Apatu Emma J I, Gregg Chris E, Wood Nathan J, Wang Liang
Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, University of North Florida, United States.
Associate Professor at the Department of Geosciences, East Tennessee State University, United States.
Disasters. 2016 Oct;40(4):779-98. doi: 10.1111/disa.12170. Epub 2016 Jan 5.
Tsunamis represent significant threats to human life and development in coastal communities. This quantitative study examines the influence of household characteristics on evacuation actions taken by 211 respondents in American Samoa who were at their homes during the 29 September 2009 Mw 8.1 Samoa Islands earthquake and tsunami disaster. Multiple logistic regression analysis of survey data was used to examine the association between evacuation and various household factors. Findings show that increases in distance to shoreline were associated with a slightly decreased likelihood of evacuation, whereas households reporting higher income had an increased probability of evacuation. The response in American Samoa was an effective one, with only 34 fatalities in a tsunami that reached shore in as little as 15 minutes. Consequently, future research should implement more qualitative study designs to identify event and cultural specific determinants of household evacuation behaviour to local tsunamis.
海啸对沿海社区的人类生命和发展构成重大威胁。这项定量研究考察了家庭特征对美属萨摩亚211名受访者疏散行动的影响，这些受访者在2009年9月29日Mw 8.1萨摩亚群岛地震和海啸灾难发生时正在家中。利用调查数据进行多元逻辑回归分析，以检验疏散与各种家庭因素之间的关联。研究结果表明，离海岸线距离的增加与疏散可能性略有降低相关，而报告收入较高的家庭疏散概率增加。美属萨摩亚的应对措施是有效的，在一场短短15分钟内就抵达海岸的海啸中，仅有34人死亡。因此，未来的研究应采用更多定性研究设计，以确定针对当地海啸的家庭疏散行为的事件和文化特定决定因素。
