A study on media use information seeking behaviour and disaster preparedness in tamil nadu

Abstract

10% of the world s tropical cyclones take place in India of which 71% hit major coastal states such as Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. Tamil Nadu is a southern state in India is highly vulnerable to cyclones and has a deep rooted history of cyclones. The instances of cyclones are becoming more frequent as well as intense in the recent times which raises a pressing need for disaster preparedness. Information plays a crucial role in the context of disasters and the same is disseminated through media. People seek information from media to become aware as well as adopt precautionary measures to safeguard themselves and their property from cyclones to the extent possible. A question arises as to how frequently people use media in the context of disaster, the pattern of information seeking, what are the factors that determine the information seeking behaviour and whether they pave way for the adoption of disaster preparedness. There arises a strong need for scholarly exploration on the aspects media use, information seeking behaviour and disaster preparedness in the context of the state of Tamil Nadu in a developing nation like India. The thesis proposes the disaster preparedness model that conceptualizes structural relationships among media use, information seeking behaviour and disaster preparedness. The proposed structural relationships are empirically investigated in the context of tropical cyclones in the coastal districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The study also seeks to examine the demographic and vulnerability profile of the respondents and their subsequent impact on the factors proposed in the disaster preparedness model. newline