Comparison of disaster information from various media in strengthening ecological communication during & after natural disasters

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the level of panic and the various media disaster information modalities available during and after a natural disaster event. The method used was a Mix Methods Research Approach, which is a combination of qualitative descriptive and quantitative exploratory approaches. There were 150 respondents for the three research locations at Palu City, Sigi Regency and Donggala Regency. Respondents were selected by considering the event conditions experienced, physical damage to their house and their educational background. Media sources of disaster information analyzed were TV, internet, mobile phone (WA/SMS), radio, mosque/church, surau, community leaders and word of mouth. The data used was Likert scale analyses for perception tested with Rank Spearman Correlation. The results showed that the most significant panic level (α<0.01) was when the internet was not working, cellphones could not be used, and radio broadcasts could not be received. The most effective sources of disaster information in promoting a resilience attitude were guidance and advice from community leaders and ecological communication that was built from word of mouth. The exposure to natural disasters was shown to unite peoples’ hearts in friendship. despite some did not communicate with each other before the disaster, some were even hostile. As many as 78.6% of respondents admitted that the affection between them as victims actually appeared when natural disasters destroyed the joints of their lives, even amongst those who did not communicate with each other, or were even hostile, before the disaster. Out of ecological communication, a “strong hug due to natural disasters” was born.