Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 DOI 10.1007/s11069-012-0445-5 ORIGINAL PAPER Public perception of the risk of disasters in a developing economy: the case of Saudi Arabia Saud Ali Alshehri • Yacine Rezgui • Haijiang Li Received: 27 August 2012 / Accepted: 4 October 2012 / Published online: 13 October 2012  Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012 Abstract Saudi Arabia has in recent years experienced frequent disasters, including flooding, epidemics, and dust storms, while many parts of the country are subject to regular earthquake and volcanic activity. The paper examines public perception of the risk of disasters in this interesting socio-cultural and regional environment not already covered by existing literature. A wide national survey conducted between March and May 2012 resulted in 1,164 responses across the 13 regions of Saudi Arabia. The study showed that the majority of the participants have faith that God is in control of the world and that disasters may be a punishment from him. However, this does not hinder their desire to be prepared to cope with disasters. It also highlighted that direct experience with such disasters does not directly influence perception. The research findings lead to the emergence of a number of recommendations regarding raising awareness of hazards and the risk of disasters, including education, training, encouraging voluntary work, and improving public access to vital information resources. A requirement for research into resilience also emerges, to prepare communities to cope with disasters; this is the focus of the authors’ future research. Keywords Disasters
Hazards
Public perception
Saudi Arabia S. A. Alshehri (&)
H. Li Cardiff School of Engineering, 14-17 the Parade, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK e-mail: saudss@hotmail.com; Alshehris1@cardiff.ac.uk H. Li e-mail: lih@cardiff.ac.uk S. A. Alshehri 10 Watkins Square, Cardiff CF14 5EQ, UK S. A. Alshehri P.O. BOX 66346, Riyadh 11576, Saudi Arabia Y. Rezgui School of Engineering, BRE Institute in Sustainable Engineering, 14-17 the Parade, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK e-mail: RezguiY@cardiff.ac.uk 123 1814 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1 Introduction The occurrence of disasters is increasing worldwide (Gaillard and Texier 2010; Srinivas and Nakagawa 2008). Despite the presence of volcanic and seismic areas, Saudi Arabia is a region which is not widely known for either natural or man-made disasters (Al-Saud 2010), yet in 2009 more than 30,000 earthquakes struck one of the lava fields in the province of Harrat Lunayyir (northwest Saudi Arabia) resulting in the evacuation of 4,000 people from that area (Pallister et al. 2010). While the intensity and impact of disasters in Saudi Arabia is not comparable to other developed and developing countries, such as Indonesia and Pakistan (EM-DAT 2011) the rate of their occurrence has increased in recent years (Al-Saud 2010; EM-DAT 2011). Flooding is the most frequently encountered natural disaster in the country in recent years. Between 2000 and 2011 seven of the eleven most damaging natural disasters in the history of the country were attributable to flooding, the remainder being attributed to epidemics (biological disasters) such as swine flu (H1N1) (AlMazroa et al. 2010) and the Rift Valley Fever in Jizan (EM-DAT 2011), as illustrated in Fig. 1. Several man-made hazards have occurred during Ramadan and Hajj, which are two special seasons on the Islamic calendar. Saudi Arabia attracts over three million people annually to visit the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah (CDSI 2010). This presents unique challenges to local authorities as crowd densities can increase to seven individuals per m2 during Hajj (Memish et al. 2009). Indeed, Hajj has a history of disasters that have resulted in unintentional injuries and even death. For example, 1,426 people were trampled in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to Makkah in 1990 (WikiIslam 2012); 346 people died as result of crowding at Jamarat Bridge in Mina in January 2006; and in separate incidents in 1975 and 1997 about 543 people died due to tent fires (WikiIslam 2012). Several studies point out that the second highest cause of death for all age groups is traffic accidents (Al-Honazil et al. 2008). Joffe-Walt (2010) indicates that over the past two decades Saudi Arabia has recorded 4 million traffic accidents resulting in 86,000 deaths and 611,000 injuries. According to the Saudi daily Arab News, 6,485 people died and more than 36,000 were injured in over 485,000 traffic accidents between 2008 and 2009, contributing to the highest road accident death in the world (Joffe-Walt 2010). Fig. 1 Occurrence of natural disasters in Saudi Arabia 2000–2011 (Adapted from EM-DAT 2011 and (AlMazroa et al. 2010)) 123 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1815 Furthermore, given its geo-political situation, the country has suffered from several terrorist attacks including the 1979 Makkah mosque siege, the 1995 Riyadh bombing, the 1996 Khobar bombing, and the 2003 Riyadh bombing (Hegghammer 2008). Moreover, in 2009, al-Houthi rebels from Yemen killed several security officers during gun battles along the border with the south of Saudi Arabia. Given the country’s vulnerability to all forms of disasters, this study aims to understand and analyse public perception of the risk of disasters in Saudi Arabia. Following this introduction the paper provides a brief description of related work. The methodology that underpins the research is then presented, followed by a presentation and discussion of the survey results. The paper then provides concluding remarks followed by directions for future research. 2 Related work Understanding the public’s perception of risk is important for improving risk communications and designing effective mitigation policies (Ho et al. 2008). Risk has been defined as ‘‘the combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences’’ (UNISDR 2009). Risk perception, on the other hand, has been defined as ‘‘people’s beliefs, attitudes, judgments, and feelings, as well as the wider social or cultural values and dispositions that people adopt, towards hazards and their benefits’’ (Pidgeon et al. 1992: 89). Many studies have surveyed a wide range of hazardous events including technical and natural disasters, and several researchers indicate that risk perception can be used either to reduce the risk or to change behaviour (Ho et al. 2008; Martin et al. 2009). For instance, a socio-psychological model of individual responses to hazards comprising risk perception was developed to be a predictor of precautionary behaviour (Grothmann and Reusswig 2006). Following the issue of tsunami warning alert messages on 2 April 2007 along the east coast of Australia, the public perception of hazard and risk was investigated to clarify the public understanding and confusion about the warning alerts (Bird and DomineyHowes 2008). Moreover, Ho et al. (2008) examine how risk perception is influenced by the type of disaster, for example, flood or landslide, and victim characteristics. On the other hand, comparing risk perception for both the victims and the public gave an explanation why people who have been exposed to disasters such as floods and landslides are less willing to adapt to the effects of mitigation measures disasters (Lin et al. 2008). There have been a number of international surveys involving perceptions of the risk of terrorism. For example, Burns (2007) reviewed eight US studies related to the threat of terrorism which point to ‘‘the central role perceptions of risk play in people’s level of concern and likely behaviour during and following a disaster’’ (Burns 2007: 9). Several studies have been conducted to assess perceptions of preparedness for disasters (Hammad et al. 2011). For example, in Japan, the perception among residents has been studied to determine the acceptance of flood risks (Motoyoshi 2006). The results of this study indicated that it is possible to activate disaster preparedness plans as voluntary activities within local communities (Motoyoshi 2006). In Iceland, the first studies on the public perception the natural hazard of flooding found that many residents did not acknowledge living in a flood area (Pagneux et al. 2011). These studies have been used to suggest a disaster training programme or to identify shortcomings and lack of disaster response (O’Sullivan et al. 2008; Hammad et al. 2011). The perception of disaster preparedness permanently is important that can assist evaluation of the efficiency of training programs and to assess how perceptions may vary as new events (O’Sullivan et al. 2008). 