Psychological Preparedness for Natural Disasters

Abstract

Natural disasters have become common recurrences, rather than rare events and continue to impact people's lives. Recently, the world has witnessed several devastating extreme weather events. Even though early warning systems are in place for most natural disaster threats, people die each year, several become injured, and some go on to develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress and other psychological problems as a result of exposure to natural disasters. Now more than ever, it is important to prepare people, especially those living in disaster-prone areas, for the eventuality of a natural disaster impact. While situational preparedness is common practice, it is suggested that psychological preparedness might help individuals prepare emotionally for natural disasters and may also cope better in the aftermath. This paper provides an overview of the construct "psychological preparedness" and the results of the newly developed and validated measure of psychological preparedness, the Psychological Preparedness for Disaster Threat Scale (PPDTS).