Disaster Perception Research Articles

Design and validation of a questionnaire to assess the perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 in the colombian population.

To design and validate an instrument to assess the perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 in the Colombian population. Cross-sectional observational study of psychometric type with a sample of 2350 people between 16 and 65 years of age. The dimensions and items were proposed based the review of previous studies on the evaluation of risk perception of disease and disasters, by integrating the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization regarding self-protection measures and biosecurity protocols to avoid COVID-19 transmission. The validation process was carried out in two stages; the first stage included a review by expert judges who evaluated the clarity, sufficiency, and relevance of each item in relation to the variable and its dimension; in the second stage we carried out a confirmatory factor analysis and estimated internal consistency with the Cronbach's Alpha (α) and McDonald's omega (ω) indexes. The designed instrument had adequate psychometric properties to evaluate the risk perception of contracting COVID-19 (α=0.924), with four dimensions: cognitive vulnerability (α=0.873), emotional vulnerability (α=0.882), severity (α=0.893) and risk-protective behaviors (α=0.941). These findings show that the instrument to evaluate the risk perception of contracting COVID-19 (PCR-CV19) is a valid and reliable tool to assess contagion risk perception and can be adapted to different population groups and contexts.

Politicization of a disaster and victim blaming: Analysis of the Sewol ferry case in Korea

This study aimed to analyze the public perception of disaster victims through survey and media analyses. To compare the impact of the politicization of disasters, we examined three disaster cases that had a major impact on Korean society: the Sewol ferry tragedy, the Cheonan warship sinking accident, and the Humidifier disinfectant disaster. A comparative regression analysis showed that the Sewol ferry tragedy had strong political biases compared to the others. From a media big data analysis, the criticism to the Sewol victims intensified following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and the inauguration of a new government, both in number and discursive power. We concluded that legitimization theory can successfully explain this victim blaming mechanism. Conservative respondents blamed the Sewol ferry victims more because they had a strong tendency to defend the politically conservative regime of Korean society to maintain the traditional power landscape.

11~12세기 한‧중 재해 기록과 오행지(五行志)의 자료적 성격

This thesis aims to understand the characteristics of basic material as a research process for establishing the database of extraordinary astronomical phenomena and natural disasters in traditional society of Korea and China. The state had to predict and interpret the occurrence of eclipse and movement of stars. As the important environmental factor of agriculture-based society, understanding the causes for and coping with many natural disasters including flood or drought were the major tasks of the king and Royal Court. For this reason, the dynasties of Korea and China left the extraordinary astronomical phenomena and natural disasters as important records. The historical description of East Asia reflects the relation between understanding of natural environment and political philosophy of East Asia, which is significant as it is completely different from the current perception of natural disasters and natural science. However, it is difficult to fully understand the records as natural disasters and extraordinary phenomena. For this reason, there should be a process of analyzing and understanding the characteristics of basic materials. The Books of the Five Elements classified and organized the records of many natural disasters including weather phenomena. This thesis verified that the records of Books of the Five Elements, Bongi, and Sega were scattered without according with each other, and even a complex weather phenomenon that occurred on the same day was separately contained according to the five elements, so it was hard to find the connectivity. Also, in case of a disaster with the same content recorded in the same item, its meaning should be understood by examining the context depending on its characteristic like if it is a disaster or the resolution of a disaster. In case when it is not one-time phenomenon such as drought, rain, and thunder & lightning, the degree of natural disasters should be understood by considering the duration and period of occurrence. Such historical records in the Books of the Five Elements could describe more various images of history if they are complemented by other materials. Especially, 『Goryeosa Jeolyo』 is a chronological book of history that shows the consecutive disaster situation, which complements the segmentation of the Books of the Five Elements. Also, in the aspect of recording the natural disasters according to the standard of signs and punishment of heaven, it clearly shows the compilers’ view of natural disasters on the basis of sensation between heaven and man, which can present various implications. And 『Songhoeyojipgo』 more concretely records the process of coping with disasters compared to Bongi or Book of the Five Elements of 『Song-sa』, so it could be used as the material showing the concrete coping process and perception besides complementing the records.