123 1816 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 A study conducted in Nagoya City, Japan, identified four goals in establishing the factors that determine people’s preparedness for disasters: a) the relationship between related perception (the level of fear of hazard and hazard anticipation) and preparedness; b) the relationship between hazard experience and preparedness; c) the relationship between the amount of damage from a previous hazard and preparedness; and d) to examine how owning a home affects a person’s preparedness for hazard (Takao et al. 2004). The research has investigated the lack of correspondence between related perception and preparedness to improve people’s preparedness for floods (Takao 2006) and has pointed out that disaster preparedness was positively associated with risk perception (Miceli et al. 2008). A study has indicated that the important factor affecting attitudes towards preparedness was people’s willingness to learn more about such disasters (Takao 2006). Moreover, Nordenstedt and Ivanisevic (2010) point out that better knowledge in the field of risk perception can consequently increase the quality and effect of decisions through society. Thus, decision makers should take account of public perception and assist the exchange of information with the community which increases the confidence and acceptance of information and thereby helps to raise the reduction in the risks of disasters (Renn 2004). 3 Methodology The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is located in western Asia. It has a surface area of 2,149,690 km2 and a population of 27.137 million (CDSI 2010). About 99 % of the population is Muslim, and the country is governed according to the Islamic law (Madani et al. 2004). The country is divided into 13 provinces namely: Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh province (which includes the capital city Riyadh), the Eastern province, Asir, Jouf, Hudud Shamaliyah (North borders), Baha, Jizan, Najran, Hail, Qassim, and Tabuk provinces (MOI 2012). The study focuses on three main objectives: 1. To assess the people’s general knowledge of disasters. 2. To examine how the surrounding factors such as faith and personal responsibility can affect their perception of the risk of disasters. 3. To determine the main information sources regarding the risk of disasters. In order to gain information of public understanding in relation to a particular hazard type, it is essential to design information gathering techniques such as questionnaire surveys (Bird and Dominey-Howes 2008; Bird 2009). Therefore, a questionnaire designed to address the above objectives was structured as follows: 1. Classification questions such as gender, age, level of education, employment status; 2. Responsibility questions to determine what individuals will do to cope with disasters; 3. Knowledge questions to determine what actual information a person has about the risk of disasters; 4. Perception questions to understand the thinking and interpretive processes of people and to explore the emotional responses of them to their experience about the risk of disasters. The design of the questionnaire was informed by a number of related surveys (Spence et al. 2010; Bird and Dominey-Howes 2008; PRRI 2011). The questionnaire comprised 35 predominantly multiple choice questions many of which were in multiple parts. To avoid restricting or guiding responses to closed questions with an ordinal selection, the option 123 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1817 ‘‘other, please specify’’ was offered where applicable. The questionnaire was tested by 20 participants in a pilot investigation, during January and February 2012. In general, it took 20–30 min to complete, and adjustments were made to the survey tool to correct and clarify items for the final version. Once the ethical approval was obtained, the survey questionnaire was hosted online using ‘‘SurveyMonkey’’ (www.surveymonkey.com) in both Arabic and English. The link was distributed via e-mail, and the snowball sampling technique was used to gain the target sample size (male and female) during the period 24 March 2012 to the end of May 2012. Snowball is a non-probability sampling technique (Bird and Dominey-Howes 2008), which allows researchers to penetrate an anonymous community and identify and recruit key informants (Bird 2009). This is useful in situations where it is difficult or expensive to locate respondents in the study population (Singh et al. 2007). For example, according to customs and traditions in Saudi Arabia recruiting female respondents is quite difficult (Zabin 2010). Moreover, snowball sampling has been found to be economical, efficient, and effective (Singh et al. 2007). Data are collected by recognising participants through direct contacts, who are then asked to recruit others (Sadavoy et al. 2004). This process continues until a target sample size is reached. There are many delivery methods which can be used to distribute the survey such as e-mail, face to face and phone (Bird 2009). Due to the wide area of Saudi Arabia, as noted above, there is difficulty in covering all regions; therefore, e-mail was used as the delivery method. This method presents advantages such as cost-effectiveness, time to consider responses, and overall higher response rates (Bird 2009). 4 Results and analysis A total of 1,731 questionnaires were accessed, and 1,164 questionnaires were completed. Fig. 2 shows the spatial distribution of the location of the respondents: Descriptive statistics and all data analyses were conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Studies (SPSS) version 18.0. Fig. 2 Spatial distribution of the respondents’ location 123 1818 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 4.1 Data quality Questionnaire data need to be checked for reliability before being analysed to investigate whether the participant’s selection is constant and if the questionnaire structure is consistent (Deng et al. 2011). Hassad (2010) notes that items with an alpha correlation of 0.70 and higher are seen as acceptable; however, for exploratory studies, the Cronbach’s alpha (a) of scale 0.6 and over is classed as an adequate level of reliability (Hair et al. 2006). The overall reliability of the items in this questionnaire according to Cronbach’s alpha is acceptable (0.78). 4.2 General attribution of samples Table 1 illustrates the general attribution of samples and shows that the respondents were distributed in gender, over a range of ages, and were of different levels of education and employment. 4.3 Knowledge and perception of disasters Table 2 provides a summary of the responses to the questions (10, 11, and 15) related to the respondents’ knowledge, including the perceived generators of disasters. 4.3.1 Faith The majority of respondents (97 %) tend either to ‘‘agree’’ or ‘‘completely agree’’ that God is in control of everything that happens in the world. Although about 93 % believe that earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters are signs from God, 70 % believe that God sometimes punishes nations for the sins of some of its citizens (Fig. 3). 4.3.2 Risk perception and concern Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agree that people in Saudi Arabia are at risk from disasters and whether or not they are concerned about disasters (Fig. 4). Seventy-seven percentage of respondents tend to either agree or completely agree that there are risks to people in Saudi Arabia from disasters. Almost two-thirds (63 %) of respondents think that their region could be affected by disaster, and 81 % tend to agree or completely agree that any type of disaster could strike their community. In general, just over half (54 %) of the respondents feel concern about disasters, indicating that they are ‘‘fairly’’ or ‘‘very’’ concerned while 8, 16, and 20 % are Not at all concerned, Not very concerned, and Neither agree nor disagree, respectively (Fig. 5). The value of chi-square (56.36) indicates an association between respondents’ fear of disasters and their regional location (Table 3). This may be related to the frequency of disasters in their regions in recent years (Al-Saud 2010; Pallister et al. 2010). 