Using town watching technique to raise disaster awareness for different audiences

Nazan Akman Pek, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.2019.0433

Authors

Nazan Akman Pek, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2019.0433

Keywords:

disaster awareness, risk assessment, disaster education, disaster risk reduction

Abstract

Communities need to be aware of all the risks and consequences of disasters, which have increased both in numbers, economic and human losses in the recent decades. This study aims to show how town watching technique has a positive effect in raising disaster awareness in different types of learning experiences for different target groups so that individuals understand the disaster risks and make plans to decrease their vulnerabilities. Application of town watching for two different target audiences are explained; undergraduate engineering major students, local government officials, and volunteer community members. Results of surveys conducted for an elective humanities course for engineering major undergraduates named disaster awareness are presented. Interviews with volunteers from other target groups who participated in community-based disaster capacity building projects are also included in this study. It can be clearly seen that town watching creates synergy while disaster awareness is internalized, and the participants learn about disasters, risks, and resources at hand that may also help toward the countries' resilience to disasters.

Author Biography

Nazan Akman Pek, PhD

Associate Professor, Earthquake Engineering and Disaster Management Institute, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey

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