What are the motivation about disaster management studies?
Answers
The most essential but difficult part of disaster management is how to motivate people to understand the disaster risk and to take actions appropriately against such risk with their own will. It is first examined with both economic and psychological knowledge how people perceive the disaster risk and make choice to avoid such risk. The choice is made taking into account perceived (subjective) risk probability, perceived value or utility that might be lost, and the cost performance of the investment to avoid the given risk. As a result of lack of risk understanding and psychological influence, people usually underestimate their own risk and would not take actions to avoid the risk. In order to motivate individuals for disaster management, it would be therefore effective to make them understand their own risk, which differs from person to person, through interaction among the stakeholders, and to decrease the cost to avoid the risk. Finally proposed is "Co-learning" among individuals, experts, and NGOs at community level through appropriate risk communication.