Introduction
It is important to maximize public participation to manage crises caused by natural disasters such as floods. If the government cannot utilize the capacity of public participation in controlling flood crises, it has to incur irreparable costs. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are voluntary groups capable of playing a significant role in crisis management. This study aims to explore the perceptions of NGOs in Iran regarding public participation in flood relief during the 2019 flood in Chabahar city, Sistan & Baluchistan Province, south of Iran.

Methods
This is a qualitative study using the grounded theory. Participants were 25 members of NGOs who participated in relief operations during the 2020 flood in Chabahar city, who were selected using a purposive sampling method. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data. Member checking, analytical comparisons, and the auditing technique were used to determine the trustworthiness of the data. The data were analyzed using the grounded theory approach in three stages: Open coding, selective coding, and axial coding.

Results
Four themes were extracted as causal factors: formation and support of NGOs, quality of flood management, operational transparency, and media culture-building. These causal factors can influence the participation of citizens in flood crisis management. 
Five themes were extracted as intervening factors: Quality and manner of information dissemination, quality of relief goods distribution and relief services, quality of institutional trust and social-cultural conflicts. These factors can facilitate or limit the participation of citizens in flood crisis management and mitigate or alter the causal factors. 
Three themes were extracted as contextual factors: Regional public support for relief groups, cultural structure, and professional ethics of relief groups. These factors are any aspect of the context or environment that affects the participation of citizens in flood crisis management. 
Three themes were extracted as strategies: Education and information on relief efforts, a pragmatic/revolutionary approach to flood management, establishing participatory platforms and utilization of capacities. These factors are intentional actions taken to solve the challenges of public participation in flood crisis management. 
Three themes were extracted as the consequences of the 2020 Chabahar flood: Lack of coordination in flood management (with sub-themes of “people’s non-cooperation”, “legal problems”, “lack of preparation and planning”), inapplicable policies (with sub-themes of “risk-based management” and “politicization of management.”), personal-psychological consequences (with sub-themes of “public expectations” and “relief spirit”) and institutional distrust (with sub-themes of “distrust” and “profiteering”).

Conclusion
Various causal, intervening, and contextual factors influence public participation in managing crises caused by natural crises, such as floods. In this regard, some strategies were proposed in this study to solve the challenges of public participation in flood crisis management. Managing natural disasters largely depends on the cultural and social conditions under which relief actions are taken.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
All ethical principles in research have been observed in this article.

Funding
This research did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors. 

Authors' contributions
All authors equally contributed to preparing this article.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.


