ASCE India Conference 2017
Disaster Preparedness Index: A Valid and Reliable Tool to Comprehend Disaster Preparedness in India
Publication: Urbanization Challenges in Emerging Economies: Resilience and Sustainability of Infrastructure
ABSTRACT
Disaster preparedness is an important factor which plays a major role in diminishing the causalities in case of any disasters. United Nations global assessment report published in the year 2015 on disaster risk says that India incurs an average annual economic loss of $9.8 billion due to natural disasters. This number is a wake-up call for the country to increase its commitment and invest in smart solutions that strengthen disaster resilience. This purpose calls for a valid and reliable tool for assessing the preparedness level of individuals towards any natural disaster which forms the basis of our study. This paper presents the development of one such tool that measures preparedness of individuals towards any natural disaster on the basis of four factors. It included a 14-item scale for disaster preparedness index (DPI) for individuals along with demographics for interpretative studies. The 14-item scale included necessary measures that were considered necessary for an individual to safeguard life and property not only during a major natural disaster but also to secure the life of the individual after the disasters. Governmental agencies can utilize this tool which produces DPI for individuals to evaluate and then analyze the preparedness levels of any group of individuals towards natural disasters. In summary, the data presented here support the usefulness of the disaster preparedness index, as a measure of preparedness towards natural disasters. It includes items based on psychological parameters of the individuals towards natural disasters, a component that is not included in other measures of disaster preparation. It has a stable, unifactorial structure that is suitable for use as a dependent variable, and has high reliability and good validity. Studies of disaster preparedness on Chennai residents showed that the 14 item scale measuring the disaster preparedness of individuals is a valid, reliable, and consistent in unifactorial scale.
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Published In
Urbanization Challenges in Emerging Economies: Resilience and Sustainability of Infrastructure
Pages: 156 - 163
Editors: Udai P. Singh and G. L. Sivakumar Babu, Indian Institute of Science
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8203-2
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© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Dec 13, 2018
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