International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908

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International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijdrr

Disaster information acquisition by residents of China’s

earthquake-stricken areas
Linmei Zhuang a, Jia He a, Zhuolin Yong a, Xin Deng b, Dingde Xu a, c, *
a
College of Management of Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
b
College of Economics of Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
c
Sichuan Center for Rural Development Research, College of Management of Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Disaster information acquisition is a research hotspot in disaster risk management. However, most studies focus
Information acquisition channels on residents’ access to disaster information at a time point, such as the peak of the disaster. Few studies have
Disaster preparedness considered information channel types and rates of access over the whole period of a disaster; i.e., from before the
Earthquake
disaster until after evacuated residents have returned home. This study surveyed residents of 327 households
Sichuan province
China
affected by the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquake in Sichuan Province, China. The time chain of residents’
disaster information acquisition is divided into five time points(such as 1) before the disaster, 2) when evacu­
ation was decided, 3) when the disaster peaked, 4) after the peak but before the disaster was over, and 5) after
the disaster was over), meanwhile, four kinds of the most common information channels are selected(such as
government, relatives and friends, mass media, and social media). Rates of disaster information access at each
time point were analyzed. The results show that: 1) In the whole period of disaster, social media is the most
infrequently used information channel. 2) Relatives and friends is an important source of information. Although
it has obvious drawbacks, the frequency of use has always been the highest. 3) When the disaster peaked,
government is used more frequently than mass media. 4) In the time chain of disaster information acquisition,
the frequency of residents’ acquisition of information shows an increasing trend, but its growth rate shows a
fluctuating state. The results of this study have important implications for the integration of multiple information
channels and the establishment of a disaster information resource sharing system in the vast earthquake-stricken
areas.

1. Introduction
For a long time, risk, especially natural disaster risk, has been a major
threat to the development of human society. The history of human
health and civilization is a history in which people get along with and
fight against disasters. In order to analyze and deal with the disaster risk,
reduce the disaster threat, many scholars around the world have carried
out relevant research on disaster risk management (e.g., Ref. [1–3]. The
early research objects of disaster risk management were mostly Disaster
Prevention and Control Act or government actions, and its “bureau­
cratic” characteristics from top to bottom exposed many drawbacks. On
the one hand, the promulgation of the Disaster Prevention and Control
Act provides mandatory legal protection for disaster management, but it
is not practical [4]. The reason is that although the bill will disaster risk
reduction into all areas of the government, but at all levels of
government there are still problems set in disaster risk management
functions [5]. On the other hand, the government plays an important
role in the post-disaster reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas
through the implementation of the U.S. Hazard Mitigation Grant
Program (HMGP) and other actions [6]. However, the fuzzy division
of responsibility for disaster risk management makes it difficult for
government officials to balance the democracy and legitimacy of
decision-making behavior [7]. Therefore, government actions have both
positive and negative effects on disaster risk management. Whether
from the perspective of bills or government actions, bureaucratic
disaster risk management often ignores the participation of residents,
leading to conflicts between stakeholders [8]. Therefore, research on
disaster risk management should emphasize the real feelings of residents
in affected areas rather than the bureaucratic government [9]. Based on
existing studies, Scolobig et al. [10] believes that in the past 20 years,