4.3.3 Scepticism and uncertainty The survey also assessed public perception of the causes of disasters and reality. Firstly, 54 % of the respondents tend to believe that disasters are caused by a combination of human activity and natural processes. On the other hand, the frequencies of those who think that disasters are caused either by natural processes or by human activity alone were 123 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1819 Table 1 General attribution of samples Characteristic Percentage (%) Characteristic Percentage (%) \18 1.7 Level of education Primary school 0.6 18–30 38.8 Intermediate school 1.4 31–50 55.6 High school 14.9 ?50 3.9 Diploma 8.8 Age Advanced diploma 3.2 University degree 39.8 Postgraduate qualification 29.6 Other 1.7 Gender Male Female 74.7 Employment status 25.3 Student 15.5 Governmental employee 57 Private employee 11.9 Businessman/businesswoman 1.1 Retired 1.5 Unemployed 7.6 Refused 5.6 Marital status Married Single 72.3 Income–Saudi Riyal 27.7 \3,000 SR 5.1 3,000–5,999 6.4 6,000–9,999 25.3 10,000–14,999 21.7 15,000–20,000 14.7 [20,000 13.2 No income 6.6 Refused 6.9 Riyadh 35.6 Number of children None 1.0 One child 25.9 Region Makkah 22.9 Two children 15.8 Eastern Province 10.3 Three children 18.3 Asir 8.7 Four or more children 17.0 Qassim 1.6 Refused 21.9 Northern Border 0.3 Jizan 4.6 Madinah 9.4 Baha 0.6 Hail 0.8 Jouf 0.1 Najran 1.3 Tabuk 3.8 123 1820 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 Table 2 Summary responses to questions related to knowledge Question Response (%) 10. Which of the following do you think can generate a disaster? Earthquake 69.1 Flood 66.4 Epidemic 61.7 Volcanic eruption 41.2 Tornado 44.2 Landslide 31.4 Tsunami 46.8 Conflicts 79.8 11. Do you think the region where you live could be affected by disaster? Yes 63.6 No 12.4 Don’t know 24.1 15. Do you know when the last disaster affected Saudi Arabia? Yes 78.3 No 21.7 Fig. 3 Perceptions of the relationship between faith and disasters in Saudi Arabia 15 % and 13 %, respectively. Eighteen percentage either do not know or they have no opinion about the causes of disasters (Fig. 6). Furthermore, all participants have been asked to rank the potential impacts in terms of importance. As presented in Table 4, the respondents think that the greatest impact is death and injury to people (mean 2.22), with concern about the impact of disasters on critical lifelines and infrastructures being second in importance, while the respondents view disasters having impacts on religious tourism (Hajj, Umrah) as less important (mean 5.81). Notably, more than 62 % of respondents tend to ‘‘disagree’’ or ‘‘completely disagree’’ that the seriousness of disasters is exaggerated, with only 10 % agreeing. Furthermore, less than 20 % tend to agree or completely agree that they are uncertain that disasters are really happening, while nearly 53 % disagree with this statement. Just under half of the respondents (48 %) agree or completely agree that most scientists believe that humans are causing disasters; only 17 % disagree with this statement. 123 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1821 Fig. 4 Public risk perception about disasters in Saudi Arabia Fig. 5 Respondents’ concern about disaster in Saudi Arabia 4.3.4 Personal responsibility The questionnaire included a series of questions to assess the extent to which the public are personally able to respond to their concern about disasters. Roughly half (51 %) of the respondents agree or completely agree that it is their responsibility to help their family and others during disasters and 43 % tend to agree or completely agree that they can contribute to reducing disasters. On the other hand, slightly more than 70 % of respondents will comply with the evacuation procedures under any circumstances. However, only 29 and 28 % of respondents agree or completely agree that they know what to do during disasters or they are aware of the emergency procedures, respectively (Fig. 7). The majority of respondents (96 %) desire to be more active in taking steps to protect their family and home from the effects of a disaster. As illustrated in Table 5, the mode is the value which appears the most often in the data for each factor; therefore, the values 123 1822 Table 3 The value of chisquare between regions and the fear of disasters Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 Variable Do you think the region where you live could be affected by disaster Total Yes No Don’t know Riyadh 242 62 110 414 Makkah 190 20 57 267 Eastern region 85 9 26 120 Asir 55 12 34 101 Jizan 42 5 7 54 Madinah 65 22 22 109 Region Najran 10 3 2 15 Tabuk 33 2 9 44 Total 722 135 267 1124 Chi-square value df Sig. 56.36 24 0.00 Fig. 6 Perceived causes of disasters Table 4 Ranking of potential impacts on Saudi Arabia Type of affecting Mean SD Rank Death and injury of people 2.22 2.066 1 Damage and destruction to critical lifelines, for example, water, electricity 3.46 1.589 2 Damage and destruction to homes and factories 3.51 1.894 3 Damage and destruction to infrastructure such as communication networks and transport networks 4.23 1.715 4 Impacts on export of oil 5.35 2.093 5 Impacts on environment 5.48 2.247 6 Impacts on agriculture 5.61 1.838 7 Impacts on religious tourism (Hajj, Umrah) 5.81 2.075 8 which appear most often are ranked from 1 to 5 according to the impotence of the factor which can reduce the risks of disasters. Thus, Raising risk awareness has been ranked as the most important factor with the minimum mean (2.14) followed by Early warning 123 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1823 Fig. 7 Personal responsibility Table 5 Some factors that can reduce the risk of disasters Variable Mean SD Mode Rank Raising risk awareness 2.14 1.436 1 1 Early warning system 2.55 1.214 2 2 Disaster management 2.58 1.137 3 3 Evacuation plan 3.40 1.070 4 4 Prosocial behaviour during disasters (volunteer, helping others) 4.15 1.271 5 5 system, Disaster management, Evacuation plan, and Prosocial behaviour during disasters with minimum mean 2.55, 2.58, 3.40, and 4.15, respectively. 4.4 Information access The survey included questions to ascertain the methods by which the respondents access information about disasters. More than half (59 %) of respondents follow discussions in the media about hazards connected to Saudi Arabia while about 41 % do not (Fig. 8). These participants who follow discussion (682 respondents) were asked to indicate which media methods they use to access information about disasters. As illustrated in Fig. 9, the majority (559) receive their information about disasters from the internet as their first option and television (551) as the second media method, followed by newspapers (442) mobile phone (357), and the radio (158). Few respondents use information brochures and books to gain such information. With regard to the risk of disasters, all the participants have been asked to choose the two best methods to receive disaster safety advice. According to Fig. 10, the majority of respondents preferred the television (899) as the first method, followed by mobile phone (698) as the second most important source for receiving disaster safety advice. 123 1824 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 Fig. 8 Respondents follow discussion in the media about hazards connected to Saudi Arabia Fig. 9 Frequencies of use of media to access information about disaster in Saudi Arabia Fig. 10 Preferred methods to receive disaster safety advice 123 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1825 5 Discussion The survey results indicate that a high proportion of the respondents have University degrees or postgraduate qualifications; it is worth noting that this is possibly due to the sampling approach adopted, which relied on the respondents having access to the internet and e-mail to receive the link to the questionnaire. As illustrated above (Table 2), there are varied rates of agreement on the generators of disasters, which may indicate a general lack of awareness. The majority of respondents recognise ‘‘conflict’’ as a generator of disaster. This may be due, in part, to the recent experiences within the region over the past two decades. Saudi Arabia has participated in the war to liberate Kuwait and has been exposed to a number of terrorist attacks in some cities such as Riyadh and Al Khobar. This result could also be linked to the age of the respondents as the majority range in age from 31 to 50 years. Overall the study clearly reveals that people in Saudi Arabia have concerns regarding disasters. The majority of the survey respondents believe that disasters significantly impact the nation’s people. This may be attributable to various reasons, for example, the increasing frequency of disasters such as floods and dust storms in their regions in recent years, as noted in the literature (Al-Saud 2010; Pallister et al. 2010). Furthermore, many respondents are either unaware of the emergency procedures or