Article

A survey-based analysis of the public's willingness for disaster relief in China

Details

Citation

Hu Z, Zhang X, Cui J, Zhang L & Ahmed W (2021) A survey-based analysis of the public's willingness for disaster relief in China. Natural Hazards, 107 (3), pp. 2205-2225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04538-7

Abstract
Meteorological disasters frequently occur in China and around the world. These natural hazards can cause huge economic losses and threaten the personal safety of citizens. The public’s willingness to engage with disaster relief efforts and the degree of participation is critical to reduce the impact of such disasters. This study conducted a survey with 62,903 respondents from China. The study utilized statistical analysis and correlation analysis in order to understand the differences and similarities of the public’s willingness to take part in disaster relief across gender and age. The study found that: (1) the public’s awareness of insurance and willingness to make donations during climate disasters is low, and that more than half of the public are only willing to insure for very less money; (2) although the public has very high enthusiasm to participate in disaster relief, they are less willing to learn the basic skills of reducing disasters and for participating in training for disaster reduction as volunteers. This was especially the case for elderly citizens and females; (3) the willingness of the public to prevent and reduce disasters is high, and this was the case across various gender and age groups. Finally, the study puts forward several measures to improve the uptake of disaster relief and disaster prevention among citizens.

Keywords
Meteorological disasters; Willingness of disaster relief; Quantitative analysis; Disaster prevention; Insurance and donation

Journal
Natural Hazards: Volume 107, Issue 3

StatusPublished
FundersNational Social Science Fund of China and National Natural Science Foundation of China
Publication date31/07/2021
Publication date online03/02/2021
Date accepted by journal16/01/2021
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/33372
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC
ISSN0921-030X
eISSN1573-0840