* Corresponding author. College of Management of Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
E-mail address: dingdexu@sicau.edu.cn (D. Xu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101908
Received 7 June 2020; Received in revised form 29 September 2020; Accepted 30 September 2020
Available online 12 October 2020
2212-4209/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
L. Zhuang et al.
the focus of disaster risk management decision-making has shifted from
a “top-down”, command-and-control management style to a “people-­
oriented” approach and local participation. However, there are few
disaster studies that start from the interests of residents and explore new
ways to reduce disaster losses.
Many empirical studies have shown that effective disaster pre­
paredness of residents can reduce the impact of earthquake disasters on
family well-being through various ways (e.g., Ref. [11–15]. For
example, studies such as Godschalk et al. [16]; Lindell and Hwang [17],
Xu et al. [18] found that by raising residents’ awareness of disaster
prevention and disaster risk cognition (especially the perception of the
devastating earthquake and deadly), to be able to inspire residents alert
and preventive psychology, so as to promote the residents to carry out
disaster prevention preparation independently (for example, to move to
go where no earthquake disaster threat). In view of the importance of
disaster prevention and mitigation awareness and disaster risk percep­
tion in disaster preparedness, more and more scholars begin to pay
attention to the impact of learning and training on residents’ pre­
paredness for disaster (e.g., Ref. [19–23]. However, Basolo et al. [20]
and Steinberg et al. [23] found that the difference between the training
and exercise environment and the actual living environment resulted in
that the efficiency of residents’ proactive preparedness was higher than
that of the government’s measures such as organizing study and
training. At the same time, excessive participation of the government
will increase the time and cost of achievement transformation, thus
reducing the efficiency of disaster prevention and prevention. In order to
ensure that residents can give full play to their subjective initiative in
disaster prevention and reduction, effective acquisition of disaster in­
formation is essential [19,22].
It is well known that the effectiveness of public communication
strategies and the level of public disaster response determine the success
of disaster response [24]. Information plays an important role in disaster
management and is an indispensable resource in disasters. Without in­
formation, emergency responders cannot respond effectively to disasters
and affected residents cannot adapt to the threat of disasters [25,26].
There are many types of disaster information. However, few studies
have focused on the effectiveness of information for residents to avoid
and mitigate disasters (e.g., Ref. [27,28]. Some empirical studies show
that public information preference is a key factor affecting public
behavior decision-making (e.g., Ref. [29–31]. For example, Maser and
Weiermair [32] found that the characteristics of tourism service in­
dustry (for example, opacity, high financial risk, personal risk and un­
certainty) determine the complexity of tourism decision-making
process, and risk perception and information preference are important
factors affecting tourism decision-making. Cowan and Hoskins [33]
found that high information preference would affect the type of infor­
mation source used to find chemotherapy information, but not the
satisfaction with the information source used. Pruitt et al. [34] found
that both buyers and sellers of agricultural commodities benefit from
publicly provided information in the decision-making process, and
public information preferences influence the public investment de­
cisions of institutions (such as extension agencies, agribusinesses and
market analysis agencies). Public information preference is very
important for information effectiveness, because if a source can effec­
tively stimulate positive public response, but is rarely used by the public
due to deviation from public preference, its effectiveness is limited [35].
When residents are preparing to avoid disasters, the more frequently
they choose the disaster information source, the more they prefer to use
the information source and the more effective the information source is.
Academic literature on making the public most likely to respond to
warnings during disasters is abundant [36]. However, until recently,
little attention has been paid to what sources of information residents
actually turn to and what information they think is useful when pre­
paring for disaster avoidance.
The timing of disaster information acquisition has an important in­
fluence on how residents make decisions on disaster preparedness [37,
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International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908
38]. Theoretically, residents’ access to information at the different time
points of disaster occurrence has an important impact on their
decision-making regarding disaster prevention and reduction. Hence,
the ways in which residents obtain information in different periods
should vary. For example, before a disaster occurs, residents can plan
disaster prevention and mitigation (such as escape times and routes)
based on early-warning information provided by the government. Dur­
ing the peak of a disaster, residents can exchange information with
relatives and friends to make reasonable disaster prevention and
reduction decisions. After a disaster is over, residents can keep abreast of
the latest developments through the mass media. In general, throughout
a whole disaster (i.e. before, during and after), the number of informa­
tion channels and the frequency of information acquisition will affect
residents’ disaster prevention and reduction awareness and behavior.
However, hardly any studies have been conducted that systematically
analyze the characteristics of residents’ disaster information acquisition
channels throughout a disaster from the two dimensions of disaster in­
formation acquisition timing and channel type.
In recent years, earthquakes have frequently occurred all over the
world and caused great property losses and numbers of human casualties
[39]; Z [40]. For example, Sichuan Province, known to be one of the
most disaster-prone provinces in China, has experienced three earth­
quakes of magnitude 7.0 or above in the past 15 years (Wenchuan,
Lushan, and Jiuzhaigou earthquakes) [41]. Among them, the Wenchuan
earthquake caused heavy losses, including 69,200 deaths and 376,800
injuries. More than 12.4 million people were affected by the disaster, 5
million were made homeless, and direct economic losses were as high as
122.335 billion dollars [41]. China is a mountainous country and many
residents, especially rural ones, live in mountainous settlements. Due to
their locations and local resources, mountain settlements are also areas
where many poor people live [42]. Furthermore, due to the impacts of
geology and landforms, many mountainous settlements not only face
direct threats from earthquakes but are also at risk of associated di­
sasters such as landslides and debris flows. Therefore, residents’ sus­
tainable livelihoods and the prosperity and socioeconomic development
of their regions are not guaranteed [43,44]. In order to improve the
well-being of residents in mountain settlements, it is necessary to study
the disaster risk management of settlements in earthquake-threatened
areas, especially rural ones [18]. Meanwhile, based on the existing re­
searches, global disaster studies are mainly based on cities or poor re­
gions [45,46]. There are few studies on the settlements in mountainous
areas with dual interwoven poverty and disaster [39], and relevant
studies are urgently needed.
Against the above background, this study investigates Chinese
earthquake disasters by focusing on the Wenchuan and Lushan earth­
quake that occurred in Sichuan Province. Residents of the worst-hit
areas are investigated, and their information acquisition before, dur­
ing and after the disaster is characterized in terms of channel type and
acquisition frequency. This aims to provide information that can be of
benefit to the integration of multiple information channels and the
establishment of a disaster information resource sharing system.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development
Information acquisition is an individual’s initial processing of in­
formation. The information acquisition of a mountain settlement is
inseparable from their perception of disasters. Cognitive Dissonance
Theory (CDT), which is related to individual cognition, was proposed by
Festinger and is widely used in research in the fields of psychology and
communication. This theory refers to an individual’s intentional or
unintentional evasive attitude towards the information in order to avoid
inconsistencies or disharmony with existing cognition [47]. At the same
time, individuals tend to choose information that is consistent with their
own knowledge, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes from the
decision-making context [48]; Greitemeyer, 2008; [49], that is, Selec­
tive Exposure to Information. In essence, this concept is closely related
L. Zhuang et al.
to the individual’s preference selection, which is mainly reflected in the
individual’s selection of different information sources. Specifically, in
the case of earthquake disasters, residents have a tendency to obtain
disaster information, which is reflected in the selection of information
sources. At the same time, in different disaster environments and con­
ditions, residents’ information behavior characteristics are different.
Pettigrew et al. [50] believe that information behavior is people de­
mand, search, acquisition and use information in different situations.
Wilson [51] also defines information behavior as the sum of all human
behaviors closely related to information sources and information chan­
nels, and takes the frequency of individual information acquisition as an
important indicator for researching information behavior.
2.1. Disaster information source
Effective disaster information channels can ensure that disaster-
related information is disseminated in a timely, secure, and accurate
way, which can help to control the spread of rumors [35]. There are four
channels by which residents can obtain disaster-related information: the
government, the mass media, the social media, and relatives and friends
[35,52,53]. For example, Tanner et al. [54] found that local mass media
(such as television news) was the most frequently cited source of news
and information, and many individuals also reported finding their news
from social media. Liu et al. [55] found that the source of disaster in­
formation had a significant major impact on the likelihood of partici­
pants to obtain further disaster information from government channel
(such as local government websites and federal government websites).
Collins and Stevens [56] found that word of mouth is a key source of
information for flood disasters, especially as a local source of relevant
information. In conclusion, the choice of disaster information source
determines the quality of information obtained by residents, and plays a
key role in the decision-making of disaster avoidance preparedness
behavior [57].
Many empirical studies have shown that the information obtained by
different disaster information sources presents different characteristics.
With the development of information technology, social media is
increasingly used as a information source during disasters [58–60];
Merchant et al.[61]; [38,62]. In times of disasters, residents can leverage
their own social media to find and provide information outside the
official response effect and to make critical decisions about, for example,
heeding warnings and making plans to evacuate [36]. As the use of these
new media resources increases, more people will think that social media
is trustworthy than other disaster information sources such as relatives
and friends [38]. During disasters, relatives and friends are frequently
recommended information sources, but their usefulness as information
sources varies [63–66]. Burns et al. [66] believe that word-of-mouth
information is personalized and dynamic, and is more easily obtained
than information dissemination through news media. In addition, the
high degree of uncertainty caused by earthquakes becomes a trigger for
individuals to transmit all available information to each other [67].
However, relatives and friends have many drawbacks. Rundblad et al.
[68] found that relatives and friends were used in the early phase of
flood disaster, but the frequency of use decreased significantly after the
disaster. Although communication between relatives and friends does
not require the use of communication tools, it is very convenient and
fast. However, compared with other sources, the information passed by
word-of-mouth between relatives and friends lacks objectivity and is
easy to form rumors and cause panic [69]. The information released by
the government is generally more objective and fair, and is one of the
most important basis for residents to make disaster avoidance pre­
paredness decisions [57,70–72]. Meanwhile, The information released
by the mass media has the characteristics of fast dissemination, with a
certain propaganda function and the nature of public opinion [67,73].
However, many empirical studies have shown that because the infor­
mation provided by the mass media is generally considered inaccurate
and sensational, many residents hope that government agencies can
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International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908
meet the demand for accurate information. For example, Burns et al.
[66] believe that Australian police services have effectively used social
media to disseminate crisis information about severe floods to the
public. Lindell et al. [74] found that information from local authorities is
more relevant to evacuation of residents than information from mass
media (such as news) sources. When the disaster peaked, residents’
demand for accuracy of information is greater than timeliness. Although
mass media channels such as radio and television have increased the
number of live reports, due to the government’s official information
release and more complex gatekeeper roles. In this time, the government
may be seen as more trustworthy than mass media sources. Working
from these findings, we derived three hypotheses for testing(Fig. 1):
H1a. Social media is the most frequently used information source;
H1b. Relatives and friends is an important source of information, but
the frequency of use is low;
H1c. When disaster peaked, government is used more frequently than
mass media.
2.2. Disaster information acquisition time
In the wake of disasters, the necessity of obtaining accurate and
timely information in emergency situations has become self-evident.
Providing citizens with information, resources, and knowledge before,
during and after natural disasters can promote residents’ participation
[75]. The behavior of residents to obtain information on disaster issues
runs through all points of the time chain, and each point has a different
purpose [76]. The acquisition of disaster information at different time
points is also one of the important references for residents to make
disaster avoidance preparation behavior decisions [52]. Studies have
identified the “disaster cycle” as four phases: mitigation and prevention,
preparation, response and recovery [76,77]. In terms of earthquake di­
sasters, since the current information technology is basically unable to
accurately predict the time of earthquake occurrence, the current
research on earthquake disaster risk management focuses on post-event
evaluation, that is, investigation and research on areas where earth­
quake disasters occurred (e.g., [78]; [79,80]. At the same time, due to
the catastrophic and fatal nature of earthquake disasters, scholars pay
more attention to the emergency preparedness of residents at this time
when the disaster peaked (disaster risk awareness at this time, corre­
sponding disaster avoidance behavior decisions, etc.). For example,
Mileti et al. [36] found that when the disaster is the worst, 90% of
residents will choose the official disaster information to understand the
damage caused by the earthquake and predict the development of af­
tershocks. Allen et al. [81] found that mass media (such as radio) is the
most commonly used information source for residents in disaster
emergencies. Liu et al. [82] found that maps are one of the most reliable
tools for people to quickly acquire knowledge about space tasks, such as
evacuation during disasters. Throughout the existing studies, few studies
start from the dimension of the time chain of disaster occurrence and pay
attention to the characteristics of residents’ disaster information
acquisition before, during and after the earthquake. In theory, if the
government can build a complete disaster information dissemination
Fig. 1. Theoretical framework of disaster information acquisition.
L. Zhuang et al. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908

