Determination of Disaster Awareness and Preparedness Level of University Students

Turkey is one of leading countries in terms of earthquake risk. The risk map of earthquake in Turkey, which was updated in collaboration with various universities and public institutions in 2017, has indicated clearly that most of the population and the industrial facilities in Turkey are in the areas of earthquake risk. It is observed that the significant part of the population faces high risk of earthquake even when only first and second-degree seismic belts are considered. It is a vital issue to be prepared for a disaster in order to decrease the effects of disasters especially in possible risk areas. Application of proper behaviors and create an awareness against disasters in a society is closely related to the education regarding disasters. It is aimed in this study to determine the preparedness and awareness levels of university students and to presentsome suggestions in relation to activities which should be carried out in universities. A questionnaire composed of three parts and of which the questions were determined by means of literature review has been applied to the students in various departments of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. As a conclusion, it has been determined that although the consciousness level of the students is high, the preparedness level is low. The results obtained have indicated that it is necessary for all students to have training about Basic Disaster Awareness and Preparedness