An analysis on determining the disaster awareness and preparedness levels of the community in Ardeşen district of Rize province

Disaster awareness enables society to be informed about the primary and secondary impacts that may arise from disasters, to accept the fact that disasters are a part of their personal lives, and to integrate them into their lives. It also allows them to reach a level where they can use the knowledge and experience gained before, during, and after a disaster, along with their acquired ability to make accurate and rapid decisions. This study aims to determine the disaster awareness and preparedness levels of individuals living in Ardeşen district of Rize province. The quantitative study was designed using a cross-sectional survey model, and data were collected using a face-toface questionnaire. The questions in the questionnaire were compiled from existing questions in the literature and prepared by different researchers after a literature review. The data collection instrument consists of two parts. The first part is a sociodemographic information form, and the second part contains questions aimed at measuring disaster awareness and preparedness, totaling 29 questions. Simple random sampling was used as the sampling method, and the sample size was determined as 380 according to the known population sampling calculation. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 software. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data, nonparametric tests were used. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for pairwise comparisons, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was applied for multiple comparisons. According to the findings, the disaster awareness and preparedness levels of individuals living in the region were found to be at a moderate level. Individuals who participated in disaster drills had higher disaster awareness and preparedness levels compared to those who did not participate, and individuals who had natural disaster insurance for their households had higher disaster awareness and preparedness levels compared to those who did not. In conclusion, it is thought that the findings obtained within the scope of this study will contribute to increasing the disaster awareness and preparedness levels of the region's population.