Man and the results of his work are distributed according to the decisions he makes. In endeavouring to interpret and explain the spatial distribution of any particular phenomena reflecting man's actions over a part of the earth's surface, the geographer should, of necessity, take account of human behaviour and, in particular, individual decision making. This may not be an easy task since decision making is a complex process involving many variables. Nevertheless, geographers are devoting increasing attention to behavioural variables in their analyses of the man-land relationship. To this end the theme of environmental perception is a significant one in geographic research since it is concerned with analysing human behaviour in terms of men's reaction to his environment. This study embraces the theme of environmental perception. Its particular concern is with man's view or awareness of flood hazard, and his attitude towards the adoption of measures for reducing flood damage. A single urban community with a history of flooding was chosen in order to examine the behaviour of residential managers (i. e. householders) towards flooding. In the chosen study area, Otorohanga, an evaluation of flood hazard perception by individual managers was made and their adjustments to this hazard analysed.