Influence of built environment and risk perception on seismic evacuation behavior: Evidence from rural areas affected by Wenchuan earthquake

Abstract

During the decade after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, numerous earthquakes of different magnitudes have occurred in the affected areas. The need for immediate emergency evacuation following the occurrence of disaster was unanimously recognized by experts as the safest and most effective response of residents. Moreover, this behavior is directly influenced by residents' perceptions of disaster risk and built environment (BE). To explore the relationship between seismic evacuation behavior and perceptions of risk and BE, this study utilized a random survey in the form of a sample questionnaire in the areas most affected by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, combined with exploratory factor analysis and binary logistic regression analysis. Results show that residents' BE and risk perceptions positively affected their evacuation choice behavior. Specifically, when rural residents perceived a reasonable evacuation route and good quality of village roads, they would flee their homes as soon as an earthquake struck. With regard to seismic risk perception, if the residents perceived highly negative consequences from earthquakes, they would escape immediately as soon as an earthquake occurred. This conclusion highlights the importance of strengthening the construction of BE in disaster-prone areas, and raising residents’ awareness and risk perception of earthquake disasters. This study has practical significance in further construction of earthquake-stricken areas.