platform and residents have systematic disaster awareness, then they frequency of information acquisition according to the timing of a
will take the initiative to obtain information at different points in time disaster. Based on this, this study designed variables from the two di­
when the disaster occurs. With the occurrence of disasters and the mensions of disaster occurrence timing and disaster information acquisition
progress of disaster prevention and mitigation, the frequency of resi­ channels. The specific measure is as follows:
dents’ access to information should show an increasing trend, and the Regarding the time chain of disaster occurrence, refer to [35,76,86,
growth rate should remain at a stable level. Based on the above analysis, 87] and others on the time of disaster information acquisition. In this
the research proposes hypothesis 2 (Fig. 1). study, it is divided into five points: 1) before the disaster, 2) when
evacuation was decided, 3) when the disaster peaked, 4) after the peak
H2. With the evolution of the time of disasters, the frequency of resi­
but before the disaster was over, and 5) after the disaster was over,
dents’ access to information shows an increasing trend, and the growth
which is used to characterize the various phases of the earthquake
rate remains at a stable level.
before, during and after the earthquake. Meanwhile, refer to Steelman
In summary, the theoretical model of this study is shown in Fig. 1. et al. [35] and Biswas, et al. [88], research on disaster information
This model shows that the characteristics of residents’ disaster infor­ channels, the channels of disaster information were divided into four
mation acquisition behavior are mainly in two dimensions: information types: government, relatives and friends, mass media, and social media.
source and information acquisition time. The information sources are Residents were asked which channels they used at the different time
mainly government, relatives and friends, mass media, and social media; points. If residents stated that they obtained information at any point,
the information acquisition time depends on the time of disaster evo­ they were asked about the frequency of acquisition (Table 1).
lution, mainly before the disaster, when evacuation was decided, when
the disaster peaked, after the peak but before the disaster was over, and 3.3. Analytic strategy
after the disaster was over 5 phases.
The objective of this study was to explore the characteristics of
3. Materials and methods disaster information acquisition during different disasters from the two
dimensions of timing and channel type. To achieve this goal, after
3.1. Research area introduction and data sources obtaining relevant data through Table 1, the study mainly adopted the
following strategies for further analysis.
3.1.1. Research area introduction The first was to analyze whether residents had access to information
The capital city of Sichuan Province is Chengdu, located inland in at different disaster time points. At different time points of the disaster, if
southwest China. By the end of 2018, Sichuan had a permanent popu­ a resident has disaster information acquisition channels and has infor­
lation of 83.41 million and a GDP of 574.24 billion dollars. Sichuan mation acquisition behaviors, the resident will be marked as having
Province is China’s most earthquake-stricken province, According to information acquisition channel, or not. Secondly, we conducted a
statistics, from 1999 to 2018, there were 21 earthquakes and 15 earth­ horizontal comparative analysis of information acquisition channels at a
quakes of magnitude ≥5.0 in Sichuan Province [41].Among them, the certain time point. In different earthquake time points, the average
Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes were of magnitude > 7. The Wen­ frequency of accessing the four types of information channels was
chuan earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008, and measured 8.0 on the calculated to represent the relative importance of each channel for each
Richter scale. It lasted about 2 min and affected more than half of China time point. Finally, we conducted a longitudinal comparative analysis of
and many other countries and regions in Asia. Among them, there were information acquisition channels at different time points. At different
10 counties (cities) in the extremely severe disaster area, 41 counties earthquake time points, the average frequency of access of the four types
(cities) in the relatively severe disaster area, and 186 counties (cities) in of channels was calculated, and a longitudinal comparison of each type
the general disaster area, resulting in 69,200 deaths, The Lushan of channel was conducted at each time point to explore the changes in
earthquake occurred on April 20, 2013 with a magnitude of 7.1 on the the frequency of residents’ information acquisition.
Richter scale. Lushan, Baoxing, and Tianquan Counties were the hardest
hit, with 1.52 million people and an area of 12,500 km2 affected.
Table 1
Definition and measurement of the variables.
3.1.2. Data sources
The data used in the research are from the questionnaire survey Timing of disaster Was there access to disaster Disaster information
information? acquisition channel measure:
conducted by the research team in the four worst-hit areas and counties Average number of messages
of Wenchuan and Lushan Earthquake in July 2019. The questionnaire received per day from 1)
survey is mainly conducted in a one-to-one way (that is, a strictly trained government (e.g. phone/
researcher, with the introduction of village cadres, conducts one-to-one SMS), 2) relatives and
friends, 3) mass media (TV/
interviews with sample residents in their homes). This research mainly
radio/newspaper), 4)
uses the information source and information frequency related content, internet
which aims to investigate the residents’ disaster information acquisition
before the disaster Before the disaster, did you Before the disaster, you
channels and information frequency at different time points in the have access to disaster received the following
before, during and after phases of the earthquake. In order to ensure the information? messages per day on average
typicality and representativeness of the data, stratified random sampling when evacuation Did you have access to When deciding to evacuate,
method is mainly adopted in this study to determine the sample was decided disaster information when you received the following
deciding to evacuate? messages per day on average
counties, sample towns, sample villages and sample residents. For
when the disaster Did you have access to At the height of the disaster,
detailed introduction of the sampling process, please refer to Xu et al. peaked disaster information at the you received, on average, the
[83]. Through the research, the survey data of 327 households in 16 peak of the disaster? following messages per day
villages in 8 towns in 4 districts and counties were sampled. after the peak but Did you have access to Before returning home after
before the disaster information after the the disaster, you received the
disaster was over disaster before returning following messages per day
3.2. Measures home? on average
after the disaster Did you have access to When you returned home
Disaster information is an important reference by which residents was over disaster information when after the disaster, you
make decisions on disaster preparedness [84–87]. Theoretically, there you returned home after the received the following
disaster? messages per day on average
are differences in the information sources used by residents and the

