Knowledge about how hazard‐threatened individuals perceive risks and what influences their intentions to prepare is crucial for effective disaster management. We investigated (a) whether residents of objectively higher‐risk earthquake areas within a city perceive greater risk, have stronger intentions to prepare, and report more preparation than residents of objectively lower‐risk areas, (b) 10 antecedent factors as predictors of the intention to prepare for an earthquake, and (c) whether risk perception mediates the relations between nine antecedent factors and the intention to prepare. Notably, residents of high‐risk areas did not express stronger intentions to prepare or report more preparations than did residents of low‐risk areas, despite perceiving significantly greater risk. Risk perception mediated the relation between antecedent fatalism and the intention to prepare. Among the policy implications is a clear need for greater education of residents in high‐risk earthquake areas.
Tsunami risk was investigated as a platform for helping to understand the impact of community and psychological factors in natural disaster preparedness. Residents who lived within four meters of sea level in high and moderate tsunami risk areas of Vancouver Island were queried about possible influences on their preparation. Both community-level and psychological factors played significant roles. More community participation and fewer justifications used for not preparing (the dragons of inaction) directly predicted their reported preparation. The relation between sense of community and preparation was mediated by level of community participation, and the relation between the psychological factor, positive outcome expectancy, and preparation was mediated by the dragons of inaction. Together, these influences accounted for 21 percent of the variance in reported tsunami preparation. Policy implications are discussed.
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