Disaster preparedness: An investigation on motivation and barriers

Magiswary Dorasamy, MSc; Murali Raman, PhD; Maran Marimuthu, PhD; Maniam Kaliannan, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.2013.0156

Authors

Magiswary Dorasamy, MSc
Murali Raman, PhD
Maran Marimuthu, PhD
Maniam Kaliannan, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2013.0156

Keywords:

flood, landslide, disaster, community, preparedness, Malaysia

Abstract

This article presents a preliminary investigation on the motivations for and the barriers that hinder preparedness toward disasters in a community. Survey questionnaires were distributed to local individuals in the nine districts of Selangor state in Malaysia. A total of 402 usable questionnaires were analyzed. The initial findings revealed that community members are motivated for disaster preparedness mainly for family safety reason. However, generally they do not know how to be prepared. This article concludes by highlighting the importance of knowledge and information in community preparedness. This research is limited to one state in Malaysia. However, the chosen state has a large effect on the Malaysian gross domestic product; hence, lack of preparedness poses a critical risk to its large population. This study on motivation and barriers for disaster preparedness is intended to increase the effectiveness of community readiness as a whole toward major disasters such as landslide and flood. The result of this study is valuable to the scientific community within the disaster management domain, the government agencies for policy and strategy formulations, and the local community to preempt, deal with, and ultimately survive disasters. This research aims to ensure that the community is continuously prepared and able to meet the evolving needs of the individual citizen as the nation strives toward promoting a knowledgeable society.

Author Biographies

Magiswary Dorasamy, MSc

Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia

Murali Raman, PhD

Professor, Graduate School of Management, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia

Maran Marimuthu, PhD

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Accountancy & Management, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kajang, Malaysia

Maniam Kaliannan, PhD

Associate Professor, Business School, The Nottingham University of Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia

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