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Impacts of earthquake knowledge and risk perception on earthquake preparedness of rural residents

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Abstract

Earthquake preparedness can reduce casualties and economic losses caused by earthquakes effectively. Existing literature confirms that people’s knowledge and perception of earthquakes can affect their actions concerning earthquake preparedness greatly. However, studies have mostly focused on developed countries. Meanwhile, China, particularly its rural regions, has been neglected. In addressing this deficiency, this study examines 5 counties and 10 villages that were seriously affected by the 2008 Wenchuan (Sichuan) earthquake. Using an on-site survey of residents, earthquake perceptions and their impact on disaster preparedness behavior were examined empirically. Exploratory factor analysis and random-effect logistic regression analysis were used. The results reveal that two factors considerably influence disaster preparedness behavior. First, residents with autonomous earthquake information access tend to be more prepared. Second, residents who are more sensitive about earthquakes (high perceived risk of occurrence) tend to be more prepared for earthquakes. Evidently, knowledge and awareness of earthquakes have a positive impact on the disaster preparedness of residents living in rural earthquake-prone regions. Consequently, government agencies should enhance the earthquake education of local residents as part of the national effort to mitigate the adverse effects of future earthquakes.

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Acknowledgment

The authors appreciate financial support from Sichuan Province Social Science Planning project (SC19TJ030), Sichuan Science and Technology Department soft science major work support research project (20RKX0412/2020JDR0177), Sichuan Rural Community Governance Research Center funding (SQZL2019C01), Ministry of Education industry-school cooperative education program (201901098002), Funding for key teachers of Chengdu University of Technology (10912-KYGG2019-02305), the Natural Science Key Project from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education (18ZA0048), and the Development Research Center of Oil and Gas, Sichuan (CYQK-SKB17-04), the Research Center for Systems Science & Enterprise Development, Key Research of Social Sciences Base of Sichuan Province (Xq17B05), the Electronic Commerce and Modern Logistics Research Center Program, Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Science, Sichuan Provincial Education Department (DSWL17-13).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environment and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China

    Yibin Ao, Hongying Zhang & Gang Wang

  2. School of Architecture and Design, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China

    Linchuan Yang

  3. Department of Engineering Management, Sichuan College of Architectural Technology, Deyang, China

    Yan Wang

  4. School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    Igor Martek

Authors
  1. Yibin Ao
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  2. Hongying Zhang
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  3. Linchuan Yang
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  4. Yan Wang
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  5. Igor Martek
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  6. Gang Wang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the research presented in this paper. Yibin Ao, Hongying Zhang had the original idea for the study; the co-authors conceived and designed the questionnaire. Linchuan Yang and Yan Wang organized the investigation; Hongying Zhang analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript, which was revised by Igor Martek and Linchuan Yang. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Linchuan Yang.

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The Office of Humanities of Social Sciences of the Chengdu University of Technology approved this study.

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Ao, Y., Zhang, H., Yang, L. et al. Impacts of earthquake knowledge and risk perception on earthquake preparedness of rural residents. Nat Hazards 107, 1287–1310 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04632-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04632-w

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