Public response to earthquake disaster: a case study in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

By considering an area affected by a Ms 7.1 earthquake in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in 2010 as an example, this paper analyzed the public response level after an earthquake disaster and discussed the principal factors influencing public response behaviors using a questionnaire survey. The results showed that the local public’s response level is low in the studied area. The average response scoring rate is only 0.50. Gender, family income, experience and religion are the most significant factors influencing the public response level. Females or individuals with low family income and little education tend to have lower response capability and are more vulnerable during an earthquake disaster. Furthermore, on the whole, participants who had experience coping with unexpected safety events appear to adopt more reasonable response behavior during an earthquake disaster. The relatively undeveloped economy and low education level are the basic limiting factors for improving the public response capability in the studied area. Certain policies and suggestions to improve the response capability and disaster reduction were discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013