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L. Zhuang et al. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908

4. Results Table 2
Descriptive statistics of horizontal analysis of information acquisition.
4.1. Residents’ access of information channels Category Variable Frequency1a Frequency2b Minc Maxd

before the government 382 77 0 10

This part mainly analyzes whether residents have access to infor­ disaster relatives and 156 0 10
mation at different time points of the disaster. As shown in Fig. 2, at friends
different times of the disaster, there are obvious differences in the mass media 129 0 10
channels whether residents have disaster acquisition channels or not, social media 20 0 4
when government 881 253 0 10
and the proportion of residents who have access to information is evacuation relatives and 415 0 30
gradually increasing. In the interview, we asked Uncle Wang of the was decided friends
village committee, “has the enthusiasm of residents to discuss the mass media 174 0 22
disaster situation changed from the early phase to the late phase of the social media 39 0 6
when the government 1658 469 0 20
earthquake?” he said: “after the earthquake, all the villagers will discuss
disaster relatives and 831 0 30
the disaster situation more actively than before.”. Specifically, over the peaked friends
whole time, the proportion of residents with access to information mass media 292 0 30
increased by 70.03%. Only 21.71% had access to disaster information social media 66 0 20
before the disaster occurred. When they finally returned home, 91.74% after the peak government 2432 629 0 30
but before the relatives and 1138 0 40
of residents had access to information. disaster was friends
over mass media 508 0 30
social media 157 0 50
4.2. Horizontal analysis of information acquisition channels
after the disaster government 2583 643 0 20
was over relatives and 1085 0 35
As shown in Table 2, relatives and friends and government were the friends
most important disaster information channels. Meanwhile, There are mass media 655 0 25
obvious differences in the frequency of disaster information acquisition social media 200 0 60

from various channels. Specifically, in the before the disaster phase, Note: a Frequency1 = total information acquisition frequency at different time
residents mainly obtained disaster information through relatives and points, b Frequency2 = information acquisition frequency of access at different
friends and mass media (156 and 129, respectively), which is much time points to different information channels, c Min = Minimum values of fre­
higher than that from the government and social media (77 and 20, quency obtained from different information channels, d Max = Minimum values
respectively). At the times of when evacuation was decided and when the of frequency obtained from different information channels.
disaster peaked, residents’ disaster information mainly came from rela­
tives and friends and government, and the frequency of acquisition was
much higher than those of other channels. For example, at the time of
when evacuation was decided, residents extracted 9.64 times more in­
formation from relatives and friends than from the social media. At the
times of after the peak but before the disaster was over and after the disaster
was over, residents mainly obtained disaster information from relatives
and friends, mass media and government, and the frequency of information
acquisition was much higher than that of social media. For example,
during the period after the disaster was over, residents obtained 1085
pieces of information from relatives and friends, which is 18.08 times that Fig. 3. Average number of information obtained by residents per day from
obtained from the social media. different information channels before the disaster.