References
Afzali, R., Irankhah, A., & Momeni, H. (2018). [Investigating the role of ngo in preventing social injuries. Case study: Tehran (Persian)]. Geography and Human Relationships, 1(1), 569-592. [Link]
Akbari, H., & Safari, S. (2019). [Studying the social contexts of HIV Infection Using Grounded Theory Strategy (Persian)]. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Journal of Social Sciences, 15(2), 105-132. [DOI:10.22067/jss.v15i2.59908]
Almond, G. A., & Verba, S. (2015). The civic culture: Political attitudes and democracy in five nations. Princeton University Press. [Link]
Asgari, A. (2018). [Developing an appropriate strategy for crisis management in District 12 of Tehran Municipality (Persian) [MA thesis]. Eslamshahr: Islamic Azad University Islamshahr Branch. 
Basirian, H., Abodolhosseini, M., & Bordbar, M. (2016). [Assessment of goals and motives of social media and crisis management students: The role of smart phones in social activism (Persian)]. Rasaneh, 27(1), 57-83. [Link]
Berenjkar, M. (2019). [Effective factors in using information technology in municipal crisis management (Persian)]. Paper presented at: 6th National Conference on Applied Research in Computer Engineering and Information Technology, Tehran, Iran, 13 February, 2019. [Link]
Blistanova, M., Katalinic, B., Kiss, I., & Wessely, E. (2014). Data preparation for logistic modeling of flood crisis management. Procedia Engineering, 69, 1529-1533. [DOI:10.1016/j.proeng.2014.03.151]
Eamaeilnezad, M., Karimi, S., & Khabazi, S. (2019). [Synergism and Spatial Zoning of Natural Hazards (Case Study: South Khorasan Province) (Persian)]. Physical Geography Quarterly, 44(12), 99-118.[Link]
Elmi, M. (2021). [Social factors related to the participation of Tabriz citizens in the process of sustainable development of the city (Persian)]. Journal of Human Geography, 13(3), 67-86. [Link]
Firoznia, Gh., Nosrat, N., & Ghaderi, R. (2021). [Evaluation of resilience of villages in Barough rural District, Miandoab, in Case of Blocked Roads Due to Snowfall (Persian)]. Journal of Physical Development Planning, 6(2), 73-89. [Link]
Francis, F. (2000). The end of the order [A. Tavasoli, Persian trans.]. Tehran: Iranian Community Publications. [Link]
Habibi, M., & Saeidi Rezvani, H. (2007). [Participatory planning: Concept distinction and evaluation of Iranian experiences (Persian)]. Soffeh, 15(43), 50-70. [Link]
Habibzadeh Maleky, A., & Javadian, R. (2011). [Media strategy in crisis management (Persian)]. Development of Logistics and Human Resource Management, 5(18), 103-123. [Link]
Heydari, M. , Ghasemi, V. , Renani, M., & Iman, M. (2020). [A paradigmatic model of tax culture among taxpayers in the City of Isfahan (Qualitative Research in Economic Sociology) (Persian)]. Two Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Sociological Research, 8(15), 1-35. [DOI:10.22084/csr.2020.19588.1672]
Ibembe, J. D. B. (2007). NGOs, millennium development goals and universal primary education in Uganda: A theoretical explanation. Human Services Today, 4(1), 1-23. [Link]
Jahanbani, M. A., Ahmadi, M., & Behzadfar, M. (2021). [Identifying and prioritizing the factors affecting the strengthening of collective participation in the implementation of urban development projects (Case study: Tehran metropolis) (Persian)]. Quarterly of New Attitudes in Human Geography, 13(3), 1-18. [Link]
Jasionowski, A. (2011). Decision support for ship flooding crisis management. Ocean Engineering, 38(14-15), 1568-1581. [DOI:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2011.06.002]
Li, W., Feng, T., Timmermans, H. J., Li, Z., Zhang, M., & Li, B. (2020). Analysis of citizens’ motivation and participation intention in urban planning. Cities, 106, 102921. [DOI:10.1016/j.cities.2020.102921]
Lipson, B., & Warren, H. (2006). ‘Taking stock’ - A snapshot of INGO engagement in civil society capacity building. Paper presented at: INTRAC Civil Society and Capacity Building Conference, Oxford, England, December 2006. [Link]
Moghimi, E. (2015). [Risk knowledge (for a better quality of life) (Persian)]. Tehran: University of Tehran. [Link]
Nasripoor, A., Arbabi, A., Sohrabi, M., & Joodaki, H. (2021). Investigating the effective factors of urban crisis management against natural disasters (case study of Baqershahr city) (Persian)]. Geographical Journal of Territory, 18(70), 21-40. [Link]
Norozi, S. and Javan Forouzandeh, A. (2021). [Analyzing the aspects of participation concept in the process of public space design (Persian)]. Motaleate Shahri, 10(38), 49-62. [Link]
Saberizadeh, M., & Daghighi, A. R. (2019). [Investigating the effects of natural disasters (floods) on the value added of the road transport sector (Persian)]. Journal of Transportation Research, 16(1), 337-346. [Link]
Sharif Zadeh, F., & sadeghi, J. (2009). [Determining influential factors on improving citizen Participation in urban affair administration (Persian)]. Management Studies in Development and Evolution, 19(59), 47-70. [Link]
Wiśniewski, B. M. (2020). The formation of a pluralistic society and its impact on climate change - implementation of the lifelong learning concept. Oceanologia, 62(4), 588-592. [DOI:10.1016/j.oceano.2020.03.009]