The Role of Education on Disaster Preparedness: Case Study of 2012udIndian Ocean Earthquakes on Thailand's Andaman Coast

摘要

In this paper we investigate how well residents of the Andaman coast in Phang Nga province, Thailand, areudprepared for earthquakes and tsunami. It is hypothesized that formal education can promote disaster preparedness becauseudeducation enhances individual cognitive and learning skills, as well as access to information. A survey was conducted of 557udhouseholds in the areas that received tsunami warnings following the Indian Ocean earthquakes on 11 April 2012. Interviewsudwere carried out during the period of numerous aftershocks, which put residents in the region on high alert. The respondentsudwere asked what emergency preparedness measures they had taken following the 11 April earthquakes. Using the partialudproportional odds model, the paper investigates determinants of personal disaster preparedness measured as the number ofudpreparedness actions taken. Controlling for village effects, we find that formal education, measured at the individual, household,udand community levels, has a positive relationship with taking preparedness measures. For the survey group without past disasterudexperience, the education level of household members is positively related to disaster preparedness. The findings also show thatuddisaster-related training is most effective for individuals with high educational attainment. Furthermore, living in a communityudwith a higher proportion of women who have at least a secondary education increases the likelihood of disaster preparedness.udIn conclusion, we found that formal education can increase disaster preparedness and reduce vulnerability to natural hazards.