4.2.1. Before the disaster

to pay too much attention.” The possible reason for the low frequency of
As shown in Fig. 3, before the earthquake, the frequency of obtaining
information acquisition is that residents lack disaster awareness and risk
residents’ information at each time node of the disaster was low, less
perception, and lack the awareness of disaster information acquisition.
than 1. At the same time, relatives and friends and mass media were the
At the same time, residents in mountainous settlements are willing to
most important information acquisition channels for residents in this
use point-to-point information sources to collect and share information
period. In the interview, we asked the resident Aunt Xie: “Did you take
that official sources and social media sometimes cannot provide. Mean­
the initiative to obtain disaster information before the earthquake
while, mass media (such as radio, television, and newspapers) are often
occurred?” She replied: “I usually have a lot of farm work to be
used in residents’ daily lives before disasters occur. In terms of the fre­
completed, and I don’t have time and consciousness to pay attention to
quency of accessing the various channels, before the disaster, the
the earthquake. I feel that earthquakes rarely happen, so there is no need
average daily information frequency from relatives and friends was the
highest, with an average of 0.48 times per day. The second most
frequently accessed channel was the mass media, with an average value
of 0.39/d. The least frequently accessed channel was the social media, at
0.06/d.

4.2.2. The time of deciding to evacuate

Fig. 2. Variation in the proportion of residents in disaster information acqui­
sition channels at different disaster time points.
As shown in Fig. 4, at the time when residents decided to evacuate,
relatives and friends and the government were the main information
channels. In the implementation of the decision to evacuate, the
communication between relatives and friends is still the most important
channel. This is because the residents live in clusters and have formed a
social relationship of information interaction for a long time. Often, the
decision of one party to leave will affect other relatives and friends.

5
L. Zhuang et al.
Fig. 4. Average number of information obtained by residents per day from
different information channels when evacuation was decided.
Meanwhile, the official information released by the government is
objective, verifiable and guiding, which is one of the most important
factors for residents to decide to evacuate. In the interview, we asked the
resident Grandma Li: “How did you decide to evacuate?” She replied:
“Generally speaking, I started to evacuate only after receiving reminders
from my relatives and friends. They will pay attention to what the local
government issues, such as evacuation SMS notification. As long as the
government sends the notice, everyone will decide to evacuate.” In
terms of the frequency of accessing the various channels, when deciding
to evacuate, relatives and friends were accessed most often, with an
average of 1.27/d. The second most accessed channel was the govern­
ment, with an average of 0.77/d. The social media was most infrequently
acquired, with an average of 0.12/d.
4.2.3. At the height of the disaster
As shown in Fig. 5, at the time when a disaster peaked, relatives and
friends and government were the main information acquisition channels.
This may be because during the peak of a disaster, the number of
communications between relatives and friends concentrated in the
disaster avoidance area increases significantly and the government at­
taches great importance to residents’ disaster avoidance and relief sit­
uation and formulates corresponding goods distribution and rescue team
deployment strategies. The government’s role in disasters is more
complicated than that of mass media such as radio or television, because
the immediate need for government reports is not so obvious. In the
interview, we asked resident Uncle Zhang, “How did you acquire in­
formation about the disaster when it was the worst?” He replied: “At the
height of the disaster, my relatives and friends and I went to the shelter
designated by the government. We get together and talk about the
disaster every day. Meanwhile, the government would inform us of
disaster information. “Specifically, in terms of the frequency of infor­
mation access from various channels, when the disaster peaked, the
average daily rate of access from relatives and friends was the highest,
with an average of 2.54/d. The second most accessed channel was the
government, with an average of 1.43/d. The frequency of obtaining in­
formation from the social media was the lowest, with an average of 0.20/
d.
4.2.4. After the peak but before the disaster was over
As shown in Fig. 6, at the time point after the peak but before the
disaster was over, relatives and friends, government and mass media were
the most important information channels. Due to the credibility and
Fig. 5. Average number of information obtained by residents from different
information channels per day when disaster peaked.
6
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908
Fig. 6. Average number of information obtained from each information
channel per day after the peak but before the disaster was over.
usefulness of information released by the government and mass media,
residents prefer government information. With the restoration of
communication facilities and equipment, residents began to get infor­
mation about disaster relief and rescue progress from mass media to
decide whether to go home. Meanwhile, as residents concentrated to
avoid the disaster after the earthquake, close contact between families
and friends influenced each other’s decision on whether to go home. In
the interview, we asked Aunt Wang, a resident, “After the peak but
before the disaster was over, what channels do you choose to obtain
disaster information?” “During the aftershock, my friends and I will
discuss whether to return home. I have been able to learn about the
disaster through government announcements, TV, radio and other
channels.” She said. Before returning home after a disaster, the average
daily rate of information acquisition from relatives and friends was the
highest, with an average of 3.48/d. The second most accessed channel
was the government, with an average of 1.92/d. The social media was the
lowest, with an average of 0.48/d.
4.2.5. After the disaster was over
As shown in Fig. 7, at the time after the disaster was over, relatives and
friends, government and mass media were the most important information
acquisition channels. The reason for this may be that, after returning
home, relatives and friends maintain communications about the disaster
situation and disaster avoidance knowledge, while the government and
the mass media also release a large amount of disaster avoidance infor­
mation. In the interview, we asked Uncle Liu: “After the disaster is over,
will you continue to obtain disaster information?” He replied: “After the
disaster is over, my awareness of the threat of earthquake disasters has
improved and I have learned to take the initiative to seek disaster in­
formation. Relatives and friends will discuss disaster avoidance issues,
and learn more about the disaster relief situation through official gov­
ernment websites, TV, radio and other mass media.” After returning home
after the disaster, the average daily frequency of information access
from relatives and friends was the highest, with an average of 3.32/d. The
second most accessed channel was the mass media, with an average value
of 2.00/d, while the social media was the lowest, with an average of
0.61/d.
4.3. Longitudinal analysis of information acquisition channels
This section describes the longitudinal comparative analysis of the
information acquisition channels at different disaster time points. As
Fig. 7. Average number of information obtained from each information
channel per day after the disaster was over.
L. Zhuang et al. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908

