Religiousness level and citizen preparedness for natural disasters

Abstract

The subject of quantitative research was examination of relationship between the level of religiousness and perception of citizen's flood disaster preparedness. The aim of such research was a scientific explanation of relationships of these characteristics and the perception. Bearing in mind all local communities in Serbia, where floods occurred or there is a high risk of flooding, the sample including 19 of 150 municipalities and 23 towns was randomly selected, as well as the city of Belgrade, where 2,500 persons were surveyed in 2015. The research included the following communities: Obrenovac, Šabac, Kruševac, Kragujevac, Sremska Mitrovica, Priboj, Batočina, Svilajnac, Lapovo, Paraćin, Smederevska Palanka, Jaša Tomić, Loznica, Bajina Bašta, Smederevo, Novi Sad, Kraljevo, Rekovac and Užice. The research of selected communities was undertaken in the areas which were most affected in relation to the amount of water or potential risk of flooding. The survey used strategy of testing in households with the use of a multistage random sample. The parts in the administrative headquarters, which were threatened by hundred-year-old water or a potential risk of high water were determined in the first stage. In the second stage streets and their parts were established, and in the third stage the households in which the survey was conducted were determined. The number of households was coordinated with the size of the community. The fourth stage of sampling referred to the procedure of respondent selection within previously defined household. The respondent selection was conducted using a random sampling method on the adult household members, who were present at the time of the survey. The results indicate that there is a statistically significant correlation level of religiosity with perception in terms of citizens' preparedness to respond. The research results can contribute to the improvement of citizens' preparedness to respond to such events and can be used to develop the strategy for enhancement of the level of citizens' preparedness to respond.