Preconceptions from Media Influenced Disaster Preparedness During Super Typhoon Haiyan

Days before Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) expected landfall, local radio stations had extensive information dissemination in some of their programs. Print, local and regional television had their constant advisories for the preparation. But despite of the public dissemination, this resulted in a lot of human casualties because of subtle responses in the preparation stage. This paper looks at some gaps in media’s dissemination and peoples’ preconceptions to explore inputs in media’s role in disaster planning. A focus group discussion (FGD) was implored to Barangay Officials guided with a questionnaire to identify thematic clusters using a deductive approach. Results show that media became a source of preconceptions in the preparation stage as people were not able to understand terminologies. The role of mass media in comprehensive dissemination affects the public response to disaster preparedness.