Examination of Risk Perception, Fear and Preparedness of Individuals Experiencing Earthquakes

Abstract

An earthquake, which can directly affect individual and social life, is a natural event that is difficult to predict. However, previous earthquake experiences can trigger earthquake risk perception and fear. Reasonable risk perception and fear generally affect earthquake preparedness behaviour positively. This study aims to reveal the earthquake risk perception, fear, and actual and perceived preparedness levels of the people in a region in Turkey where a destructive earthquake occurred. Data were collected from 388 respondents who experienced the Elazig earthquake in 2020 through a structured questionnaire. The findings indicate that earthquake risk perception and fear are high, but actual and perceived preparedness levels are low. The results showed that gender, earthquake education, the way the earthquake is explained differ significantly with the risk perception, fear, actual and perceived preparedness levels. In addition, it has been determined that risk perception, fear, actual and perceived preparedness levels are related to each other at certain levels. The research is considered necessary because it deals with many variables and offers a holistic view of the research field.

Keywords

• Earthquake Risk Perception
• Fear
• Actual Preparedness
• Perceived Preparedness
• Elazığ

Deprem Yaşayan Bireylerin Risk Algısı, Korku ve Hazırbulunuşluklarının İncelenmesi

Öz

Deprem birey ve toplum hayatını doğrudan etkileyebilen ve önceden tahmin edilmesi zor olan bir doğa olayıdır. Ancak geçmiş deprem deneyimleri depreme ilişkin risk algısını ve korkuyu tetikleyebilir. Makul düzeydeki risk algısı ve korku ise genellikle depreme hazırlık davranışını olumlu yönde etkilemektedir. Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de daha önce yıkıcı bir depremin gerçekleştiği bir bölgede, halkın deprem risk algısı, korkusu ve gerçek hazırbulunuşluk ve algılanan hazırbulunuşluk düzeylerini ve bunları etkileyebilecek değişkenleri ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu doğrultuda, araştırmanın örneklemini 2020 yılında gerçekleşen Elazığ depremini yaşayan 388 kişi oluşturmakta olup veriler anket aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Bulgular, deprem risk algısı ve korkusunun yüksek olduğunu, ancak gerçek ve algılanan hazırlık düzeylerinin düşük olduğunu göstermektedir. Cinsiyet, deprem eğitimi, depremi anlamlandırma biçimleri ile risk algısı, korku, gerçek ve algılanan hazırbulunuşluk düzeyleri arasında anlamlı farklılıklar tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca risk algısı, korku, gerçek ve algılanan hazırbulunuşluk düzeylerinin belli düzeylerde biribirleriyle ilişkili olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Araştırmanın, birçok değişkeni birlikte ele alması ve araştırma alanına bütüncül bir bakış sunması sebebiyle literatüre katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Deprem Risk Algısı
• Korku
• Gerçek Hazırbulunuşluk
• Algılanan Hazırbulunuşluk
• Elâzığ

Kaynakça

1. Ablah E, Konda K, Kelley CL (2009). Factors predicting individual emergency preparedness: a multi-state analysis of 2006 BRFSS data. Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science 7(3):317–330. https://doi.org/10.1089/bsp.2009.0022
2. Adiyoso W, Kanegae H (2013). Effectiveness of disaster-based school program on students’ earthquake-preparedness. Journal of Disaster Research 8(5): 1009–1017. DOI: 10.20965/jdr.2013.p1009
3. AFAD. (2019). Turkey earthquake risk map. Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry, Disaster & Emergency Management Authority Presidential of Earthquake Department. https://deprem.afad.gov.tr/deprem-tehlike-haritasi?lang=en (Accessed: 02.01.2022)
4. AFAD. (2020). 24 January 2020 Elazığ earthquake. Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry, Disaster & Emergency Management Authority Presidential of Earthquake Department. Access, https://deprem.afad.gov.tr/tarihteBuAy?id=79 (Accessed: 02.01.2022)
5. Ao Y, Zhang H, Yang L, Wang Y, Martek I,. Wang G (2021). Impacts of earthquake knowledge and risk perception on earthquake preparedness of rural residents. Natural Hazards 107(2): 1287–1310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04632-w
6. Armaş I (2006). Earthquake risk perception in Bucharest, Romania. Risk Analysis 26(5):1223–1234. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2006.00810.x
7. Azim MT, Islam MM (2016). Earthquake preparedness of households in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A perceptual study. Environmental Hazards 15(3):189–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2016.1173006
8. Baytiyeh H, Öcal A (2016). High school students’ perceptions of earthquake disaster: A comparative study of Lebanon and Turkey. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 18: 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2016.06.004 Baytiyeh H, Naja M (2016). The Effects of fatalism and denial on earthquake preparedness levels. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal 25(2): 1–19. https://doi:10.1108/DPM-07-2015-0168.

