The Impact of Disaster Knowledge and Attitudes on Community Preparedness in Facing Earthquakes

Abstract

In 2016, a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 devastated Pidie Jaya Regency. This shallow earthquake, centered on the land, killed 104 people and displaced tens of thousands. This study aimed to measure the relationship between disaster knowledge and attitudes of the community, and their disaster preparedness in Bandar Dua District, Pidie Jaya Regency. 250 villagers of Gampong Ulee Glee, Pelakan Cibrek, Peulakan Tunong, Paya Tunong, and Keude Ulee Glee participated. The data were collected using a questionnaire. The results showed that the level of community disaster was categorized as ‘well’ (59.2%), the attitudes towards disasters were categorized as prepared (60.4%), and preparedness was categorized as well-prepared (54.8%). The bivariate analysis showed that people’s knowledge was categorized as very well prepared (76.8%) and the people’s attitudes were categorized as well and ready in coping with disasters (71.7%). We concluded that there was a relationship (p = 0.005) between disaster knowledge and preparedness. There was also a relationship between the attitudes towards disasters and community preparedness.
 Keywords: knowledge, attitudes, preparedness, earthquake, disaster

Seismic Hazard Resilience in Montenegro: A Comprehensive Qualitative Analysis of Local Preparedness and Response Mechanisms

“…These studies have pinpointed key factors that influence how individuals prepare for such disasters. These include access to independent information about earthquakes, understanding of seismic risks, confidence in personal and community response capabilities (self-efficacy and collective efficacy), general knowledge about earthquakes, outcome expectations, the availability of social support, and established normative beliefs [1,2,12,15,36,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. Findings indicate that individuals who possess a comprehensive understanding of disaster management are more likely to act decisively, such as evacuating promptly or quickly resuming their usual activities post-disaster, compared to those with limited knowledge, who may delay action while waiting for further instructions [1,2,12,15,36,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52].…”