Behavioral Responses to the 2020-2021 Southwest Puerto Rico Earthquake Sequence: Information-Seeking, Rumors, and Protective Action Decision-Making
Description:
While there are more than six decades of research on how people respond to risk information, less is known about information seeking in the context of competing official and non-official sources of risk information available through social media (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, 2018). There is also a dearth of social science research on disasters in Puerto Rico, more so on risk communication. Moreover, Puerto Ricans have been coping with consecutive extreme events in the last five years, including hurricanes, landslides, an earthquake sequence, and the COVID-19 pandemic, challenging more traditional event-based definitions and studies of disasters. For the last two years, our team has been conducting research to understand how in the context of navigating multiple disaster cycles simultaneously, emergency management-related personnel, as well as residents, make decisions about what actions they should take to protect themselves and others against the possibility of a significant earthquake in the future. Using data collected through in-depth interviews with key informants (n=51), a semi-structured survey (n=428), and focus groups (8 facilitated) in three communities in the municipalities of Guayanilla, Guánica, and San Juan, we explore how emergency responders and residents access, interpret and use official and non-official earthquake risk information available through social media and other sources to inform immediate and long-term protective-action decisions. This research is vital for disaster reduction as it may assist in effectively planning, and in promoting situational awareness, hazard adjustments, and preparedness for future earthquakes.
Session: The 2020-2021 Southwest Puerto Rico Seismic Sequence: Current State of Knowledge and Implications
Type: Oral
Date: 4/18/2023
Presentation Time: 11:00 AM (local time)
Presenting Author: Jenniffer M. Santos-Hernández
Student Presenter: No
Invited Presentation:
Authors
Jenniffer Santos-Hernández Presenting Author Corresponding Author jenniffer.santos1@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras |
Nnenia Campbell nnenia.campbell@colorado.edu University of Colorado Boulder |
Sara McBride skmcbride@usgs.gov U.S. Geological Survey |
Lorna Jaramillo-Nieves lorna.jaramillo@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras |
Francisco Vidal-Franceschi francisco.vidal@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras |
Alejandra Figueroa-Huertas alejandra.figueroa7@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras |
Ashley Méndez-Heavilin ashley.mendez2@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras |
Gabriela Márquez-López gabriela.marquez1@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras |
Claudia Rivera-Rivera claudia.rivera11@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras |
Ricardo J Torres-Febre ricardo.torres25@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States |
José Vélez-Rosario jose.velez10@upr.edu University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States |
Behavioral Responses to the 2020-2021 Southwest Puerto Rico Earthquake Sequence: Information-Seeking, Rumors, and Protective Action Decision-Making
Category
The 2020-2021 Southwest Puerto Rico Seismic Sequence: Current State of Knowledge and Implications