Dr Ayse Yildiz

Dr Ayse Yildiz is an Assistant Professor in Risk at the University of Leicester and Programme Director for the MSc in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management. She holds a PhD in Disaster Risk Reduction from the University of Portsmouth, UK. She is the co-lead of the Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management research group and a fellow of the University of Leicester’s Institute for Environmental Futures.

With over 13 years of experience across academia and professional disaster risk management, her research focuses on climate and disaster risk management, community-based disaster resilience, disaster preparedness, risk perception, and child-centred disaster risk reduction. Her work integrates academic knowledge with real-world practice and has involved extensive fieldwork in Türkiye, Nepal, Japan, Iraq, and the UK. Before joining academia, she worked at Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, where she developed disaster education programmes, conducted training and simulation exercises, and contributed to national disaster resilience plans.

Dr Yildiz is the co-editor of Disaster and Climate Risk Education: Insights from Knowledge to Action, alongside Professor Rajib Shaw, and serves as an Associate Editor for Elsevier’s Progress in Disaster Science. Her research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including an ABS 4* journal. She also organises international seminars and webinars that contribute to global knowledge exchange on disaster resilience, risk reduction, and crisis management. She has been invited as a keynote speaker and visiting scholar to share her insights with academic and practitioner audiences.

Books

Yildiz, A., Shaw, R. (eds). 2024. Disaster and Climate Risk Education Insights from Knowledge to Action. Springer Nature Singapore. 2196-4114 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5987-3

Journal Articles

Shaw, R., Yildiz, A., Wardman, J., & Mohanty, S. K. (2026). Empowering earthquake risk management: a proposal for incorporating TQM (total quality management) into disaster reduction and recovery. Journal of Risk Research, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2025.2611557

Yildiz, A., & Görür, N. (2026). From scientific foresight to risk governance: reflections on earthquake resilience and the 2023 Türkiye disaster. Journal of Risk Research, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2025.2611948

Teker, Y., Bilgin, R., & Yildiz, A. (2026). Reflecting on the 6 February 2023, Türkiye-Syria earthquake: key lessons on disaster risk, response, and resilience. Journal of Risk Research, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2025.2611952

Yildiz, A., Wardman, J., Shaw, R., & Mohanty, S. K. (2025). Global lessons from disaster: rethinking risk and resilience in an age of compound crises. Journal of Risk Research, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2025.2611553

Yildiz, A., Simsek, N., & Boluk, A. (2025). Children’s voices in disaster recovery: Lessons from the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake. Children and Youth Services Review, 108715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108715

Yildiz, A. & Shaw, R. (2024). Perspective on future directions of risk-informed education: lessons from Japan and Türkiye. Journal of Risk Research, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2024.2368187   

Yildiz, A., Dickinson, J., Priego-Hernández, J., Teeuw, R. & Shaw, R. (2023). Effects of disaster education on children's risk perception and preparedness: A quasi-experimental longitudinal study. The Geographical Journal, 00, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12556

Balzter H, Macul M, Delaney B, Tansey K, Espirito-Santo F, Ofoegbu C, Petrovskii S, Forchtner B, Nicholes N, Payo E, ... Yildiz, A. (2023). Loss and Damage from Climate Change: Knowledge Gaps and Interdisciplinary Approaches. Sustainability, 15(15), 11864. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511864

Yildiz, A., Dickinson, J., Priego ‐ Hernández, J., & Teeuw, R. (2022). Children's disaster knowledge, risk perceptions, and preparedness: A cross‐country comparison in Nepal and Turkey. Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13937

Yildiz, A., Teeuw, R., Dickinson, J., & Roberts, J. (2021). Children's perceptions of flood risk and preparedness: A study after the May 2018 flooding in Golcuk, Turkey. Progress in Disaster Science, 9, 100143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2021.100143

Yildiz, A., Teeuw, R., Dickinson, J., & Roberts, J. (2020). Children's earthquake preparedness and risk perception: A comparative study of two cities in Turkey, using a modified PRISM approach. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 49, 101666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101666

Book Chapters

Robert., A, Yildiz., A., Ceber., K. (2025). ‘Governance for Disaster Risk Reduction’. Encyclopedia of Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4547-0_164-1

