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<doi>10.3850/S1793924012001484</doi>
<article-title>Usage of Media in Disaster Preparedness: With Reference to
Coastal Disasters in Chennai Tamil Nadu, India</article-title>
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<author>Sunitha Kuppuswamy</author>

<author-citation>Kuppuswamy, Sunitha</author-citation>

<aff>Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai &#8211; 600 025, Tamil Nadu, India.</aff>

<email><a href="mailto:sunithakuppuswamy@gmail.com">sunithakuppuswamy@gmail.com</a></email>


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<title>ABSTRACT</title>
<p>&#8216;Disasters are on the rise&#8217; and the past two decades have witnessed catastrophes across
the globe and recently the tsunamis affecting developing countries including India. Coastal
communities were severely affected and survived with huge social and economic loss.
Disaster preparedness is facing many new challenges with the advent of natural as well
as human-made disasters. Disaster preparedness communication is more essential in the
current situation. Communication is the most critical factor in development &#8211; as it gives
people a voice, makes them &#8220;audible&#8221; and &#8220;visible&#8221; helping them to learn and take action
(Krishnamurthi, 2012). The mix of traditional and modern media can help overcome barriers
of literacy and language, cultural differences and physical isolation (UNESCO, 2012). They
are powerful tools to educate inform and empower the local communities. Media can be
used as a means for educatainment, infotainment and for motivation in the spheres of
development action. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in many forms
including radio, television, internet, etc can play an amenable role in addressing the issues of
the coastal communities that are vulnerable to disasters in various forms. This research paper
analyses the effective medium for disaster preparedness among the coastal communities in
Chennai. The researcher has done experimental study with a pretest to find the people&#8217;s
preference of the medium and a posttest to evaluate the reach of the preferred medium.</p><p><italic>Keywords: </italic>Coastal disasters, Preparedness, Media, Community, Information and communication technology. </p>
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