Impact of information seeking, disaster preparedness and typhoon emergency response on perceived community resilience in Hong Kong

Abstract

Gentrification and urban development in coastal megacities have increased community resilience due to better physical and socioeconomic conditions to cope with natural hazards. However, perceived community resilience, namely public belief regarding the ability of society to recover, is under-researched. In particular, specific pathways between information seeking and perceived community resilience during extreme storm events are rarely discussed. Therefore, this study applied structural equation modelling to examine the associations between the use of traditional and new information channels in typhoon-related information seeking and individual perceived community resilience, with disaster preparedness and typhoon emergency response as mediators. This analysis was based on a population-based cohort (n = 1015) and the Cantonese version of the Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measure (CCRAM-10). Generally, CCRAM-10 and four of the five sub-dimensions were rated lower than average, although 89.8% of the respondents used at least two channels to acquire typhoon-related information. Direct associations were found between the use of traditional information channels (e.g., television) and greater perceived community resilience (β = 0.096; SE = 0.035), and two indirect associations were found via individual disaster preparedness behaviours and typhoon emergency response behaviours. However, we found only indirect associations between the use of new information channels (e.g., social media) and greater perceived community resilience via individual and household disaster preparedness behaviours. These associations suggest that community-based programmes should consider improving perceived community resilience by making more information-seeking channels available for residents. To increase urban resilience in coastal areas, new information channels should also be synergised with both top-down and bottom-up typhoon-related information as well as physical and socioeconomic conditions of the urban environment for urban governance and community-based disaster management.