Bektas., N, Yildiz., A., (2025). ‘Critical Infrastructures for Disaster Risk Reduction’. Encyclopedia of Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4547-0_215-2

Pamaong, M.T.P., Yildiz, A., Shaw, R. (2025). Evolution of Disaster Education in the Schools: The Experience of Asia and the Pacific Region.Two Decades from the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-2669-4_12

Yildiz, A. & Shaw, R. (2024). Overview of the Concept: Disaster and Climate Risk Education. Disaster and Climate Risk Education: Insights from Knowledge to Action, pp 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5987-3

Yildiz, A., Chen, Y and Crook, P. (2024). ‘Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire (UK)’, The Encyclopedia of Technological Hazards and Disasters in the Social Sciences. Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 336. 

Ayse welcomes PhD candidates interested in any research related to the following topics:

• Climate and Disaster Risk
• Disaster Risk Reduction Education
• Disaster Preparedness
• Community-based Disaster Resilience
• Risk Perception
• Child Centred Disaster Risk Reduction

• Crisis Management
• Research Methods
• Dissertation Project 

• Associate Editor, Progress in Disaster Science - Elsevier
• Programme Director for the MSc in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management 
• Co-lead of the Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management (CDRM) Research Group
• School Engagement Lead, University of Leicester
• Member, Institute for Environmental Futures
• Member, Society of Risk Analysis

2024 Oxford University - Tunisia-UK Joint Research Workshop - Amount: £600

2024 ESRC IAA - Relationship Builder Scheme - Amount: £500

2023 Travel Grant for collaboration and new learning. Keio University, Japan – Amount: £1200

2023 Visiting Fellowship Award – Institute for Environmental Futures. University of Leicester, UK – Amount: £2700

2023 Internal Seedcorn Funding. Flood risk perception, preparedness, trust and risk communication: A case study of Rize, Turkey.  University of Leicester, UK – Amount: £1800

2022 Exceptional Performance Award 2022 – Coventry University Group

2019 Ortwin Renn Student Prize for Applied Risk Research. “The role of flood experience on children’s risk perception and preparedness.” The 28th SRA Europe. Annual Meeting, Potsdam, Germany – Amount: £750

2018 Postgraduate Research Students Conference Award. University of Portsmouth, UK – Amount: £500.

2024     Yildiz, A. 2024, September. Invited speaker. Learning from children's earthquake experiences. 6th International Congress on Geographical Education, Istanbul, Turkiye. 

2024     Yildiz, A. 2024, June. An Analysis of Flood Risk Management Strategies. “Risk in Time and Space." Europe Society of Risk Analysis, Athens, Greece.

2023     Yildiz, A. 2023, March. Invited speaker to Plenary Session. Children's disaster preparedness: Insights from Turkey’s recent earthquake and other case studies. Natural Hazards and Climate Change Conference. University of Szeged. Hungary

2019      Yildiz, A. 2019, June. The role of flood experience on children’s perception of risk and preparedness. “Systemic Risks: From Natural Hazards to Cyber Risks”. Europe Society of Risk Analysis, Potsdam, Germany.

2018      Yildiz, A., 2018, May. The effectiveness of disaster training centres: A case study in Bursa disaster training centre, Turkey. Poster presented at a child-centred disaster management framework for Europe, Lisbon, Portugal.

01.03.2023 Earthquake disaster in Turkey: relief, recovery and prioritising vulnerable groups - https://citizen.le.ac.uk/blog/relief-recovery-prioritising/

13.02.2023 Türkiye's earthquakes ‘destructive and terrible'- https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkiye/turkiyes-earthquakes-destructive-and-terrible-seismologist/2817474

08.03.2023 Between Hope and Fear: Afghan Women and Girls in Political Transition https://www.avoidable-deaths.net/adn-special-sessions/special-session-webinar-series-women/between-hope-and-fear-afghan-women-and-girls-in-political-transition/

01.10.2022 How Children Perceive Flooding Devastation https://omny.fm/shows/the-water-justice-podcast/turkey-floods-and-childrens-perspectives