do not know what to do in the event of a disaster, as a result of lack of awareness and training (e.g. some participants noted that training ‘‘does not exist’’ and others indicated that there is no practical training in schools). It may be argued that these factors can lead to an increase in people’s fear of the impact of disasters on them personally; the study indicates that most respondents consider that death and injury to people is the most important effect of a future disaster in Saudi Arabia. These data endorse prior evidence from the literature, for example, ‘‘if residents did not fear floods, they were not concerned about floods’’ (Takao 2006:150). In terms of faith, under Islam faith can often be more important than experience in the public’s perceptions (Paradise 2005); therefore, the survey examined the respondents’ faith as a factor. The results from these questions indicate that the rate of faith in general is high, which is due to a number of factors. For example, Islam is the main religion in Saudi Arabia and the Holy Qur’an its constitution (Madani et al. 2004; CDSI 2010). Furthermore, religious subjects are taught at all levels up to and including higher education in universities (Prokop 2003). The survey respondents largely perceive humans to be strongly involved in causing disasters, but human responsibility can be nested within other concepts. For example, the majority of the respondents believe that disasters are a punishment from God. This result broadly aligns with other studies (Alam and Collins 2010; Bhargava 2007; Gaillard and Texier 2010; Paradise 2005) and is stated explicitly in the Qur’an. For example, the Noah’s Ark story is noted in the holy Quran as punishment from God ‘‘And Nûh’s (Noah’s) people, when they denied the Messengers, We drowned them, and We made them as a sign for mankind. And We have prepared a painful torment for the polytheists and wrong-doers’’ 25:37(Qur’an). This belief is in agreement with other religions such as Judaism and Christianity (Gaillard and Texier 2010). It is of significant note that the survey results differ to those of other studies, which have highlighted that the faithful who believe God is in control of the world should not take action to avoid damage from such disasters (Paradise 2005). However, Islam does urge that it is most important to prepare the people to escape from disaster; again, from the story of Noah: he built the Ark to escape the flood, ‘‘So We revealed to him (saying): Construct the ship under Our Eyes and under Our Revelation (guidance)’’ 23:27(Qur’an). The results may be interpreted as a clear indication that the survey respondents generally display a willingness to cope with disasters. 123 1826 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 The survey reveals some knowledge of disaster risk despite the lack of individual experience with disasters, but this does not reflect respondents’ preparedness to deal with disasters, even in the case of those who are highly educated. This result is consistent with the study of Anderson-Berry (2003) who noted that people could reveal general hazard knowledge, but this does not necessarily evidence an understanding adequate enough to transfer into hazard preparedness. The current survey results indicate quite clearly that many respondents believe they are not ready to cope with disasters, but that they are willing to learn more about disasters, thereby positively affecting their attitudes towards preparedness. For instance, they believe that they have a responsibility to help their families during a disaster event. Moreover, they have a desire to contribute to reducing the risk of disasters and have indicated willingness to comply with the evacuation procedures under any circumstances. Overall, the results indicate that raising the awareness of a disaster’s risk is the most important factor towards increasing resilience to a disaster, a finding that is consistent with other studies (Ghafory-Ashtiany 2009). The results also indicate that many respondents would be interested in taking part in follow-up discussions relating to disasters in Saudi Arabia. The survey results also indicate that disasters make one-third of the respondents think about other topics. One specific topic is climate change, which has strong links with disasters (Birkmann and von Teichman 2010; Vogel et al. 2007). This result is in accordance with a study conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to examine the climate change perceptions of educated people; it showed that participants had high levels of knowledge and concern about climate change when they had mentioned natural disasters such as flooding in Jeddah (Aljohani 2010). In terms of information sources, as has been noted elsewhere, it is important to take into account how risk information is acquired by respondents (Al-Zahrani 2006). The majority of the study participants who follow discussions about disasters in Saudi Arabia prefer to use the internet as their first choice information access medium. Notably, however, a large proportion prefers the television as an official source of information during disasters. Furthermore, the survey shows that the majority of the participants prefer using cell phones as a secondary information source to gain safety advice. This may be due to simplicity of use and the tremendous developments in information technology. These findings are consistent with a study conducted after the hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, which proved that the majority of the participants used the internet and cell phone as information sources (Spence et al. 2007). The Saudi government provides internet access to official disaster information via Civil Defence, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), which are the most important government organisations in this respect (AlZahrani 2006; PME 2012; SGS 2012). It is significant to note that the survey results indicate that the vast majority of internet users do not access those sites. This could be due to a lack of awareness of the role of these organisations in disaster situations, a lack of the respondents’ knowledge of those sites and their significance, or simply a lack of experience with disasters; as participants indicated ‘‘I access the site if necessary’’. However, it is also clear that they take seriously warnings that they receive from these organisations via the television. 6 Conclusion The study that forms the basis of the paper has examined the public perception of the risk of disasters in Saudi Arabia. As far as the researchers are aware this is the first study of its 123 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 1827 kind conducted in Saudi Arabia. The main parts of the survey assess the knowledge of the participants and identify the sources they use to gain the requisite information. The results indicate some knowledge of the risk of disasters, which may be as result of reasons such as the level of education of the respondents, their strong faith that God controls the world, and their belief that disasters could be a punishment from God. It may also be due to the respondents’ wide use of the internet. However, their knowledge is lacking in various areas including: personal experience of disasters, awareness of the generators of disasters, and preparedness for disasters. It also emerged that the main official websites—Civil Defence, Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, and Saudi Geological Survey (SGS)—are under-utilised. The findings also reveal that many of the respondents are either unaware of emergency procedures, or do not know what to do in the event of a disaster. In general, however, there appears to be significant concern about disasters and willingness to raise awareness and follow-up with training. Based on the survey results, the researchers believe that the following recommendations emerge: Awareness of the hazards and risks of disasters: • Education: this needs to be greatly increased. Disaster education in schools from the earliest stages will increase the ability of people to cope with disasters and thereby reduce the burden on the government during disasters and pave the way to the possibility of a quick return to normal life after a disaster. The research findings on education leading to this recommendation are reinforced from other sources in the literature. Shiwaku et al. (2007) indicated that awareness about the risks of disasters in early school education can raise risk perception, but community involvement is also a highly important factor; education of the people on the concept of disasters will increase their