shown in Table 3, among the types of channels, the amounts of infor­ 4.3.1. Government channels
mation acquired through government, mass media and social media As shown in Fig. 8, over the whole disaster period, the number of
channels showed an increasing trend with time. The number of accesses information accesses from government channels increased over time at a
of information from relatives and friends showed an overall increasing decreasing growth rate. Due to the suddenness of earthquake disasters, it
trend with time, but with a small decrease after the disaster was over. is difficult for the government to predict the possibility and severity of
Specifically, the number of information accesses from government, mass an earthquake. Therefore, before the disaster, the government only re­
media and social media channels increased from 77 to 643, from 129 to leases disaster information occasionally. In the time of deciding to
655, and from 20 to 200. However, the number of accesses of infor­ evacuate and at the height of the disaster, the government will issue
mation from relatives and friends peaked at the time point after the peak disaster warning information to guide residents to evacuate, and after the
but before the disaster was over (1138) and decreased at the time point disaster, the government will summarize the results of disaster relief
after the disaster was over (1085). work and frequently release disaster information to help residents make
decisions about returning home. In the interview, we asked Uncle Bai, a
local disaster prevention professional, “How do you use government
channels to obtain disaster information in the whole process of the
Table 3 disaster?” “As local disaster prevention professionals, we usually get
Descriptive statistics of the longitudinal analysis of information acquisition. front-line information from government sources to ensure the authen­
Category Variable Frequency1a Frequency2b Minc Maxd ticity and accuracy of information,” he said. “Of course, the government
government before the 2071 77 0 10
releases a lot of information for us after a disaster.” To be specific, at
disaster each disaster time point, the average number of information accesses
when 253 0 10 from government channels increased from 0.24/d to 1.97/d, and the
evacuation was growth rate was greatest when evacuation was decided and when the
decided
disaster peaked, with growth rates of 220.83% and 85.71%, respectively.
when the 469 0 10
disaster peaked After the disaster was over, the growth rate was the smallest, at 2.60%.
after the peak 629 0 4
but before the 4.3.2. Relatives and friends channels
disaster was As shown in Fig. 9, over the whole disaster period, the number of
over
after the disaster 643 0 10
information accesses from relatives and friends showed an overall
was over increasing trend. In the interview, we asked Grandma Hu, “Do you
relatives and before the 3625 156 0 30 choose to communicate with your relatives and friends during the
friends disaster disaster?” “Of course,” she replied. “Most of the elderly people in our
when 415 0 22
village do not use social media very well. Many of them rely on their
evacuation was
decided relatives and friends for obtaining disaster information. After a disaster
when the 831 0 6 occurs, discussions about disasters between relatives and friends will
disaster peaked become more frequent.” However, when residents returned home after
after the peak 1138 0 20 the disaster was over, there was a small decrease and the growth rate
but before the
showed a downward trend. The reason for this may be that before
disaster was
over returning home after the disaster, the earthquake caused serious damage
after the disaster 1085 0 30 to various communication equipment. However, word-of-mouth
was over communication between relatives and friends does not require any
mass media before the 1758 129 0 30
mechanical equipment, which is the most common method of infor­
disaster
when 174 0 20 mation dissemination. After returning home after the disaster, residents
evacuation was return to their normal daily routines. The close social relationships
decided formed during the disaster avoidance were broken, and various
when the 292 0 30 communication devices (such as village radio, TV, mobile phone text
disaster peaked
messages) have resumed operation, and residents are more willing to
after the peak 508 0 40
but before the obtain objective information from other channels. Specifically, from the
disaster was time of before the disaster to the time of after the disaster was over, the
over average number of information obtained by residents from their relatives
after the disaster 655 0 30
and friends increased from 0.48/d to 3.48/d. However, after returning
was over
social media before the 482 20 0 50
disaster
when 39 0 20
evacuation was
decided
when the 66 0 35
disaster peaked
after the peak 157 0 25
but before the
disaster was
over
after the disaster 200 0 60
was over

Note: a Frequency1 = total information acquisition frequency of access to

different information channels, b Frequency2 = information acquisition fre­
quency of access to different information channels at different time points, c Min
= Minimum values of frequency obtained from different information channels,
d
Max = Minimum values of frequency obtained from different information Fig. 8. Variation in the number of information obtained from government
channels. channels over time.