A cluster-randomized trial study on effectiveness of health education based intervention (HEBI) in improving flood disaster preparedness among community in Selangor, Malaysia: a study protocol

BackgroundFlood disaster preparedness among the community seldom received attention. Necessary intervention must be taken to prevent the problem. Health Education Based Intervention (HEBI) was developed following the Health Belief Model, particularly in improving flood disaster preparedness among the community. The main objective of this study is to assess the effect of HEBI on improving flood disaster preparedness among the community in Selangor. This study aims to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of health education-based intervention (HEBI) based on knowledge, skills, and preparedness to improve flood disaster preparedness among the community in Selangor.MethodA single-blind cluster randomized controlled trial will conduct at six districts in Selangor. Randomly selected respondents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria will be invited to participate in the study. Health education module based on Health Believed Theory will be delivered via health talks and videos coordinated by liaison officers. Data at three-time points at baseline, immediate, and 3 months post-intervention will be collected. A validated questionnaire will assess participants’ background characteristics, knowledge, skill, and preparedness on disaster preparedness and perception towards disaster. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be applied for data analysis using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. Longitudinal correlated data on knowledge, skills, preparedness, and perception score at baseline, immediate post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention will be analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE).DiscussionIt is expected that knowledge, skills, preparedness, and flood disaster perception score are more significant in the intervention group than the control group, indicating the Health Education Based Intervention (HEBI).Trial registrationThai Clinical Trial TCTR20200202002.

Impact of Internet Information on Apple Growers’ Adaptive Behaviors to Frost Disasters: Theory and Empirical Research from the Perspective of Psychological Perception

As an effective tool for farmers to obtain agricultural information, the Internet has a profound impact on apple growers’ perception of frost disasters and their adaptive behaviors. This paper constructed the theoretical analysis framework of “Apple growers’ internet information acquisition-psychological perception-adaptive behavior to frost disaster”, based on the data of 1020 apple growers in Shaanxi Province, empirically analyzing the impact of Internet information on apple growers’ adaptive behaviors to frost disasters and its mechanism by the IV probit model and the intermediary effect model. The research found that the Internet information can significantly promote the apple growers’ adaptive behaviors to frost disasters and has different effects on apple growers with different income levels and different management capabilities. Risk perception, effect perception, and risk attitudes have significant intermediary effects in the influence of the Internet information on apple growers’ adaptive behaviors to frost disasters. Therefore, when governments take advantage of the Internet platform to help apple growers cope with frost disasters, they should fully consider the socio-economic conditions and psychological perception factors of apple growers and formulate targeted adaptation strategies.

Communication Skills and Disaster Preparedness of Junior High School Students

Aims: To correlate the communication skills and disaster preparedness of Grade 7 – 10 students
 Study Design: Descriptive correlation
 Place and Duration of Study: Maria Cleta R. Delos Cientos National High School, Padada, Davao del Sur, Philippines. The municipality of Padada was badly struck by series of earthquakes in 2019; magnitude 5.9 on July 16; 6.3 on October 16; 6.6 on October 29; 6.5 on October 31; and 6.9 on December 15. The collection of data from students was conducted almost two years after the incidents, particularly on 22nd of May to 1st of June 2021. 
 Methodology: Two instruments were used to obtain the data. First was the researcher-made validated flashcards. It was used to measure the students’ communication skills particularly general comprehension of disaster situations. The second instrument was a questionnaire adapted from the study of Tuladhar et al. 24 which was used to determine the students’ knowledge, readiness, awareness, adaptation, and perception of disaster. The study included 204 students who were at grades 7-10. 
 Results: Findings of the study disclosed that learners had high level of communication skills in general comprehension. The overall rating on the learners’ disaster preparedness was also high. The indicators for disaster preparedness was rated average and high in terms of knowledge, readiness, adaptation, awareness, and perception. There was no significant difference on the level of learners’ communication skills and disaster preparedness. However, a significant difference was found in indicator adaption on disaster preparedness.
 Conclusion: It was noted in the results that the students’ communication skills based on general comprehension and disaster preparedness are high and evidently high respectively. However, those results also reveal no significant difference. It only implies that an individual’s communication abilities do not determine their disaster preparedness. Conversely, it is worthy to note that adaptation is linked to communication skills. This means that continues input or supply of information to individuals, making those information form part of their schema may increase their disaster preparedness. Thus, academic institutions need to intensify their disaster risk reduction promotion so that students can adapt to them. Disaster preparedness may become part of the curriculum and school system. Disaster preparedness should not be put in isolation.