awareness of this environmental problem. Furthermore, a study found that offering regular education on disasters and follow-up training are important to raise or maintain knowledge, public awareness, and skills (Chen et al. 2006). • Training: Professional organisations such as Civil Defence should be encouraged to utilise the findings from this research to hold training sessions for the public, and conferences, seminars and workshops in coordination with other sectors to educate their employees about the critical issues of disaster preparedness facing the people in Saudi Arabia. • Volunteering is an effective cornerstone in disaster management. It is therefore important that authorities and official institutions raise awareness of the opportunity to volunteer, attract, and educate volunteers, and thus take advantage of qualified volunteers in the field. The revitalisation of communities in this way will strengthen their ability to prevent disasters. Information sources: • Official organisations such as Civil Defence, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) should develop their websites and investigate the reasons behind the currently limited public access to those sites. • These organisations should be encouraged to utilise the results of this study to build a dedicated channel with the public, via networks such as mobile phone, to warn them of any disaster risks. The authors are aware of some limitations that are inherent in this study which, as noted above, we believe is the first of its kind to be conducted in Saudi Arabia. An external 123 1828 Nat Hazards (2013) 65:1813–1830 limitation results from a relative shortage of data sources about disasters in Saudi Arabia. Regarding the survey itself, the geographical location of the respondents may introduce a skew effect in terms of a representative sample. Over a third of the respondents (36 %) were located in the Riyadh region, but their results may not be representative in comparison with others regions such as Jizan and Tabuk that returned much smaller response rates (5 and 4 %, respectively). Moreover, the survey was conducted among people who have access to computers and e-mail, thus not allowing access to those who do not. Finally, due to the cultural reasons stated above the proportion of female respondents was relatively low (25 %), though it is worth noting that this is a higher return than was initially expected. While the results reported here might be used to better understand public perception of the risk of disasters in Saudi Arabia, there is more work to be done. It is intended, further to this study, to extend the research by examining resilience. As noted elsewhere in the literature, the most important outcome is to prepare communities to cope with disasters by raising the resilience of the community (Norris et al. 2008). This study has found that there is a lack of resilience in several areas such as raising awareness, training, and knowledge regarding information access. There may also be other important factors that can increase the resilience of the community to manage disasters in Saudi Arabia. The researchers intend to pursue this further research work using the Delphi Technique to gather data from respondents within their field of expertise. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful for the financial support of the Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau in London. 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Accessed 04 July 2012 Zabin SA (2010) Saudis trust and confidence in information sources about chemical pollution. Afr J Environ Sci Technol 4(12):807–814 123 The Role of the Media in Warning Communities The Role of the Media in Warning Communities of Impending and Forecasted Disasters 1 The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 2 The Role of the Media in Warning Communities of Impending and Forecasted Disasters Abstract Some regions of the world are vulnerable to different disasters such as floods, earthquakes, sand storms, and cyclones among many others. The occurrence of these disasters leads to the deaths of many people and others displaced. Disaster management involves the recognition of a disaster, the response to take, recovery or rehabilitation methods, risk reduction, and disaster preparedness. The following project focuses on the role of the media in warning communities of impending and forecasted disasters in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of the regions in the world prone to different natural disasters. Different disasters that are prone to the region will also be discussed. Main focus is the importance of the media in the region in protecting its people from the disasters. analysis? of what the media has done so far and what it ought to do in future to save the lives of many people is presented. The project sheds light on what will be contained in the final handbook on the role of the media in warning communities of impending and forecasted disasters in Saudi Arabia. Significant Statement of the Purpose of the Project The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 3 Saudi Arabia is a region that is prone to many natural and human disasters. The occurrence of these disasters has continued to claim the lives of many people as well as destroying property worth a lot of money. Most of these disasters are forecasted by the metrological and disaster preparedness programs but lack of prior communication leads to poor response to the disaster. The media has a major role to play in ensuring that people in Saudi Arabia are adequately informed about these disasters. The objective of this project is to provide a handbook of media practices that can be implemented by media houses in Saudi Arabia to help in the management of impending and forecasted disasters in the region. Need For Study The unfortunate and calamitous disasters have brought damage, loss, and devastation to human life as well as property in Saudi Arabia. Most of these events have led to underdevelopment of the region due to the impacts they have. Disaster management responsibility has been given to different governmental and non-governmental organization but it is important to understand that it is the duty and responsibility of every individual to act in the case of an impending and forecasted disaster. Saudi Arabia is one of the regions in the world that is hit by many natural disasters. Some of the common natural disasters in Saudi Arabia include floods, earthquakes, and sand storms. In order to understand the significance of the study, it is important to look at the effects of these calamities to the people living in this region as well as disaster preparedness. The first major need for the study is to identify the number of deaths, injuries, economic disruption, as well as family disruption caused by disasters in Saudi Arabia. The figures on deaths caused by earthquakes, floods, dust storms and other disasters in the region will be analyzed. Importantly, the trend of deaths from once tragedy to another will tell if the region has The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 4 improved on its disaster preparedness. The statistics from different organizations like World Health Organization and government website can show the number of people who die annually because of lack of disaster preparedness. Apart from the deaths, the statics also shows injuries caused by the disaster. The number of people evacuated before the occurrence of the disaster compared to the number of the deceased and injured people can clearly show the effectiveness of disaster preparedness plans and programs implemented by the government and other humanitarian organizations in Saudi Arabia (Alamri, 2010). Of major importance in this study is to identify the role that media plays in warning the communities of the danger. An analysis of how the media impacted the evacuation and saving of lives in these disasters shows of its effectiveness countering natural disasters in the region. The second need for study is to identify the weaknesses in the media fraternity in the region that has played a role in poor disaster communication to the residents. In this, the research considered what the media is doing in regards to disaster management (Kunstler, 2007). Questions of whether the media is properly prepared for the frequent disasters in the region were included. The role of the media in disaster management should be before, during, and after (Coppola, 2006). However, in Saudi Arabia, the media is not involved before the occurrence of a disaster and this is the reason why many losses are witnessed. The prior non-involvement