Observations on Residents’ Risk Awareness and Practice of Countermeasures against Natural Disasters in Mongolia: Questionnaire Survey Data of Khovd Citizens

Abstract

Due to global warming, natural disasters such as floods and heavy rains have been increasing in Mongolia. Furthermore, Mongolia has the world’s longest active fault and is at high risk of earthquakes. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the awareness of and responses to natural disasters in Mongolian citizens. The research method is the social survey using the questionnaire. The survey was conducted on residents of Khovd City in Khovd Province, located in western Mongolia. Research was conducted from 2018 September 1 to 30, and 956 valid questionnaires were returned (valid response rate: 95.6%). Main results of the investigation were as follows; The greatest risks of concern for residents were floods, dzud (cold and snow disaster), air pollution, and illness and injury. Awareness of earthquake risk was low. As a risk coping measure, obtaining weather information such as weather forecast is often practiced. On the other hand, there was little understanding of local hazards, emergency preparedness, or cooperation with neighbors. In Mongolia, the Disaster Countermeasures Act was amended in 2017, and the strengthening of self-help and mutual-help has been made an important issue. In the case of Khovd, it was suggested that it is necessary for each resident to enhance their understanding of risks and to establish a cooperative system with their neighbors for the disaster risk reduction.