Influence of employment status on citizen preparedness for response to natural disasters

Abstract

Consequences of floods that affected the territory of Serbia in 2014 indicated a very low level of preparedness of population to respond to natural disasters. Therefore, the aim of quantitative research is to examine the impact of fear on the willingness of citizens to respond to a natural disaster caused by the flood in the Republic of Serbia. Bearing in mind all local communities in Serbia where floods occurred or where there is a high risk of flooding, the sample was randomly selected consisting of 19 of 150 municipalities and 23 towns and the city of Belgrade. The survey used the strategy of testing in households with the use of a multi-stage random sample. The research results show that the citizens who are employed, in a higher percentage/to a greater extent compared to citizens who are not have taken certain preventive measures aimed at reducing the tangible consequences of floods, would pay funds to an account to help flood victims, would engage in providing help to flood victims in the field, heavy rains make them think of preparedness for response and water level rise, they engaged in preparations for at least 6 months, do not do anything that would raise the level of preparedness to the next level, etc. The originality of the research lies in the fact that in Serbia the research has never been conducted to examine the state of preparedness of citizens to respond. Bearing in mind that the research is based on the territory of Serbia, the conclusions can be generalized to the entire population. The research results can be used when creating a strategy for improving the level of preparedness of citizens to respond.