of the media of media in disaster communication is witnessed through disaster management reports and from the people affected by the disasters. The project will focus on why the media is not fully involved in preparing people before the occurrence of the disasters. The third need for study is to identify how media companies in Saudi Arabia have invested in technology to be used in disaster management. Most of the natural disaster in the region like the sand storms and floods can be identified by different technologies. The change in The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 5 weather detected by the technologies can be used to fight disasters in the region. However, it is not clear how much the media has invested in the technology to ensure that the people it serves are always informed of impending dangers. Another need for the study is to show the impacts of the media in disaster management. The media acts a channel that is used to provide instantaneous information and which is trusted by the people in both local and international levels. The media is an invaluable asset in times of disaster as it is used in disseminating information to the public which results to saving of life. The impact of the media in public health concerns can only be felt if the media plays it role in the society. The effectiveness of the media is guaranteed if it remained unbiased and does not get manipulated by politicians for personal or political gains (Alamri, 2010). Since manipulation has been witnessed in other regions of the world, it is important to understand the state of the Saudi Arabian media. The media can maintain its independence by ensuring it does not favor anyone and should be ready to face criticism for playing its role in the community which is possible through clear guidelines and proper management. Finally, the project will seek to improve the disaster preparedness in Saudi Arabia. It will seek to improve and develop new ways through which the media can help the communities leaving in the region on impending and forecasted disasters. The research will give ways through which the media companies can create working relationships with the government and other agencies that are responsible in disaster management in the region. The research seeks to improve media communication in disaster management (Alyami, Rezgui, & Kwan, 2013). At the end, the research will provide a guideline that the media can follow to ensure that they play a more important role in the region. The proper media involvement will help in the reduction in the number of deaths and also a reduction in destruction of property in Saudi Arabia. Television, The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 6 Radio, newspapers and the internet are the main forms of media in Saudi Arabia. Most of them are privately owned but controlled by the government. Literature Review Saudi Arabia has been witnessing different disasters every year of which has resulted to the destruction of property and the loss of lives of many people. Despite all these calamities, little attention has been paid to these natural disasters and its preparedness. Floods have been the most encountered natural calamity in the region and they have claimed lives of many people. For example, in the year 2009, one of the worst flooding disasters in the history of Saudi Arabia occurred. It occurred in Jeddah, which is located on the Red Sea west coast of Saudi Arabia. The region experiences dry climate and little rainfall during the winter period (Aljoufie, & Tiwari, 2015). The flooding in Jeddah City left 163 people dead and other 11640 people displaced and injured. Jeddah The floods destroyed many roads in the region and also washed about 3,000 vehicles (National Research Council, & Mapping Science Committee, 2007). Due to lack of preparedness, history repeated itself in Jeddah again where floods hit the area and killed at least 10 people and injured other 5000 in 2011 (Aljoufie, & Tiwari, 2015). Apart from the loss of life, it is clear that a lot of property was lost during those floods and which could have been avoided if there was proper intervention of the media as well as the government. Ten years from the occurrence of these floods, Saudi Arabia has yet to improve its disaster management plans (Alamri, 2010). The media has also not taken up its role in the society seriously. Other natural disasters have hit other regions in Saudi Arabia like the Makah floods which killed 31 people and Medina floods which claimed 29 lives. From the statistics above, it is clear to see that every time a disaster occurs, lives are lost where it could be possible to save them. The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 7 The media creates a direct link between emergency organizations and the public. It also plays an important role in disseminating vital information to the people before, during and after the occurrence of disasters. However, it is unfortunate that during this age and era, most of the media stations including national stations have given a blind eye on the issues affecting the people and especially the disaster. Instead most of the media stations are after making money and a good reputation (Coppola, 2006). The contemporary world has realized the ineffectiveness of the media in helping manage these problems and has led to the realization of how to minimize the losses of both life and property through the effective communication and using technologybased system for detecting and alerting the public of the impending and forecasted disasters. In the past, the media in Saudi Arabia has done little in educating people about disasters. In the region, television and radio are some of the main mediums that people use to get news and entertainment (Kunstler, 2007). The failure of the media stations to offer disaster management education is because of lack of qualified personnel who can impact the public on what measures to observe. The research will focus on the role of the media houses in disaster management education and awareness in Saudi Arabia. One of the roles of the media in warning communities of impending and forecasted disasters is public education and awareness. Most of the people in Saudi Arabia are not aware of the disasters until they happen yet they listen to the radio and watch the television on daily basis. It is therefore important for the media stations to always have people who are conversant with the area of disaster management and are also aware of the problems specific to the region (Abdalla, & Li, 2010). It is important to understand the Hyogo Framework of Action that was adopted in 2005 by almost 168 nations in the world. The framework emphasized on using of knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 8 safety and resilience at all levels. In this context, the media has therefore a role to play in mobilizing people through clear messages and detailed information of disaster management (Laituri, & Kodrich, 2008). In doing so, it is important for the media to realize that hazard awareness does not lead to the adoption of risk-reduction measures by the people. It is important for the media to understand the behavior of the people in regards to the disasters and forge a plan that will be effective in keeping everyone on board (Taylor, 1992). The public institutions that report news have to understand that people take action only when they understand that the action to take will reduce their risks and also are convinced that the action they take in regards to the disaster will be effective (Alyami, Rezgui, & Kwan, 2013). People also tend to respond to an emergency if they believe in their own ability to protect themselves. With such an understanding, it is the role of the media to come up with a plan that will engage the public. The press in Saudi Arabia should consider developing a successful public education program (Taylor, 1992). The following can be used as a guide in designing the program. i. When coming up with the program, it is important to ensure that they stimulate the public to seek information. ii. The correspondents should have in mind that the most memorable lessons are learnt from simple, concrete, credible and emotional lessons. In disaster management, there are be strong scientific terms used to signify the magnitude of an event. Such words should not be applied in creating a public education and awareness program but instead, simple and self-explanatory worlds should be used. For example, the program can use the floods in Jeddah to relate to situation where they are cautioning people about a similar disaster. The use of such an example can be