9. Bilik MB (2019). Depremleri anlamlandırma ve açıklama biçimlerinin sismik risk azaltma süreçlerine etkisi açısından 2011 Van Depremleri. Resilience 3(2):229–237. https://doi.org/10.32569/resilience.605213
10. Collins RN (2017). Disaster preparedness perception in a predominantly African-American community of a United States East Coast City. PhD diss., Capella University.
11. Cutter SL (1995). The forgotten casualties: women, children, and environmental change. Global Environmental Change 5(3):181–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/0959-3780(95)00046-Q
12. Cvetković VM, Öcal A, Ivanov A (2019). Young adults’ fear of disasters: A case study of residents from Turkey, Serbia and Macedonia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Advance online publication. https://doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101095
13. Dombrowsky WR (1998). Again and again: Is a disaster what we call a “disaster”? In Roland WP, Quarantelli EL (ed.) What is a disaster, Psychology Press, New York, pp 19-30
14. Esmer Y (2012). Turkey's Values Atlas 2012. http://content.bahcesehir.edu.tr/public/files/files/ATLAS%20SUNUM%202_10_2012%20(2).pdf (Accessed: 08.01.2022)
15. Fırat, M (2020). Doğal ve toplumsal bir afet olarak deprem. In Can İ (ed.) Afet sosyolojisi, Çizgi Kitabevi, Konya, pp 163-184
16. Fritz CE (1996). Disasters and mental health: Therapeutic principles drawn from disaster studies. Wilmington, DE: Disaster Research Center.
17. Gay LR, Mills GE, Airasian PW (2012). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application. Pearson, New Jersey
18. Goltz JD, Bourque LB (2017). Earthquakes and human behavior: A Sociological perspective. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 21:251–265. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2016.12.007
19. Guggenheim M (2014). Introduction: Disasters as politics – politics as disasters. The Sociological Review 62(1): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1467-954X.12121
20. Han Z, Lu X, Hörhager EI, Yan J (2017). The effects of trust in government on earthquake survivors’ risk perception and preparedness in China. Natural Hazards 86(1): 437-452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2699-9
21. Joffe H, Rossetto T, Solberg C, O'Connor C(2013). Social representations of earthquakes: A study of people living in three highly seismic areas. Earthquake Spectra 29(2): 367-397. https://doi.org/10.1193%2F1.4000138
22. Johnson VA, Ronan KR, Johnston DM, Peace R (2014). Evaluations of disaster education programs for children: A methodological review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 9: 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2014.04.001
23. King D, MacGregor C (2000). Using social indicators to measure community vulnerability to natural hazards. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 15(3):52–57. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.369807987774661
24. Kirschenbaum AA, Rapaport C, Canetti D (2017). The impact of information sources on earthquake preparedness. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 21: 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2016.10.018
25. Krejcie RV, Morgan DW (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement 30(3):607–610. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F001316447003000308
26. Kumar R (2018). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage, London Lindell MK, Whitney DJ (2000). Correlates of household seismic hazard adjustment adoption. Risk Analysis 20(1): 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/0272-4332.00002
27. Lovekamp WE, Tate ML (2008). College student disaster risk, fear and preparedness. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disaster, 26(2): 70–90. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/34966975/Lovekamp_Tate-with-cover-page
28. McClure J, Allen MW, Walkey F (2001). Countering fatalism: Causal information in news reports affects judgments about earthquake damage. Basic and Applied Social Psychology 23(2): 109–121. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324834BASP2302_3
