Behaviors of a group of university students during an earthquake drill and their compliance with the emergency disaster plan: An action research

Approximately 60% of the casualties due to disasters occur due to earthquakes. This study aimed to discover and develop the strengths and weaknesses of a group of university students during a possible earthquake, their behavior towards evacuation and assembly areas, and their adaptation to the emergency disaster plan. The research was carried out between May–June 2022 as “liberating/developing/critical action research,” a subtype of action research, one of the qualitative research methods. Thirty-five students participated in the first drill, and 31 participated in the second. The study data were collected through “observations” made with the installed cameras and “focus group interviews” with the students through semi-structured interview forms. An average of 3.25 behaviors expected to be observed were displayed as expected by the students during the first drill. The average of the behaviors displayed during the second drill increased to 5.18. As a result of the synthesis of the qualitative data obtained from the focus group interviews, it was seen that two main themes were formed: “Drill management” and “Disaster experience.” The main theme of drill management was “Drill moment,” “Evacuation moment,” and “Drill experience” analytical themes. In contrast, the main theme of disaster experience was “Disaster cycle,” “Disaster perception,” “Disaster awareness,” and “Earthquake experience.” After the second drill, it was evaluated that the problems identified in the first were eliminated. The students' adaptation to the emergency disaster plan increased by re-applying to the observation and focus group interviews.