effective because people can easily relate to it. The Role of the Media in Warning Communities iii. 9 Even in using the local and previous examples, it is necessary to use positive information as negative threats do not work. Focus should be on the importance of the evacuation but not threatening people to move. iv. The program should ask questions like why? who for? when and where? how? and with what tools? among other questions. It should be a planned intervention and integration of previously applied activities (Manfré, et al. 2012). A good example is; why we should evacuate in a month’s time? It is a question asked and answered by the director of the program. v. How to carry out the education program and when to do it is also of essence. Several approaches can be applied which include campaigns. Campaigns can be door to door or mass campaigned promoted by a media company or institution. The public awareness can also be carried out through informal and formal school based education. Media companies should consider using a wide range of applications and methods to provide guidance to the people. It should be one of the ways they give back to the society. vi. Effectiveness of the program depends on the proper application of effective implementation. Reporters in case have a responsibility of ensuring that the approaches of legitimacy and credibility, scalability, sustainability, and consistency are met as these can be measured to check the effectiveness (Manfré, et al. 2012). vii. In creating an awareness program, it is also important to consider different tools to implement the approaches discussed above. In Saudi Arabia, majority of the people are literate. It means that they can use the internet as well as read different publications. It is therefore important to be diverse when it comes to airing the The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 10 message. The main reason for considering different approaches is to ensure that the content of the program is understood by every person. All these tools have their advantages and disadvantages. Competition can be used to sensitize about disasters in the region. Social media and publications are also effective means that can be adopted for the education program. viii. Finally, the program should consider knowledge management as well as ensure quality is achieved. High quality should be achieved by producing properly crafted messages, using powerful images, allowing localized content, and using a compelling tone to educate the people on how to avoid different disasters (Manfré, et al. 2012). In the education and awareness role of the media, it is also important to consider the importance of consistence messaging. Research indicates that repetition of the same helps in understanding and agreeing to the content provided that the information is clear and consistent (Blakytny, Surbuts, Thomas, & Hunter, 2001). It is of essence for the media to also understand when to capture the largest audience when promoting the disaster management education. If the education is passed through the media specifically the televisions and the radio, it is of essence to allow them to air in the evening and during the weekends as this are the times when many people are free to listen and watch. The media should understand that some of these initiatives that are properly thought and created get support and sponsorship from the government and other nongovernmental bodies (Tambo, Fouad, & Khater, 2017). Disaster education programs offered by the media tend to attract famous and known personalities which help in becoming more effective to the public (Al Thobaity, Plummer, Innes, & Copnell, 2015). The public also tends to take information seriously if it is associated with the people they know or people they consider to be The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 11 role models. At the end, the effectiveness of the awareness programs is captured in the event of a disaster where the loss of life and property is minimized. The research will focus on the technology that the media companies have invested in to detect and timely communicate any disasters to the public. The role of the media in communicating of impending and forecasted disaster in Saudi Arabia does not lie on disaster education only (Tambo, Fouad, & Khater, 2017). Most of the media stations in Saudi Arabia rely on technology from the government and other weather services to provide information to the people (Laituri, & Kodrich, 2008). It means that they cannot provide real time update about weather and climatic conditions because they lack the required technology and systems to alert them of immediate happenings yet the media is considered to be eyes and the ears of the public. New technology and advances have been implemented in other regions of the world like in the United States and have helped in saving the lives of many people (Manfré, et al. 2012). Advances in technology offer prospects of considerable improvement in anticipation and dealing with disasters (Aloul, 2012). Geosynchronous satellites and supercomputers are used in meteorology for observation of the weather and communication of any changes that might be witnessed. Media houses should strive to improve their technology and this would ensure that they provide updates relating to the weather at all the times. Some countries have adopted the systems and have continued to improve them to be of help to nation at large (Abdalla, & Li, 2010). For example, Japan is one of the countries in the world that is frequently struck by natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on 11th March 2011 issued a warning about a Tsunami within 3 minutes of its occurrence (Laituri, & Kodrich, 2008). However, the message was not able to reach everyone and every media stations because of disruptions in network and the poor preparedness led to the death of almost 20,000 people. If The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 12 the media in the region at the time had advanced their technology as well as installed the right technology to detect these threats, many lives could have been saved. The occurrence is not different from that of Saudi Arabia. Lack of media preparedness has contributed to low or even slow flow if information which has then led to deaths of many people. As much is expected from the media in pre-disaster activities, more is also expected during the disaster activities. It is during this period that humanitarian organizations, state agencies, and development partners are engaged in providing services to the affected individuals. Even though the private media might have commercial interest, it is during this period that they should be supporting the efforts put by all rescue agencies (Manfré, et al. 2012). The media should play a more ethical and moral role by avoiding negative criticism of the efforts being made but at least assure the public that everything possible is being done to ensure everyone is safe (Alyami, Rezgui, & Kwan, 2013). The importance of such a message to the people is that it keeps the public calm and also avoids unnecessary tension. It also makes the rescue mission possible an easy without any interruption from the public. A good example of a country that has been able to remain calm through the intervention of the media and through all the disasters faced is Japan (Kunstler, 2007). Both national and private media has been engaged in continuous awareness programs, drills and preparing people on how to act in the occurrence of these disasters. The airing of these programs and drills nationally has helped in reducing the number of casualties in disasters overtime. The media in Saudi Arabia can fill their role most effectively in disaster management by establishing working relationships with the disaster management agencies in the region. The research will focus on media relationships with other institutions in the region that are tasked with disaster management (Tambo, Fouad, & Khater, 2017). Strengthening of the relationships The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 13 and sharing of resources with the agencies is important. As much as the media might have invested in modern technology, it is appropriate to foster to still closer linkages with the hazardmitigation agencies to ensure that all the information released to the public is correct and does not cause unnecessary panic. In fostering good relationships, the media can consider establishing a technological information-exchange mechanism that can ease the communication among the parties (Al Thobaity, Plummer, Innes, & Copnell, 2015). In instances where media houses