Citation

Chan EYY, Man AYT, Lam HCY, Chan GKW, Hall BJ, Hung KKC. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(4): e16040596.

Affiliation

Accident & Emergency Academic Unit, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China. kevin.hung@cuhk.edu.hk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16040596

PMID

30791356

Abstract

Climate change-related extreme events are increasing in frequency and severity. Understanding household emergency preparedness capacity in Health-Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) for at risk urban communities is limited. The main objective of the study is to explore the association among risk perception, household preparedness, and the self-reported short-term impacts of Typhoons for urban residents. A population-based, cross-sectional telephone survey using random digit-dialling was conducted among Hong Kong adults within 2 weeks following 2018 Typhoon Mangkhut, the most intense typhoon that affected Hong Kong, a subtropical city, in thirty years. Among the 521 respondents, 93.9% and 74.3% reported some form of emergency preparedness and typhoon-specific preparedness measure (TSPM) against Mangkhut, respectively. Respondents who perceived a higher risk at home during typhoons and had practiced routine emergency preparedness measures (during nonemergency periods) were more likely to undertake TSPM. Of the respondents, 33.4% reported some form of impact (11.1% were household-specific) by Typhoon Mangkhut. Practicing TSPM was not associated with the reduction of short-term household impacts. Current preparedness measures may be insufficient to address the impact of super typhoons. Strategies for health-EDRM for urban residents will be needed to cope with increasing climate change-related extreme events.

Language: en

Keywords

Health-EDRM; climate change related extreme events; cyclone; household preparedness; hurricane; natural disaster; strong wind levels; subtropical city; typhoon; urban