of the accuracy of flood warnings (P=0.185, β=0.000), familiarity with the principles and methods of dealing with floods (P=0.000, β=0.137), belief in the possibility of flood control and management (P=0.002, β=0.118) and receiving flood warnings (P=0.021, β=0.088) played a significant role in predicting the participation of residents in flood risk management measures. 

Conclusion 
In this study, the importance of having knowledge of flood management in participation of residents in flood risk management was reported. Therefore, increasing knowledge and awareness of flood preparedness, sharing knowledge of flood management among local residents, and increasing awareness about how to obtain and use meteorological data should be included in educational courses provided by regional and local organizations. This study provides valuable information that may be useful for policymakers to promote public participation in disaster management, including flood risk management in different regions of Iran. The research highlighted the challenges of people in rural areas of Golestan Province in reducing the flood risk, such as low budget and low knowledge and awareness about flood management. It is recommended to promote public participation by integrating solutions derived from the perceptions of local people and governmental actions, and providing education to local people. 

Ethical Considerations

Funding
This article is the result of a research project (Code: 67-474-01) that was funded by the Research Vice-Chancellor of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Authors' contributions
Study design, funding, statistical analysis and initial draft preparation: Gholamhossein Abdollahzadeh; Methodology, questionnaire design, data collection and final approval: Mohammad Sharif Sharifzadeh.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements
Thanks are given to the Research Vice-Chancellor of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources for funding this research.



