How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms
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How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms Barbara Ryan1 · Rachel King1 Received: 26 March 2020 / Accepted: 6 July 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract This paper investigates use of inventories, or checklists of activities, as an emergency management tool to motivate preparedness action in individuals. It develops the inventory concept to provide the foundation for a more targeted approach to storm preparation communication and community engagement. It also examines the potential efficacy of alternatives to paper-based checklists, such as web or smartphone applications. Academic and grey literature was reviewed to collect activities for a storm inventory for emergency agencies to measure individual preparedness and for individuals to measure their preparation progress. The resulting master list was refined for application and tested for useability in a pilot study of semi-structured interviews in a storm-susceptible community in Queensland, Australia. Also, clustering items by type of preparedness activity reveal where strengths and weaknesses exist in individual preparedness. For instance, preparation for leaving and safety planning were shown to be the areas of weakest activity in the pilot sample, while preparation of the house for a storm was the strongest area. In addition, behaviour change literature shows potential for effective use of an inventory-based smartphone application in motivating preparation activity. Data collected by a storm preparedness smartphone application could show where a communication or engagement program for targeted communities should be focused. It is supported by health literature that identifies preferences of individuals to make progress on complex tasks in stages, the value of lists to achievement of goals and demonstrated increase in uptake of activities prompted by smartphone applications over web or paper-based diaries. Keywords Storm · Cyclone · Hurricane · Inventory · Hazard adjustments · Preparedness · Checklist
1 Introduction Motivating individuals and households to prepare for natural hazards has become an increasingly important strategy in emergency management since the mid-1990s (Ablah et al. 2009; Allen 2006; Boon 2014; Childs et al. 2006; Cretikos et al. 2008; Gillespie * Barbara Ryan [email protected] 1
University of Southern Queensland, West Street, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia
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and Streeter 1987; Goudie 2007; Goudie and King 1999; Handmer and O’Neill 2016; Howe et al. 2018; Kapucu 2008; Kohn et al. 2012; MacDougall et al. 2014; McCaffrey 2015; Molino and Huybrechs 2004; National Governors’ Association Centre for Policy Research 1979; Paton 2003; Paton and Johnston 2001; Rhodes 2011; Tippett et al. 2015; Trigg et al. 2015b). This strategy is driven by evidence that lack of hazard preparedness has led to many otherwise preventable deaths, injuries and damage caused by natural hazards. Deaths resulting from devastating disasters such as the 2019–20 Australian bushfires, the
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