Earthquake Literacy: A Communicative Approach
Conference paper > Full Text · 2024
Authors: Şadiye Emet GÜREL, Azra Kardelen Nazlı, Selvinaz Yoltay
Anadolu 14th International Conference on Social Sciences, Türkiye, Gaziantep, International, Verbal, Full Text, 2024-2024, pp 185-202
Summary
<p>From a traditional perspective, literacy means that individuals have reading and writing skills. Literacy, a basic skill, changes and transforms in parallel with the changing world. Literacy in the 21st century is positioned beyond traditional literacy and has a multi-faceted nature. Earthquake literacy is one of the most important types of literacy today. Earthquake literacy, in its simplest terms, is the development of basic knowledge and understanding covering the causes, effects and preventive measures of earthquakes. In broader terms, earthquake literacy is the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors that enable making the right decisions and complying with the rules in the context of earthquake prevention, earthquake preparation and response, and post-earthquake recovery activities. Earthquake literacy provides great benefits in mitigating the effects of the earthquake and continuing life after the earthquake by enabling individuals to understand the earthquake, which is a natural disaster, and to respond correctly to the earthquake. In this sense, earthquake literacy ensures that individuals, organizations and societies increase their earthquake resistance by shaping their perception and understanding of earthquakes. Earthquake literacy, as a part of modern disaster management and a subtype of disaster literacy, has a special meaning for both the world and Turkiye in the current period. Academic studies and research are needed to understand and make sense of this relatively important concept. Within the scope of this conceptual study, earthquake literacy is discussed from a communicative perspective. Within the scope of the study, the definition of earthquake literacy, its scope, the place and importance of communication in earthquake literacy are examined. It is thought that the study is important because earthquake literacy is relatively new and will contribute to the literature by shedding light on future studies. The desired result of the study is to create a communicative framework regarding earthquake literacy and draw attention to the communicative nature of earthquake literacy.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Earthquake literacy, disaster communication, disaster management, disaster literacy.</p>