Attached.

Running Head: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Disaster Preparedness
Mohammed Ibrahim Alghamdi
Thomas Jefferson university

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

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Abstract
Natural disasters often leave its victims traumatized and unable to get back to normalcy. Some
cannot deal with the loss of a loved one or cannot understand why they survived, and the others
did not (Aryankhesal, Pakjouei, & Kamali, 2017). This research won’t focus on the mental health
of the individuals after disasters strike but will look at people’s level of preparedness. The study
will ask participants on the measure they are taking in case an emergency such as an earthquake
strikes. Some disasters require people to stay indoors such as a storm, and there are those that will
require individuals to walk for a long distance in a short period such as the tsunami. Are they
prepared for both? That is the big question. The study findings showed that many people do not
have an idea what to do in case of a disaster. This shows that there needs to be sensitization on
disaster preparedness so that people are not caught unaware.

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Proposal
This study examines the level of preparedness of different individuals for different
disasters. For example, if a disaster strikes and everything gets destroyed, will people have enough
food to take them through the first 72 hours? Also, what are the measures people have in place to
reduce the effects that a disaster can leave behind? When people prepare for a disaster, the effects
are often less than they would have been if they’d been caught off guard. Also, having the ability
to handle oneself through such a crisis helps to reduce the effects. Being knowledgeable about the
different disasters also helps reduce the effects because the person will know what to do and how
go about it (De Hoop & Ruben, 2010). Recovery is also an important aspect the research will
investigate.
Purpose
To determine to what extent the people are prepared in case of a disastrous event such as
earthquake and how they plan to handle themselves in the first 72 hours.
Questions
Some of the questions to be asked include:
1) In case there is an earthquake, and the food supply is cut short, what will you do? Assume
that, people can’t travel out of town and are expected to remain in the confines of the small
town where the earthquake happened until the roads get repaired.
2) What activities would you do in the first 72 hours after the earthquake?
3) Suppose everyone in the house panics, what will you do to calm them down?

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Objectives
1) To determine the level of preparedness for emergencies
2) To understand their recovery plan
Hypothesis
Natural disasters don’t give notice; they happen in an instant. One minute you are having
coffee and the next minute the ground is shaking and things around are falling and breaking.
People need to prepare for such kind of situations both emotionally and physically ("Disaster
Preparedness," 2018). Physically, in this case, means food surplus to last for the period food supply
will have been cut short.
Purpose of the study
The study seeks to evaluate and explore the activities that humanitarian relief organizations
participate in to achieve their goals of alleviating disasters more effectively, through promoting
disaster preparedness. The study also provides various recommendations for future action and will
also give areas of improvement so that the relief groups can recognize how they may alter their
actions to carry out more beneficial work.
Significance of the study
The study stands to benefits both the researchers and the respondents because the
researchers will get to find out how much knowledge the people in the community have and see if
there is a need to intervene. The respondents will get to know more about disasters and
emergencies. They will also get to know more about disaster preparedness and how to reduce the
effects once a disaster strikes. They will also learn about how to handle themselves during the

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event and how to help those in their environment so that they don’t panic and cause even more
harm.
Limitations
The study will be limited to the moments leading to the disaster and during the first 72
hours after the disaster strikes. People will only be asked on what they have done in preparation
for emergencies caused by disasters and how they plan on handling themselves during the first 72
hours after the disaster strikes. The study will also focus on only a few organizations that actively
participate in relief activities. The achievements and failures of these organizations will be closely
examined to understand the current trends in relief activities. A case study on International Red
Cross, which is a relief organization, shall be incorporated in this research. International Red Cross
assists during disasters ranging from minor house firs to multi state natural disasters. The American
Red Cross for example provides relief activities wherever they are needed so that the affected
people can have access to safe shelter, clean water and food.
Review of literature
Grant, (2018) says that disaster preparedness is essential for the psychological well-being
of an individual. He says that as much a people need to make physical preparations, they also need
to prepare for it psychologically. Disasters are stressful events that can leave a person traumatized
years after the events have occurred and everyone else has forgotten about them. One thing that
heightens the effects of these tragic events is that people are caught unaware. Disaster preparedness
also reduces the probability of having an anxiety attack. It is therefore important to prepare people
before the occurrence of a disaster. For instance, schools can introduce sessions for training
students how to respond in case of a disaster. Preparing the students psychologically will help in

