Community understanding of tsunami risk and warnings systems in Australia
Interviews with volunteer, community, and maritime groups and organizations revealed that tsunamis are perceived as a non-existent or very low probability event throughout Australia. A belief that no tsunami events had occurred in Australia (at least since colonial times), that major causes were absent, and a lack of regular government (local and national) and media discussion of tsunami reinforced this view. Consequently, the predominant belief about tsunami was characterized by risk rejection.
Training was found to increase knowledge of tsunami characteristics and behavior, but it did not translate into acceptance of a need for action. Respondents discussed the need to increase the public profile of tsunami, and to do so in ways that localize risk reduction activities. There is a need to develop local level initiatives and develop local warning and community response capabilities.
The research discusses the availability and use of the “Tsunami: The ultimate guide” resource. The uptake of the Guide will be influenced by the degree to which tsunami are seen as a phenomenon that makes a significant contribution to the Australian hazard-scape. The availability of the Guide means that it can be used to complement a risk acceptance strategy (see above) and ensure that community members and schools have ready access to an informative resource to support local risk reduction planning and actions.
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