Community Attitude, Knowledge and Awareness on Disaster Management: A Case of a Selected Village Community in Malaysia

Abstract

In any disaster event, the community is the hardest affected. A disaster can cause lose of lives in the community as well as property. Therefore, the people in the community must be ready in preparing for disaster. The objective of this study is to examine community attitude, knowledge and awareness in disaster management. A total of 150 people in a selected village community that has been affected by flood in Malaysia were involved as respondents in this study. The quantitative method was used in this study in which data were collected through questionnaire survey. Statistical analyses were used in this study are descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regressions. It is found that the community understands the importance on taking precaution for disaster and they have somewhat good knowledge and attitude in handling disaster. Indeed, both attitude and knowledge of the community have a relationship with awareness on disaster management. A basic knowledge on disaster management should be known by all the society in a community. In addition, the attitude of the society in managing disaster can show the moral and values of the community, particularly during crisis and disaster.

Keywords: Community attitude, Knowledge, Awareness, Disaster management, Malaysia.