cannot hire weather experts to analyze the disasters, the alternative of designating and training disaster journalist can be applied. The disaster correspondent can be of help to the station without having to cough extra fees. The research will focus Emergency Alert Systems and their effectiveness in data management. How the systems have been used in other regions of the world will also be a major area of coverage in the research. The media in Saudi Arabia has a responsibility of coming up with an emergency alert system. With collaboration with the government, the media in this region can use the system to warn people of incoming dangers related to different disasters (Laituri, & Kodrich, 2008). The Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Saudi Arabia can be created as in national public warning system which requires all cable television systems, satellite audio and radio services, and other media provides to provide a direct link to the President of the state to address an impending or forecasted disaster. The emergency system creates a state of emergency that is usually taken seriously and helps people to evacuate (Aloul, 2012). In Saudi Arabia, the president is heard after the occurrence of disaster which should not be the case. The EAS should be implemented and can play a major role in disaster management in the region. Emergency Alert System has been adopted in the United States of America and it has helped in managing the effects of many disasters. The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 14 The research will focus on State Emergency Communication Committee (SECC) and its impact in disaster management in the region. SECC is not present in Saudi Arabia. If it is present, it means that it is inactive. The committee comprises of representatives from the government as well as those from the media whose major role is to deliberate on issues related to disaster management. The role of the media is not limited to disaster education and communication. The media in Saudi Arabia can also contribute in influencing the government to prioritize disaster risk issues and sideline politics (Laituri, & Kodrich, 2008). In some regions of Saudi Arabia, the government has been reluctant in providing aid and resources to prepare for disaster. It is up to the media to ensure that such issues are exposed to the public. Airing such issues pushes the government to do something about them as much attention is focused on them. Exposing such vices and going against the government is not easy. Correspondents should be ready to face intimidation but should not be reluctant in seeking justice for the people (Abosuliman, Kumar, & Alam, 2013). Exposure of such activities also captures the attention of the international community which can help in funding as well as push for more government allocation on the disaster management. The role of communicating real issues surrounding disaster management by the media can aid in improving coordination of risk assessment activities in the region. The media should also be used wisely to yield positive results in disaster management. Methods Different methods will be used to gather information about the role of the media in warning communities of impending and forecasted disasters in Saudi Arabia. Literature review will be extensive be used in this research. Books will be employed in the literature review to find previous statistics about the media involvement in disasters in Saudi Arabia. Apart from books, The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 15 peer review journal articles will also be employed. Specific peer reviewed journal articles that focus on disaster management in the Saudi Arabia will be applied (Abosuliman, Kumar, & Alam, 2013). Specific websites will be used. Some of these websites include international organization websites like World Health Organization, disaster management entities websites, metrological department of Saudi Arabia website, government websites, and media company website. The reason for choosing these specific websites and not blogs and other sites is to ensure that only correct and verifiable information is extracted. Most of the information from these website is verifiable and genuine thus important for the research. Apart from the literature review, a survey will be conducted using the survey. The survey will target at least 100 Saudi Arabian residents living in areas that are prone to both natural and man-made disasters. The main medium of data collection will be social media survey. 100 respondents from different communities in the region will be hand-picked. The main aim of the social media survey is to understand the efforts that have been laid by the government and the media in disaster management. The use of social media for the survey was reached after considering the costs involved and the availability of individuals to participate in the survey. Ten social media survey questions will be drafted to gather information about the issue. Both closed and open ended questions will be used. The questions were selected to help in identifying individual and national wide disaster preparedness. The questions also seek to establish whether the media plays a role in disaster preparedness in Saudi Arabia. The questions include: 1. What are the principal natural disasters that are experienced by the community? Question seeks to establish whether floods, earthquakes, sand storms or hurricanes among others are the main disasters in the region The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 16 2. According to your observations, are the disabled persons, children, women, or older persons in the community are the most affected by the disasters? Seeks to establish the trend in the occurrence of natural disasters as well as how information spreads to different groups of persons. The question also seeks to identify how it can be ensured that information reaches all groups of persons in the community. 3. Do you think your family is relatively prepared for a disaster? Question seeks to identify individual preparedness to disasters 4. Is there anyone in the community responsible for disaster preparedness/response? Question seeks to establish if there is anyone responsible for the management of disasters in the region. Expected answers are yes, no, or do not know. 5. If there is anyone responsible for disaster preparedness or response in the region, does these persons interact with the media, National disaster management office, civil protection, or the United Nations among other individuals? Question seeks to identify if there is a collective action of agencies in times of disasters 6. Is the media in Saudi Arabia engaged in any disaster management program? The questions seeks to identify the role the media plays in disaster management 7. Does the community have access to the internet, radio or television? Question seeks to establish whether the community has avenues it can access information from. 8. Does the media or the national authorities produce information on; health, disaster preparedness and response for the community? Does the community know the existence of the materials? The question seeks to establish the role played by the media and other authorities responsible in mitigating disasters in the region. The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 17 9. If information is provided by the media and other agencies tasked in disaster management, is it useful? Question seeks to identify if the material provided help in disaster preparedness in the region. 10. Are there any awareness education programs sponsored by the media? The questions seeks to identify the role the media plays in disaster management The information from the social media survey will play a major role in completing the research and especially identifying the role and responsibilities of different parties like the government and the media among others in disaster management. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques will be applied in analyzing data. Inferential analysis will be focused on in the project. After analysis, the data will be interpreted and presented graphically for easier understanding of the trends and media preparedness. Telephone Consulting as needed in the Process 1. The Metrological department in Saudi Arabia 2. Disaster Management Agencies in Saudi Arabia 3. Media of Saudi Arabia 4. Pan-Arab Broadcasting The Role of the Media in Warning Communities 18 References Abdalla, R., & Li, J. (2010). Towards effective application of geospatial technologies for disaster management. Abosuliman, S. 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