Abstract
Household- and community-level preparedness have been re-emphasized after recent major earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan. The paper examines the prevalence and the determinants of disaster preparedness among the residents of a provincial city in Japan at both levels. Furthermore, it seeks to uncover the associations between household- and community-level preparedness activities to test the hypothesis that a complementary relationship exists between them. We used a subset of a population-based household questionnaire survey of 4000 randomly sampled households in Komoro City in the Nagano Prefecture of Japan in February and March of 2011. The questionnaire included specific questions to measure disaster the preparedness status at both the household and community levels. The characteristics and associations of household- and community-level preparedness were analyzed with multivariable logistic regression models. We found insufficient disaster preparedness at both household and community levels. Older, female, and better educated household heads were associated with better household preparedness, while length at residence, non-single status, presence of an elderly household member, and farming occupations were associated with better community preparedness. Households with one or more household-level preparedness measures were more likely to receive community assistance than those lacking them. The relationship between household and community preparedness was not complementary. Hence, a large proportion of the households were unprepared at both the community and household levels.
Highlights
Strengthening disaster preparedness is a top priority of disaster management programs at both national and local levels (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, 2007)
41% lived in the center of the city, 57% in a street with voluntary disaster preparedness organization (VDPO), 15% in single households, 24% with children under 15 years, 19% with elderly aged 75 years or older, 17% with one or more family members requiring special assistance; 75% had lived in the city for 20 years or longer, and 26% indicated concern about natural disaster (Table 1)
Female, and better-educated household heads were associated with better household preparedness, while length of residence, nonsingle status, the presence of an elderly household member, and farming occupations were associated with better community preparedness
Summary
Strengthening disaster preparedness is a top priority of disaster management programs at both national and local levels (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, 2007). Preparedness plans for householdsthat are based on the individual and/or household responsibility and those for communitiesthat are based on the mutual assistances within the community, have been highlighted as areas for improvement (Central Disaster Management Council, 2011). The emergency responses of local and national governments often cannot reach affected populations immediately after an event, especially when a disaster strikes a large area at the same time. The preparedness of individuals, households, and communities, along with that of the government, is crucial for improving community resilience in the face of a disaster (Central Disaster Management Council, 2011; Diekman, Kearney, O’Neil, & Mack, 2007; Kapucu, 2008; Norris, Stevens, Pfefferbaum, Wyche, & Pfefferbaum, 2008). Several events associated with the Great East Japan Earthquake (March 2011) have confirmed the importance of community preparedness (e.g., mutual aid in neighborhoods, schools, and communities) (Japanese Red Cross Society, 2011; Matanle, 2011; Nakahara, 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
