Disaster profile of the people in Sürmene district of Trabzon province: Determination of awareness and preparation levels

This study was designed in sectional scan model in order to determine the disaster profile and awareness of individuals living in Sürmene district of Trabzon province. Data were collected by using questionnaire form. The questions in the questionnaire were compiled from the questions prepared by different researchers and available in the literature. The questionnaire consists of 23 questions and the last 17 questions aim to determine the awareness and preparation levels on disasters of participants. As sampling method, stratified convenience sampling method according to gender was used and 400 people were assigned as the number of samples. Data were gathered from a total of 400 people, which of them 200 women and 200 men, by face to face interview. Obtained data were analyzed with SPSS 25 software and as the statistical analysis method, they were displayed graphically with frequency tables. In the analyses, nonparametric tests were used since the convenience sampling method were not used and data did not show normal distribution. In nonparametric tests, Man Whitney U Test was used for binary comparisons and Kruskal Wallis H Test was used for multiple comparisons. Results of the study show that the individuals participating in the questionnaire study have a moderate level of awareness and preparation about disasters and, depending of the education level, the situation of having information about disaster-related issues increases. Therefore, regular trainings should be given and exercises should be made in order to raise disaster awareness and preparation level and, the awareness and preparation perceptions of public against to disasters should be kept high. Keywords: Sürmene, Disaster, Disaster Awareness, Preparation Level