Generating Subjective Theories After a Disaster: The Role of Personality

The role of people's beliefs in their perception of disasters has been scarcely studied. In this study, we analyzed how people who experienced an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami employ subjective theories (ST) to explain their traumatic experience. This study aimed to interpret the explanations developed by a group of people about the earthquake and tsunami that took place in Chile in 2015. Thirteen episodic interviews were conducted as part of a qualitative case study. The participants' theories were grouped into four categories: the impact of personality on one's reaction to hardships; the existence of a link between personality and coping styles; the limited influence of personality on one's way of coping with difficulties; and changes in personality after experiencing hardships. These findings are discussed analyzing whether the participants' explanations could foster personal growth and psychological well-being after the catastrophe. How to cite: González-Palta, I., Castro-Carrasco, P. J., Cabrera, E., Jamet, P., & Leal-Soto, F. (2021). Generating Subjective Theories After a Disaster: The Role of Personality. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 30(2), 13-26. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v30n2.79061

Geographical indication agricultural products, livelihood capital, and resilience to meteorological disasters: evidence from kiwifruit farmers in China.

Developing geographical indication agricultural products will help to expand regional characteristic industries by taking actions that suit local circumstances. Improving the adaptability of the kiwifruit farmers to cope with meteorological disasters is conducive to promoting the optimization of rural industrial structure and the implementation of rural revitalization strategy. Based on the field survey data of Shaanxi Province, this research uses the method of natural breaks to classify the resilience scores of meteorological disasters under the framework of Sustainable Livelihoods Approach. Finally, the ordinal logistic regression model is used to quantitatively research how livelihood capital contributes to the resilience of kiwifruit farmers to meteorological disasters during the phenological phases. The results show that the perception of meteorological disasters by farmers does not significantly affect their resilience, and the impacts of different livelihood capitals on the resilience strategies of farmers are quite distinct: physical capital, financial capital, social capital, and human capital have significant positive impact on the resilience strategies of farmers, while natural capital has a significant negative impact on the resilience strategies of farmers. The results extend the theoretical foundation of resilience strategies for meteorological disasters in kiwifruit phenological phases and bring quantitative evidence linkage of livelihood capital and resilience strategies. Furthermore, the study emphasizes that the agricultural activities of kiwifruit farmers during the phenological phases should be combined with the livelihood capital guarantee measures, as well as a better financial environment should be created by government intervention. Paying attention to science popularization work of middle-aged and elderly farmers, accelerating the linkages between the government and the mass, would help the government to obtain the best agricultural management methods.

보육교사의 재난경험, 재난인식과 재난대비

This study was conducted to identify factors influencing of disaster preparedness for childcare teachers in from September to October 2019. The subjects of this study were 187 teachers at 20 childcare centers located in Seoul. The results show that 24.7% of childcare teachers had direct experience with disasters, and 91.5% experienced disaster preparedness education. Job-related disaster preparedness of childcare teachers caring for infants was higher than that of teachers caring for mixed age groups. The childcare teacher’s job-related disaster preparedness had a positive correlation with self-efficacy, perception of disaster, and general disaster preparedness. Factors influencing the childcare teacher’s job-related disaster preparedness were self-efficacy. In order to increase disaster management capabilities of childcare teachers, it is necessary to improve of self-efficacy. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and apply programs to improve self-efficacy related to disaster preparedness among childcare teachers.

