Correlates of Responses to Two Potential Hazards

Abstract

Abstract Eighty-six adults participated in the present study of the relationships among selected predictors and responses to potential earthquake and flood hazard. Results indicated (a) that length of residence was the best predictor of perceived probability of earthquake occurrence, whereas no predictors were identified for flood probability; (b) that estimation of potential earthquake damage was related to perceived reliability of official support systems, number of damage reduction measures, and trait anxiety, whereas flood damage estimation was associated with flood expectation, perceived reliability of agencies, severity of previously experienced damages, and education; and (c) that trait anxiety and availability of safety items in the home accounted for a significant percentage of the variance in acknowledged anxiety in response to an earthquake prediction, whereas damage expectation and previously experienced damage emerged as predictors of acknowledged anxiety in response to a flood prediction.