7
L. Zhuang et al. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908

Fig. 11. Variation in the number of information obtained from social media
Fig. 9. Variation in the number of information obtained from relatives and
channels over time.
friends over time.

information is characterized by rapidity, extensiveness, and public

home after the disaster, there was a small decrease (3.32/d), with a
opinion. After the peak but before the disaster was over, communication
decrease of 0.16/d compared with the previous time point. The growth
facilities and equipment can be restored, and reports on social media
rate has been on a downward trend, falling from 166.03% to
channels have increased exponentially. At the same time, through social
− 4.66%.
media, information value increased with the increase of the number of
social media users increase exponentially. However, after the disaster was
4.3.3. Mass media channels
over, residents’ attention to the disaster was relatively reduced, resulting
As shown in Fig. 10, over the whole disaster period, the number of
in a decline in its growth rate. Specifically, the average number of pieces
information accesses from mass media channels showed an increasing
of information obtained from social media channels increased from 0.06/
trend, with the growth rate rising first and then falling. The reason for
d to 0.61/d. Among them, the greatest increase occurred after the peak
this may be that the mass media infrastructure in the disaster area was
but before the disaster was over, up 137.15% from the previous phase. The
restored before people returned home, resulting in a significant increase
smallest increase occurred after the disaster, when the disaster was over,
in the number of messages received from mass media channels. When
up 27.39% from the previous phase.
deciding to evacuate, residents do not have enough time to get infor­
mation from the mass media, so the amount of information obtained from
5. Discussion
mass media channels increased at a small rate. In the interview, we asked
Ms. Li, the head of the local media center, “Could you please tell us about
Compared with existing research, the marginal contribution of this
the use of mass media during the disaster?” “Before the disaster, people
research lies in: First, it has innovated the research perspective, and
used mass media for entertainment, so we rarely broadcast disaster-
systematically explores the characteristics of residents’ disaster infor­
related content,” she said. “Since the earthquake severely affected the
mation acquisition from the two dimensions of disaster information
daily use of communication equipment, so after the disaster, the fre­
source and disaster information acquisition time. Second, this research
quency of residents using mass media to obtain disaster information has
used the survey data of rural households in the hard-hit areas of Wen­
increased significantly.” Specifically, the average number of information
chuan and Lushan Earthquake to describe and statistics the character­
obtained from mass media channels increased from 0.39/d to 2.00/d.
istics of residents’ use of disaster information in mountainous areas of
Among them, the growth rate at the time of after the peak but before the
China. The results of this study on the characteristics of disaster infor­
disaster was over was the largest (73.97%). The smallest increase was at
mation acquisition channels can provide enlightenment for the con­
the time of the decision to evacuate, with an increase of 0.14/d over the
struction of disaster information resource sharing system in earthquake-
previous period.
stricken areas.
During the whole disaster period, social media is the least frequently
4.3.4. Social media channels
used information source. However, it is inconsistent with Bunce et al.,
As shown in Fig. 11, over a whole disaster period, the number of
[38]; Mileti et al. [36]; Shklovski et al. [65] and other research results,
information accesses from social media channels showed an increasing
and also inconsistent with the research hypothesis H1a. Their research
trend, while the growth rate fluctuated. Social media’s dissemination of
found that the role of social media in disaster information communica­
tion is expanding. In emergency situations, residents are increasingly
relying on social media to obtain and deliver information. Moreover,
Basolo et al. [20]; Hong et al. [89] found in their study that social media
exposure can significantly improve residents’ cognition of disaster risk,
so as to promote residents’ preparedness for disaster avoidance. How­
ever, this study finds that the frequency of using social media is the
lowest before, during and after disasters. Taking the particularity of the
research area into consideration, the research conclusion can be
explained. Limited by the communication development level of the
survey area (most of the survey areas in this study are hilly areas) and
the age structure of the local population, most of the permanent resi­
dents in rural China are the elderly, while most of the young people
choose to go out to study or work. The difficulty in arranging commu­
nication facilities in rural and hilly areas has hindered the use of social
Fig. 10. Variation in the number of messages obtained from mass media media. Therefore, the elderly mainly learn about disaster information
channels over time.