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mitigating the negative effects of a disaster for instance panic and anxiety. In some countries,
including the United States, disasters such as floods, earthquakes and tsunamis are common. When
these disasters strike, many people are caught unaware and they find themselves not knowing what
to do thereafter. This may make them walk for long distances after a disaster has occurred. With
disaster preparedness, such cases would not occur since people will know what to do and when to
do it.
Ronan et al., (2015) identifies women and children to be the most vulnerable group in case
a disaster strikes. The study also shows that disaster preparedness has increased over the past
fifteen years, but still, there is a problem. The authors say that the methods used are not effective.
Also, the methods only help in the short term and not the long term. Also, people may have
information on disaster preparedness and have a plan for when a disaster strikes but when it comes
to implementation, it becomes a problem. In every society, there are categories of people who are
considered vulnerable. In most cases, these people are children, women and the disabled. When
disasters occur, these vulnerable individuals need to be given first priority. This study will
therefore explore the available options the students have when faced with a sitistion involving
vulnerable populations. When disasters occur in various countries, such as floods, earthquakes or
tsunamis, women and children are mostly the worst hit because they may lack the ability to help
themselves. During evacuation, it is therefore wise to give first priority to women and children.
Methods
Correlations research design
This method establishes the relationship between variables ("Correlational Design," 2015).
In this case, it will establish the relationship between causalities and knowledge on disaster

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preparedness. Respondents will be asked questions to ascertain their level of preparedness. They
will also be asked on their thoughts about the relationship between disaster preparedness and the
number of casualties involved or the consequences of the events. The researchers will then analyze
the data collected and determine if there is a relationship between disaster preparedness and the
consequences. Participants will be required to answer a total of 21 questions.
Population and Size
The research will include the students at Thomas Jefferson East Hall campus. The study
will require about 104 participants. The participants have to be English speakers since the research
will be done using the English language.
Participant Selection
The participants will be students of Thomas Jefferson East Hall Campus. The research will
source for candidates using social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and through e-mails.
The respondents will be sent an email requesting them to participate in the research. The
researchers will also post on Facebook through the University’s official page requesting for people
who would like to participate in the research. The research will be purely voluntary. No one will
get coerced to participate, and no payment will be offered to those who participate.
Instrumentation
The survey will include 21 questions which will seek to understand the person’s knowledge
of disaster preparedness. The participants will also need to provide demographic information
which will help in analyzing the responses given by various individuals.

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Data collection
Interviews will be conducted face to face. The researchers feel that face to face interviews
are more effective. Letting people answer the survey questions online will be risking the integrity
of information because some may provide false data. The demographic information collected will
help ascertain whether there is a relationship between the demographic information and the
responses. A total of 110 (60 males, 50 females) participants were interviewed and they comprised
both students and staff. This number was reached through social media including WhatsApp.
Several WhatsApp groups were formed where discussions were held on disaster preparedness.
Later, a sample of 110 participants was randomly selected from the total population of about 430
group members. Out of the total, 70 did not know what disaster preparedness entails or what to do
in case of a disaster. 30 participants had some good insight on what to do during a disaster. The
remaining 10 had at some point in their life witnessed a disaster be it floods, tsunamis or
earthquake. This category of people had earlier gone through various lessons on disaster
preparedness. From the above results, it is clear that most people do not know about disaster
preparedness or are either too ignorant to care. It is therefore paramount that the public is sensitized
on the measures to take during a disaster and how to prepare themselves for the occurrence of
disasters.
Total participants

430

Sample

110

Students

400

Staff

30

Fully Conversant with disaster preparedness

10

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A little conversant with disaster preparedne...