Survivors of natural or man-made disasters are better prepared to deal with such calamities in future, a latest study states.
Researchers examined 1,045 survivors of disasters from seven European countries. The researchers found that these survivors, with the examples of their experiences, can help the government and the general public to deal with the calamities in a better way.
The researchers asked the participants to focus on their "involuntary, memorable events" in their survey and analysed whether the experience led to an increased risk perception for that particular disaster.
The authors stated that "experience with a particular hazard was one of the most important predictors of perceived risk of the same hazard." This was mostly evident in the people who witnessed floods, mainly in the Czech Republic, where 91.7 percent of respondents recalled floods, Germany (85.7 percent) and Poland (61.5 percent). Similar results were noticed in the earthquake survivors, mainly from Turkey and Italy, where almost half of these earthquakes occurred in the last 30 years.
The researchers also studied the 'cross-over disaster effects.' This means survivors of floods could be better prepared for the risks of earthquake. "Experience with a public fire not only increased perceived risk of a public fire but also perceived risk of a terrorist attack," researchers explained in a press release. "Experience with a public fire and a terrorist attack increased perceived risk of a traffic accident, possibly because all three events share a common context of occurring in public settings."
The authors also examined the influence of 'objective risk' in the risk perception. They found that the objective risk of earthquakes and terrorist attacks mostly influenced perceived risk. For instance, in Turkey and Spain, where such risks were the highest, people's perceptions reflected the statistical likelihood of experiencing these emergencies.
The authors also examined whether different countries would show differences in perceived risks and found that they did. Perceived earthquake risks differed most prominently. This was followed by perceived risks of terrorist attacks and floods. "Perceived risk for all events was significantly influenced by country of residence although the extent of the influence differed across events," the researchers explained.
Researchers Daniela Knuth, along with two colleagues from the University of Greifswald, Germany, and Lynn Hulse from the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom, contributed to the study.