8
L. Zhuang et al.
through mass media (such as TV news). Of course, there are also elderly
people who receive disaster information issued by the government
through mobile phones, while young people prefer to use social media
(such as mobile phones and the Internet) to obtain disaster information.
This enlightenment to us is that the government needs to attach great
importance to the construction of communication facilities in remote
hilly settlements to unblock the channels for residents to obtain disaster
information. At the same time, the government may consider using TV,
mobile phones and the Internet when propagating or disseminating
disaster information.
The research hypothesis H1b shows that relatives and friends is an
important information source, but the information source has many
disadvantages in the dissemination of information. Therefore, relatives
and friends is used infrequently among residents. Relatives and friends are
used in all time periods of disasters, which shows that the information
source is very important and is considered useful at all time points.
However, at the time of a disaster, studies by Shklovski et al. [65] and
Steelman et al. [35] have found that relatives and friends may be used
more frequently than mass media because they are considered more
useful and trustworthy than any mass media source. Consistent with their
findings, this study also found that relatives and friends are actually the
most frequently used information channel at each disaster time point,
which is inconsistent with the second half of the research hypothesis
H1b. Although word-of-mouth communication between relatives and
friends will reduce the accuracy of information, and even generate ru­
mors and cause panic, relatives and friends still use the most frequently.
The possible reason is that residents in the survey area mostly gather in
the form of mountainous settlements, which are aggregates of multiple
families and are the basic network for communication among mountain
residents [90,91]. Earthquake disasters usually affect mountain settle­
ments very quickly. In this case, mass media, social media, and government
channels may initially lag behind in providing information, thereby
forcing residents to turn to others around them and try to communicate
quickly with each other. Therefore, in order to leverage the information
source of relatives and friends, after a disaster occurs, the government
should conduct on-site investigations to distinguish the authenticity and
quality of information in mountain settlements, and minimize the spread
of lagging useless information in disaster threatened areas. At the same
time, in order to avoid the spread of rumors causing panic among resi­
dents, local authorities also set up working groups to control rumors.
Consistent with the research hypothesis H1c and Steelman et al.
[35]; Peters [72], Siebeneck and Cova [92]; government channels are
used more frequently than mass media at the height of disasters. The two
channels have differences in the accuracy of information transmission.
For example, Peters [72] found that although the federal government is
severely criticized for its information policy and risk management, on
average, government channels (such as federal government) was regar­
ded as the most credible. Research by Steelman et al. [35] shows that
since the information provided by the mass media is generally regarded
as public opinion, many residents hope that government agencies can
meet their needs for accurate information. Moreover, the information
released by the government directly affects residents’ decision-making
on disaster avoidance preparedness behavior. For example, Siebeneck
and Cova [92] found that as residents’ reliance on local authorities in­
creases, the likelihood of returning home after the official return date
also increases. The possible reason is that when the disaster occurs the
most serious, the residents urgently need accurate information to un­
derstand the severity of the disaster, so as to make the correct choice for
disaster avoidance, which is related to the life and property safety of the
residents. At this time, the information released by the government
appears to be more reliable and credible than other information sources.
The research hypothesis H2 shows that over the whole disaster
period, the frequency of residents’ access to information shows an
increasing trend, and the growth rate remains at a stable level. The
conclusion of this study is basically consistent with H2, some of which
are contradictory. With the occurrence and evolution of disasters, the
9
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020) 101908
frequency of using disaster information channels is increasing. This is
because the survey area is a typical area threatened by earthquakes and
other disasters. Mountainous settlements in this area have experienced
the Wenchuan earthquake, Lushan earthquake and other mega-
magnitude earthquakes, and their disaster awareness and autonomy in
disaster avoidance are higher than those in other areas. Therefore, local
residents continue to increase their initiative to obtain information
during disasters. However, the growth rate conclusions drawn in this
study are inconsistent with those described in H2. As the time of the
disaster changes, the growth rate of the government and relatives and
friends shows a downward trend, while the growth rate of mass media
and social media shows a fluctuating trend. The main reason why the
growth rate has not remained stable is that during the disaster, limited
by information technology, information quality and information types,
the degree of information available at different times is different, and it
is impossible to obtain continuous and reliable information for residents
in mountainous settlements. Therefore, the government should build a
disaster information resource sharing system to deliver and share
disaster warning information, relief information, and dissemination of
disaster prevention and mitigation knowledge to disaster risk areas. On
the basis of objective information released by the government, residents
and their relatives and friends are allowed to publish their own disaster
information in the system, and the local information supervision
department will strictly review the truth and accuracy of the informa­
tion. At the same time, the government should fully cooperate with mass
media and social media to realize the transformation of disaster infor­
mation transmission from “point” to “surface” and improve the speed of
disaster information transmission. In addition, the government needs to
integrate disaster information from all parties at different points in time.
Specifically, before a disaster occurs, the prediction information of the
Earthquake Administration and the Earthquake Research Institute
should be introduced in real time. When a disaster occurs, the aftershock
and disaster relief situation should be updated in time. After a disaster
occurs, relevant departments should archive information. Disaster in­
formation archiving is one of the important contents of disaster man­
agement. The purpose is to classify, sort, and store information materials
and information resources generated during the management process to
ensure the integrity of information materials, authentic, standardized
and safe for retrieval and use.
This research still has certain shortcomings, which can be further
improved in future research. For example, this research only focuses on
earthquake disasters, and whether the research conclusions are appli­
cable to other types of disasters needs further testing. At the same time,
this research only pays attention to the characteristics of residents’
disaster information acquisition, and does not pay attention to the in­
fluence of the quality and credibility of disaster information on resi­
dents’ decision-making for disaster avoidance behavior. Future research
or investigation should sort out these relationships.
6. Conclusions
Based on the survey data of 327 households in four typical districts
and counties affected by Wenchuan earthquake and Lushan earthquake
in Sichuan Province, this study explores the channels and frequency of
residents’ information acquisition in different periods of earthquake
occurrence, and obtains the following conclusions:
(1) During the whole disaster period, social media is the least
frequently used information source. The proportion of residents
who have access to information is showing an increasing trend.
However, due to the communication technology in mountainous
areas and the age structure of the population, the frequency of
obtaining information through social media channels is the lowest
among the four information sources, and the average value is:
0.06/d, 0.12/d, 0.20/d, 0.48/d, 0.61/d.
L. Zhuang et al.
(2) Relatives and friends is an important source of information.
Although it has obvious drawbacks, the frequency of use has al­
ways been the highest. Relatives and friends is used by residents at
every time period, and its importance is self-evident. The infor­
mation disseminated through relatives and friends has disadvan­
tages such as low accuracy and easy to form rumors. However,
the characteristics of the mountain settlements in the surveyed
area make relatives and friends widely used. The average value of
the number of information obtained by the information acquisi­
tion channel in the five time points are: 0.48/d, 1.27/d, 2.54/d,
3.48/d, and 3.32/d.
(3) When the disaster peaked, government is used more frequently
than mass media. At the height of the disaster, the residents’ de­
mand for the accuracy of information is far greater than the de­
mand for timeliness, so the official information released by
government is more frequently used than that by mass media.
Specifically, the average number of information obtained from
government channels is 1.43/d when the disaster is the most
serious, while the average number of information obtained from
the mass media is 0.89/d.
(4) In the time chain of disaster information acquisition, the fre­
quency of residents’ acquisition of information shows an
increasing trend, but its growth rate shows a fluctuating state.
Specifically, the frequency of obtaining information from the
government, mass media, and social media channels is increasing,
while the frequency of obtaining information from relatives and
friends is generally increasing, but there is a slight decrease at the
time point after the disaster was over. Relatives and friends and
government information acquisition channels had the highest
growth rates when deciding to evacuate, respectively: 166.03%
and 220.83%. Mass media and social media information acquisi­
tion channels had the highest growth rates after the peak but before
the disaster was over, respectively: 73.97% and 137.15%. Relatives
and friends, government, mass media, and social media had the
lowest growth rates after the disaster was over, respectively:
− 4.66%, 2.60%, 28.94%, and 27.39%.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge financial support from National Natural
Science Foundation of China (No. 41801221), the Dual Support Plan of
Sichuan Agricultural University (Grant No. 1921993045), the innova­
tion training program of Sichuan Agricultural University in 2019 (No.
2019106226105) and Undergraduate research interest cultivation pro­
gram in 2020 of Sichuan agricultural university (No. 2020466; No.
2020465). The authors also extend great gratitude to the anonymous
reviewers and editors for their helpful review and critical comments.
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