Islamic-based Disaster Response Competencies: Perceptions, Roles and Barriers Perceived by Nurses in Aceh, Indonesia

Introduction:Indonesia, being a part of the Pacific “ring of fire,” is prone to disasters. Several disasters occurred from 2004 to 2019, which resulted in the loss of many lives. These disasters impacted the physical, psychological, psychosocial, and spiritual conditions of survivors. Nurses are the frontline care providers who need adequate competencies to respond to disasters.Objective:This study aimed to explore the nurses’ perception of disaster, roles, barriers, and Islamic-based nurses’ competencies in managing psychological, psychosocial, and spiritual problems due to disasters in hospital settings.Methods:This is a qualitative study conducted in three large referral hospitals in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Focus group discussion was conducted on 24 nurses from three hospitals using the discussion guide consisting of five open-ended questions. The data was analyzed through inductive content analysis.Results:The study found four themes of Islamic nurses’ competencies in disaster response: 1) perception about the disaster is influenced by religiosity, belief, and values, 2) communication skills, 3) nurses’ roles in disaster response consisted of disaster competencies (the use of Islamic values in managing patients’ conditions, and family engagement, 4) competency barriers consisted of inadequate training, insufficient Islamic-based services, and inadequate involvement of policymakers. This study explored Islamic nurses’ competencies in disaster response related perceptions about the disaster, nurses’ roles, and barriers. The limitation and future of the study were also discussed.Conclusion:Perceptions, roles, and barriers in disaster response might influence the development of the Islamic-based nurses’ competencies in care delivery.

Farmer’s perception on climate-related disasters and their impacts to support food farming

Changes and extreme climate events have an impact on and cause vulnerability to the food crop sub-sector. Extreme climatic events that have a significant impact on food farming are floods, drought, and pest/disease. The purpose of this study was to determine farmers’ perceptions of climate-related disasters and their impacts to support food farming. The survey and interviews were conducted in Leles Sub-District, Garut Regency in 2019, with the number of respondents was 28 people, were selected randomly. The results of the analysis showed that the climate-related disasters that occurred were pest/disease (43%), drought (18%) and floods (11%). The impact of extreme climates at the study site was a reduction in yields ranging from 5% to crop failure (puso). According to farmers, climate-related disasters occur as a result of weather factors, broken channels/embankments, excessive upstream water, closed drains, poor drainage and uneven water allocation to each land. The handling of this climate-related disaster by farmers was still limited. Farmers' perceptions, understanding and abilities in managing and anticipating climate disasters are needed in order to reduce the risk of food farming.

Community awareness about disaster preparedness: Principal component analysis (PCA)

Background and Aim: Responsibility for disaster preparedness is not limit- ed to healthcare institutions and healthcare providers; communities must also be involved. Knowledge of community members’ awareness of disaster preparedness will enhance and strengthen a community’s resilience to disaster. This study therefore explored factors related to community members’ perceptions of disaster. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract essential factors from the data. Questionnaires were used to collect ordinal (yes; no) and Likert scale (ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) data from visitors to the Department of Applied Medical Sciences at Taif University. The questions were designed to understand how participants prepare for dis- asters. Descriptive analysis and PCA were conducted using a PCA extraction method. Varimax rotation was used with Kaiser normalization, and loading on the factor had to be above 0.40. Results: Of the participants sampled, 383 (65.20%) respond- ed to the survey. The majority were male, and just over a quarter were female. Community members were found to lack emergency and disaster kits, safety measures, and fire extinguishers in their homes. In total, three factors were extracted by the PCA: (1) perception of government efforts, (2) readiness of community members, and (3) general knowledge regarding disasters. Conclusions: This study showed a lack of preparedness for and awareness of disasters. It is therefore recommended that the government facilitate and educate community members to ensure that all families have a well-established disaster plan.

