Household earthquake preparedness in Serbia – a study from selected municipalities

This article presents the results of a qualitative study of household earthquake and community-level preparedness in Serbia and its relationship to various demographic factors. A series of 1,018 face-to-face interviews were conducted at the beginning of 2017 in eight Serbian municipalities. The results show that the population is generally unprepared, with low percentages of reported enhanced preparedness levels. In addition to presenting its findings, the study also considers future research directions, including using this study as a basis for more detailed research and to assist in facilitating community-led programs and strategies to increase earthquake safety. KEYWORDS: geography, natural hazards, earthquake, preparedness, household, survey, Serbia 

Pripravljenost gospodinjstev na potrese v Srbiji: Študija izbranih občin IZVLEČEK: V članku so predstavljeni rezultati kvalitativne študije pripravljenosti na potres v gospodinjstvih in na občinski ravni v Srbiji in njeni povezanosti različnimi demografskimi dejavniki. Članek temelji na 1018 intervjujih, ki so bili izvedeni na začetku leta 2017 v osmih srbskih občinah. Rezultati kažejo, da je prebivalstvo na splošno nepripravljeno, z nizkim deležem izboljšane ravni pripravljenosti. Poleg lastnih ugotovitev študija obravnava tudi prihodnje smeri raziskovanja, vključno z uporabo te študije kot temelja za podrobnejše raziskave in za pomoč pri programih, ki jih vodijo skupnosti, ter strategij za povečanje potresne varnosti. KLJUČNE BESEDE: geografija, naravne nesreče, potres, pripravljenost, gospodinjstvo, raziskovanje, Srbija.


Cvetković, V., Kevin, R., Shaw, R., Filipović, M., Mano, R., Gačić, J., & Jakovljević, V. (2019). Household earthquake preparedness in Serbia – a study from selected municipalities. Acta Geographica, 59(1). 

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Household earthquake preparedness in Serbia: a study from selected municipalities

The paper presents the results of a qualitative research regarding the household earthquake and community-level preparedness in Serbia and its relationship with various demographic factors. A series of 1,018 face–to–face interviews were conducted at the beginning of 2017 in 8 Serbian municipalities. The results show generally unprepared population and lower percentages of reported enhanced preparedness levels. In addition to presenting findings, the study also considers future research directions, including using this study as a baseline for more in-depth examination and to assist in facilitating community-led programs and strategies in order to raise the level of security of citizens during earthquakes.

Figure 1: Study areas location with earthquake risk zones in Serbia and number of respondents.

For citations: Cvetković, V., Kevin, R., Shaw, R., Filipović, M., Mano, R., Gačić, J., & Jakovljević, V. (2018). Household earthquake preparedness in Serbia – a study from selected municipalities. Acta Geographica, In press.