Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
of the target audience. For example, all at-risk communities would beneit from evacuation
signage and educational programs regardless of tsunami source. Education to prepare indi-
viduals for far-ield tsunamis would emphasize oficial warnings disseminated by tsunami warn-
ing centers and organized evacuations managed by local oficials, whereas those for near-ield
tsunamis would instead emphasize the public's ability to recognize natural cues and take timely
protective actions for their own survival. Distinctions between warnings for near- and far-ield
tsunamis are important to convey to at-risk populations, because the public is often confused by
differences between the two and this confusion can create false expectations (Connor, 2005).
The format and dissemination of education products also vary based on the intended
audience. As discussed in Chapter 2, the demographics of the audience, such as age, income,
or educational background, inluence the ability of an individual to anticipate and react to a
natural hazard (Wisner et al., 2004) and therefore are important considerations when designing
evacuation signs and public education efforts. An education campaign designed for residents
capitalizes on their familiarity with their surroundings, emphasizes household preparedness
strategies, and could be delivered through existing social networks. An education campaign
designed for tourists focuses on easily identiiable landmarks, assumes individuals would have
no local friends or relatives to assist them in an evacuation, and would be delivered by em-
ployees in the tourist industry and through posted information on road-side signage, along
coastlines, and in commercial establishments. The challenge of having employees serve as
tsunami educators was made clear in a recent survey of hotel employees along the southwest
Washington coast that indicated only 22 percent of interviewees said they had been trained
about how to respond to tsunamis and had tsunami-related information available for guests
(Johnston et al., 2007). However challenging, educating tourists and the businesses that serve
them is critical—initial observations from the February 2010 Chilean tsunami suggest that
tourists, speciically campers on an island campground, represented a signiicant percentage of
the fatalities (Lori Dengler, Humboldt State University, written communication).
In addition to taking the local risk conditions into account, effective tsunami education is
built upon an understanding of what the target audience already knows and believes. Build-
ing this knowledge requires conducting routine assessments (such as Dengler et al., 2008)
of the at-risk population's perception, knowledge, and capacity to respond, which provides
oficials with a baseline for measuring progress in awareness and preparedness. It is also
useful in evaluating an educational program's effectiveness, highlighting areas for improve-
ment, and guiding oficials in their evacuation planning. Case studies suggest that segments
of coastal communities are aware of tsunami hazards, but may have dificulty evacuating if an
event were to occur (Gregg et al., 2004, 2007; Johnston et al., 2005, 2007). A survey in Oregon
and Washington revealed that although public oficials and coastal business owners consider
near-ield tsunamis related to Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes to be signiicant threats,
they had done little to make their own organization or ofice less vulnerable to these hazards
(Wood and Good, 2005). Other studies conirm that current dissemination activities increase
awareness but are inadequate to translate into increased preparedness or appropriate evacu-
ation actions (Johnston et al., 2005, 2007; Gregg et al., 2007). Baseline measurements and post-
outreach assessments documented positive changes in tsunami knowledge and prepared-
