doi: 10.3850/S1793924012001484

Usage of Media in Disaster Preparedness: With Reference to Coastal Disasters in Chennai Tamil Nadu, India

Sunitha Kuppuswamy Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai – 600 025, Tamil Nadu, India. sunithakuppuswamy@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

‘Disasters are on the rise’ 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 – as it gives people a voice, makes them “audible” and “visible” 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’s preference of the medium and a posttest to evaluate the reach of the preferred medium.

Keywords: Coastal disasters, Preparedness, Media, Community, Information and communication technology.

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