References
Abdolalizadeh, F., & Khorshiddoust, A. M. (2023). [Synoptic-dynamic analysis of heavy rainfall leading to flooding in Golestan province in March 2019 (Persian)]. Journal of Water & Soil, 37(1), 145-164. [Link]
Ardalan, A., Naieni, K. H., Honarvar, M. R., Kabir, M. J., Zanganeh, A. M., & Keshtkar, A. A. (2009). [The early warning system for flash floods in Golestan Province: The model of village disaster taskforce (Persian)]. Payesh, 8(2), 147-154. [Link]
Azizi, E., Mostafazadeh, R., Hazbavi, Z., Esmali Ouri, A., & Mirzaei, S. (2021). [Introducing the Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI) as a flood crisis management tool (Persian)]. Disaster Prevention and Management Knowledge, 11(2),158-165. [Link]
Azizpour, F., Hamidi, M. S., & Chabok, J. (2016). [The role of local participation in flood risks management in rural areas case study: Villages in the Bashar River Basin in Boyer Ahmad City (Persian)]. Journal of Spatial Analysis Environmental Hazards, 2(4), 77-94. [Link]
Bodoque, J. M., Díez-Herrero, A., Amérigo, M., García, J. A., & Olcina, J. (2019). Enhancing flash flood risk perception and awareness of mitigation actions through risk communication: A pre-post survey design. Journal of Hydrology, 568, 769-779.‏ [DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.11.007]
Bradford, R. A., O’Sullivan, J. J., Van der Craats, I. M., Krywkow, J., Rotko, P., & Aaltonen, J., et al. (2012). Risk perception - issues for flood management in Europe. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 12, 2299-2309.‏ [DOI:10.5194/nhess-12-2299-2012]
Bubeck, P., Botzen, W. J. W., Kreibich, H., & Aerts, J. C. J. H. (2012). Long-term development and effectiveness of private flood mitigation measures: An analysis for the German part of the river Rhine. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 12(11), 3507-3518.‏ [DOI:10.5194/nhess-12-3507-2012]
Büchele, B., Kreibich, H., Kron, A., Thieken, A., Ihringer, J., & Oberle, P., et al. (2006). Flood-risk mapping: Contributions towards an enhanced assessment of extreme events and associated risks. Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 6, 485-503.‏ [DOI:10.5194/nhess-6-485-2006]
Eftekhari, R., Pour Taheri, A., Sadeghloo, L., & Sajasi, H. (2011). [Analyzing of people attitude to reduction the effect of natural disaster (flood) in rural area whit emphasis on participatory management: A case study of flooded villages in Gorganrood area of Golestan province (Persian)]. Geography, 9(28), 29-58. [Link]
European Environment Agency. (2010). Mapping the impacts of natural hazards and technological accidents in Europe: An overview of the last decade. Copenhagen: European Environment Agency. [Link]
Grothmann, T., & Reusswig, F. (2006). People at risk of flooding: Why some residents take precautionary action while others do not. Natural Hazards, 38, 101-120.‏ [DOI:10.1007/s11069-005-8604-6]
Li, J., Nassauer, J. I., Webster, N. J., Preston, S. D., & Mason, L. R. (2022). Experience of localized flooding predicts urban flood risk perception and perceived safety of nature-based solutions. Frontiers in Water, 4, 210-218.‏ [DOI:10.3389/frwa.2022.1075790]
Masud, M. M., Sackor, A. S., Alam, A. F., Al-Amin, A. Q., & Ghani, A. B. A. (2018). Community responses to flood risk management-An empirical Investigation of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Malaysia. Marine Policy, 97, 119-126.‏ [DOI:10.1016/j.marpol.2018.08.027]
Merz, B., Hall, J., Disse, M., & Schumann, A. (2010). Fluvial flood risk management in a changing world. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 10(3), 509-527.‏ [DOI:10.5194/nhess-10-509-2010]
Messner, F., Penning Rowsell, E., Green, C., Meyer, V., Tunstall, S., & van der Veen, A. (2007). Evaluating flood damages: Guidance and recommendations on principles and practices. Flood site, T09-06-01. [Link]
Ministry of Energy. (2020). [National flood report (Persian)]. Tehran: Ministry of Energy. [Link]
Mirzaei, S., & Sadoddin, A. (2019). [Comprehensive flood financial losses assessment framework (direct, indirect, tangible and intangible): Flood incident on 17 April 2016, Nodeh Khandooz, the Gorganrood River Basin, Iran (Persian)]. Disaster Prevention and Management Knowledge, 9(4), 383-392. [Link]
Mohammadi, A., & Khorasani, M. (2015). [Study of relation between resettlement and Social capital in rural area (Case study resettlement in flooded villages in Golestan provience) (Persian)]. Spatial Planning, 5(3), 85-104. [Link]
Momeni, M. (2022). [Statistical analysis by using SPSS (Persian)]. Tehran: Moalef Publication. 
Poussin, J. K., Botzen, W. W., & Aerts, J. C. (2014). Factors of influence on flood damage mitigation behaviour by households. Environmental Science & Policy, 40, 69-77.‏ [DOI:10.1016/j.envsci.2014.01.013]
Que, T., Wu, Y., Hu, S., Cai, J., Jiang, N., & Xing, H. (2022).Factors influencing public participation in community disaster mitigation activities: A comparison of model and nonmodel disaster mitigation communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12278.‏ [DOI:10.3390/ijerph191912278] [PMID] 
Rajabizadeh, Y., Ayyoubzadeh, S. A., & Zahiri, A. (2019). [Flood Survey of Golestan Province in 2018-2019 and providing solutions for its control and management in the future (Persian)]. Iranian journal of Ecohydrology, 6(4), 921-942. [Link]
Ramazani, M. E., Khodapanah, K., & Majnouni-Toutakhaneh, A. (2021). [Investigation and analysis of human and environmental factors affecting the vulnerability of rural settlements to floods in 2017 in Ajabshir County (Persian)]. Journal of Environmental Erosion Research 11(4), 52-70. [Link]
Rufat, S., & Botzen, W. W. (2022). Drivers and dimensions of flood risk perceptions: Revealing an implicit selection bias and lessons for communication policies. Global Environmental Change, 73, 102465.‏ [DOI:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102465]
Seravani, C., Abdollahzadeh, G., Sharifzadeh, M. S., & Ghorbani, K. (2021). [Vulnerability assessment of households to flood risk in the rural areas: case study of Aqqala and Gomishan Counties (Persian)]. Journal of Spatial Analysis Environmental Hazarts, 8(2), 101-118. [Link]
Shakeri Rostami, H., Bagheri, A., & Saadodin, A. (2021). [Assessment of the flood risk governance in Iran according to the approach of policy arrangements (Persian)]. Iran-Water Resources Research, 17(3), 65-103. [Link]
Special Board of National Report on Floods. (2019). [Flood report (Persian)]. Tehran: Special Board of National Report on Floods.
ToulabiNejad, M., Haji Nejad, A., & Toulabi Nejad, M. (2022). [Factors affecting individual readiness against flood occurrence in the mountain villages susceptible to the flood of Poledokhtar Township (Persian)]. Journal of Geography and Environmental Hazards, 11(1), 117-139. [Link]
Wang, T., Lu, Y., Liu, T., Zhang, Y., Yan, X., & Liu, Y. (2022). The determinants affecting the intention of urban residents to prepare for flood risk in China. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 22(6), 2185-2199.‏ [DOI:10.5194/nhess-22-2185-2022]
Wehn, U., Rusca, M., Evers, J., & Lanfranchi, V. (2015). Participation in flood risk management and the potential of citizen observatories: A governance analysis. Environmental Science & Policy, 48, 225-236.‏ [DOI:10.1016/j.envsci.2014.12.017]