Household supplies for natural disaster: factor of influence on the possession of supplies

Abstract

Purpose –The paper presents the results of the quantitative research of the impact of certain factors on household possession of supplies necessary for the survival of the consequences of natural disasters. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative research was conducted by using a survey strategy in households with the use of a multi-stage random sample. The first step, which was related to the primary sampling units, included selection of parts of the community for conducting research. The second step, which was related to research cores, included selection of streets or parts of streets at the level of primary sampling units, and finally a selection of households for surveying 2500 citizens in 19 local communities. Findings –It was found that only 24.6% of the respondents have supplies, while 61.5% have no supplies for surviving natural disasters. On the other hand, 37.2% of the respondents possess supplies of food for 4 days, while only 12% have supplies of food for 1 day. It was found that 17.6% of the respondents have a transistor radio, 40% a flashlight, 40.6% a shovel, 25.8% a hack, 33.6% hoe and spade, and 13.2% a fire extinguisher. The results of the inferential statistical analyses show that there is a statistically significant influenceof gender, education, marital status, parenthood, employment, income level, level of religiosity, completed military service on having supplies to survive the consequences of natural disasters. On the other hand, there was no influence of previous experiences on having supplies. Originality/value –research results allow the design of strategies aimed at raising the level of preparedness of households for natural disasters with regard to their supplies.