Disaster Humanities after the Pandemic

The purpose of this paper is to examine from a humanistic perspective the aspects of change in the thought and perception of disasters after COVID-19 pandemic. Invisible viruses have brought significant changes to the way the humanities have dealt with disasters before.BR It begins with a reminder that Maurice Blanchot has been aiming for “L’écriture du désastre” since Auschwitz, saying he will “learn to think about the situation of disaster with pain.” It critically viewed the sensitivity of capturing disaster situations, such as the tentacles of “tentacles of sea anemones,” the racist nuance of post-disaster sentences, and the virus that is “equal” to everyone reveal the reality of an “unequal” society. Meanwhile, the emergence of new words such as

Disaster education in Turkey: Trends in theses and articles between 2003 and 2020

Many disastrous events have taken place in Turkey, most of which have been of natural origin. When the loss of life and property caused by these disasters is analyzed, the increasein recent years is striking. “Disaster education”, given in order to prevent and the negative consequences of such disasters, is of great importance. Within the Turkish educational system, courses in life sciences, social studies and science, and, in particular, in geography provide some scope for disaster education. At university level, disaster education courses may be offered directly or indirectly in departments of primary education, science, social studies and geography, as well as in specific courses on emergency and disaster management. The aim of this study was to evaluate studies of disaster education from kindergarten to university level. To this end, the document review method, one ofthe qualitative research techniques, was used. Two doctoral theses, 27 master’s theses and 29 scientific articles published between 2003 and 2020 were evaluated. These studies were foundas a result of an internet search using the keywords 'disaster' and 'disaster education' in the HEB Thesis database. The data obtained were analyzed using the content analysis method. The studies were evaluated according to the subject, method, findings and results of the research. As a result of the research, it was determined that the studies on disaster education have increased in quality and quantity in recent years. It was observed that studies have been carried out on a number of different subjects, from ‘information about disasters’ to‘perceptions of disasters’ to ‘disaster behaviors’, but that experimental studies were few in number. In the light of these results, recommendations are made aboutfuture disaster education.

Spatial–temporal differences in disaster perception and response among new media users and the influence factors: a case study of the Shouguang Flood in Shandong province

When human beings cannot avoid extreme climate disasters, it is widely accepted to take measures to address climate change. Research on ordinary people’s perception of disasters is not only helpful in formulating coping strategies, but also in improving the sustainable development of man and nature. With the rise of new media, more and more ordinary people can pay attention to disasters and express their opinions in time. From the perspective of the Weibo topic “Shouguang Flood,” web crawler is used to obtain the perception and comments of new media users in various provinces of China on the storm flood. Based on the Grounded theory, with the help of text analysis, user comments are divided into four latitudes: attention, cognition, response, and trust, and an index system is constructed. Then, the Likert scale method is used to assign scores to the corresponding indicators. Finally, the new media users’ perception of storm flood disasters is evaluated. The results show that users have more cognitive comments on the disaster in the middle and early periods after the disaster, and they are more inclined to express their emotions and attitudes and evaluate the government’s response to disasters in the middle and later periods. On the whole, new media users can clearly understand the severity of disasters but have low-risk awareness. At the beginning of the disaster, a large number of users show positive emotions in response to the disaster, but over time, low trust causes users to become negative. There are obvious differences in the perception of users in different regions. Users in disaster areas have higher levels of cognition and response than users in non-disaster areas. The psychological distance on the Internet and the effect of risk communication may be the main factors that cause the temporal and spatial differences in the perception of storms flood by new media users. Compared with questionnaires, perception data on the Internet can not only broaden the scope of research in this field, but also provide a timely understanding of the status quo of the general public’s perception of disasters.

근대(近代) 이후(以後) 중국(中國) 재난(災難) 인식(認識)의 변화(變化)

근대(近代) 이후(以後) 중국(中國) 재난(災難) 인식(認識)의 변화(變化)

An augmented representation method of debris flow scenes to improve public perception

ABSTRACT Virtual scenes can present rich and clear disaster information, which can significantly improve the level of public disaster perception. However, existing methods for constructing scenes of debris flow disasters have some deficiencies. First, the construction process does not consider public knowledge, which makes it difficult for the constructed scenes to meet the requirements of the public. Second, the scene representation emphasizes visual effects but lacks augmented visualization, leading to scarcity of semantic information and inefficient public perception. In this paper, the optimal selection of scene objects, semantic augmentation through the combination of various visual variables and dynamic augmented representation are discussed in detail. Finally, a debris flow that occurred Shuimo town is selected for experiment analysis. The experimental results show that most people are unaware of the risks posed by debris flow disasters. The public is more concerned about the consequences of a disaster than its spatiotemporal process, especially when the consequences are related to their own interests. Furthermore, an augmented representation can increase the amount of semantic information of scene objects, which is essential for enhancing public understanding of the causes, processes and effects of debris flows and thereby changing people’s attitudes and enhancing their risk perception.

