Tsunami preparedness of people living in affected and non-affected areas: A comparative study in coastal area in Aceh, Indonesia

SummaryThe aims of this descriptive comparative study are to: (i) describe the level of tsunami disaster preparedness of people who live in areas affected and not-affected by the December 2004 tsunami and (ii) to compare the tsunami disaster preparedness of these two groups of people. A total of 304 subjects were recruited using a multistage-stratified random sampling from both of the areas along west coast of Aceh Province, Indonesia that is located close to epicenter of earthquake that caused the tsunami. The data was collected by questionnaires developed by the researcher. The independent t-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were conducted to analyze the data. The findings showed a moderate level of tsunami preparedness of people living in both areas including level of the variables that cover knowledge, individual emergency planning, and resources mobilization capacity. The mean scores for each variable of people living in affected areas were significantly higher than people living in non-affected areas (p < .05). Subvariables also had higher mean scores except for one subvariable related to individual emergency planning: ‘skill related to disaster preparedness’ that had a low mean score. This study provided evidence that direct and indirect tsunami experience has a significant impact on people's tsunami preparedness.