Disaster risk management: Developing community awareness on mitigation and preparedness

A catastrophic event is one that is difficult to predict in terms of timing, place, and impact. The impact is only visible after the catastrophe, as evidenced by statistics on the number of casualties and property damage.These incidents can potentially result in technology disasters, also termed as "natural-hazard triggered technological accidents (NATECH)". Explosions, fires, destruction of chemical storage sites, processing plants, gas/petroleum pipelines, nuclear reactors, toxic emissions, and other impacts are all possible. This makes the community very vulnerable if the importance of preventive action through mitigation and preparedness for disasters is not emphasized. This capability will facilitate the next phase in disaster management, namely the response and recovery phase. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to: (i) identify the key elements in the mitigation and disaster preparedness phase; and (ii) propose a framework for the measurement of the disaster prevention and preparedness phase. This framework was created using a combination of document analysis, interviews, observations, and focus group discussions with 129 respondents in Penampang, Sabah; Miri and Bintulu, Sarawak; Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan; Southwest and Northeast Districts, Penang; Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam, Selangor; and Hulu Perak District in Perak. This study discovered numerous essential elements, including knowledge, experience, attitude, exposure, and awareness of the reaction, that influence people's perceptions of disasters, as well as mitigation efforts and disaster preparation. This research is expected to assist disaster management practitioners in developing activity modules and training/education curricula linked to disaster mitigation and preparedness in NATECH.