The Role of Social Media as a Measures of Information Delivery to Reduce the Risk of Flood Disasters in Kecamatan Pasar Kliwon, Surakarta City in 2020

<em>This study aims to perceptions and responses to flood disaster risk reduction social media in Pasar Kliwon District, Surakarta City, 2020. Utilization of whatsapp social media as a means of delivering information to the public in an effort to reduce disaster risk flooding in Pasar Kliwon Subdistrict, Surakarta City, 2020. the impact of the use of whatsapp social media as a means of delivering information on community efforts to reduce the risk of flood disasters in Pasar Kliwon District, Surakarta.The results of the study are as follows: Perception of flood disaster in Pasar Kliwon Subdistrict, if viewed from the potential of the disaster, it can be categorized as very large. For flood disaster vulnerability is also categorized as flood disaster prone. And disaster mitigation is carried out in the form of responsiveness and preparedness from stakeholders. Here the use of social media as a means of delivering flood disaster information.</em>

Perception of Disasters and Land Reclamation in an Informal Settlement on Reclaimed Land: Case of the BASECO Compound, Manila, the Philippines

Southeast Asia’s coastal urban areas continue to grow, with land reclamation fast becoming an important option for megacities to address issues of economic growth and increasing population density. Experts are divided over the advantages and disadvantages of land reclamation, though this process continues unabated, exposing settlements to coastal hazards. The Bataan Shipping and Engineering Company (BASECO) compound is an informal settlement on reclaimed land in Manila, the Philippines. How informal coastal settlements view disaster risk and their more pressing socioeconomic needs is crucial to understanding the potentials and repercussions of land reclamation. Using a topographic survey, a questionnaire survey, and the protective action decision model, this study explored the perception of disasters and land reclamation of informal settlers who are living on reclaimed land. The study found that people are aware of disaster risks, but are more concerned with everyday needs. They are divided on the issue of further land reclamation. Residents on the original non-reclaimed land view it as a coastal defense, while those on reclaimed land fear potential eviction. Despite this, all locations in the community are concerned with the loss of jobs, economic opportunities, and eviction, rather than potential disasters.

Disaster Preparedness in Selected Hospitals of Western Ethiopia and Risk Perceptions of Their Authorities.

PurposeDespite the fact that hospitals are always at a high risk of disasters, the preparedness status in many of the Ethiopian hospitals is not well recognized. It is with this research gap in mind that this study motivated the authors to assess disaster preparedness level in selected hospitals of the western part of Ethiopia and their authorities’ risk perceptions.MethodsThis was a facility-based study conducted by using mixed qualitative and quantitative research designs among selected hospitals of western Ethiopia. While disaster and emergency readiness was evaluated using a modified World Health Organization observation check list. The key informant interview method was used to assess the disaster risk perception of the hospitals’ authorities in the study area.ResultsThe overall level of emergency and disaster preparedness in the selected hospitals was weak with an average calculated preparedness score of 45.6%. The score of readiness in terms of disaster response and recovery planning was 33.3%. Moreover, we have not got a documented disaster plan in all of the hospitals and the hazard-specific response sub plans were also not consistently in place. Of prime concerns, this study has revealed that there was no patient evacuation plan in all of the selected hospitals. The human resource preparations of the hospitals were relatively better with an average readiness score of 60%. The study has found that no committee was responsible for emergency readiness at all of the sampled hospitals. The hospital authorities’ disaster risk perception was found to vary according to the type of calamities and this was from moderate to high level.ConclusionThis study concludes that although their authorities’ risk perception of disasters was high, the selected hospitals were ill-prepared for the potential disaster strikes in this study area.