29. Miceli R, Sotgiu I, Settanni M (2008). Disaster preparedness and perception of flood risk: A study in an Alpine Valley in Italy. Journal of Environmental Psychology 28(2): 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.10.006
30. Mohammad-pajooh E, Aziz K (2014). Investigating factors for disaster preparedness among residents of Kuala Lumpur. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussion 2(5): 3683–3709. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhessd-2-3683-2014
31. Mulilis JP, Duval TS, Bovalino K (2000). Tornado Preparedness of students, nonstudent renters, and nonstudent owners: Issues of PrE theory 1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 30(6):1310–1329. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02522.x
32. Najafi M, Ardalan A, Akbarisari A, Noorbala AA, Jabbari H (2015). Demographic determinants of disaster preparedness behaviors amongst Tehran inhabitants, Iran. PLoS Currents 7. https://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fcurrents.dis.976b0ab9c9d9941cbbae3775a6c5fbe
33. Pain R (2009). Globalized fear? Towards an emotional geopolitics. Progress in Human Geography 33(4): 466–486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309132508104994
34. Perry RW, Lindell MK, Tierney KJ (2001). Facing the unexpected: Disaster preparedness and response in the United States. Joseph Henry Press, Washington
35. Qing C, Guo S, Deng X, Xu D (2021). Farmers' disaster preparedness and quality of life in earthquake-prone areas: The mediating role of risk perception. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102252
36. Russell LA, Goltz JD, Bourque LB (1995). Preparedness and hazard mitigation actions before and after two earthquakes. Environment and Behavior 27(6):744-770. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0013916595276002 Rüstemli A, Karanci AN (1999). Correlates of earthquake cognitions and preparedness behavior in a victimized population. The Journal of Social Psychology 139(1):91-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224549909598364
37. Shaw R, Kobayashi KSH, Kobayashi M (2004). Linking experience, education, perception and earthquake preparedness. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal 13(1):39–49. https://doi.org/10.1108/09653560410521689
38. Sherman MF, Peyrot M, Magda LA, Gershon RRM (2011). Modeling pre-evacuation delay by evacuees in World Trade Center Towers 1 and 2 on September 11, 2001: A revisit using regression analysis. Fire Safety Journal 46(7):414-424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2011.07.001
39. Siegrist M, Gutscher H (2006). Flooding risks: A comparison of lay people's perceptions and expert's assessments in Switzerland. Risk Analysis 26(4):971–979. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2006.00792.x
40. Şentuna B, Çakı F (2020). Balıkesir örnekleminde bir ölçek geliştirme çalışması: Afet hazırbulunuşluk ölçeği. İdealkent 11(31):1959–1983. https://doi.org/10.31198/idealkent.728896
41. Takao K, Motoyoshi T, Sato T, Fukuzondo T, Seo K, Ikeda S (2004). Factors determining residents’ preparedness for floods in modern megalopolises: The case of the Tokai flood disaster in Japan. Journal of Risk Research 7(7-8):775-787. https://doi.org/10.1080/1366987031000075996
42. Taufik T, Ibrahim R (2020). Making sense of disaster: Affinity to God as a coping strategy of Muslim refugees in Central Sulawesi. Journal of Loss and Trauma 25(1):61-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2019.1655256
43. Xu D, Peng L, Liu S, Wang X (2018). Influences of risk perception and sense of place on landslide disaster preparedness in southwestern China. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 9(2):167–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-018-0170-0
44. Zhuang L, He J, Yong Z, Deng X, Xu D (2020). Disaster ınformation acquisition by residents of China’s earthquake-stricken areas,” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101908