Abstract
In Japan, natural disasters are inevitable events, and thus, studies on countermeasures for earthquakes and tsunamis are of great importance. In this study, we modelled tsunami evacuation behaviour that covered from an occurrence of earthquakes to the completion of evacuation, with focus on information seeking behaviour, by applying Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA) to testimonies obtained from people who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. The outcomes of analysis yielded 37 concepts in eight categories, and the tsunami evacuation process was grouped into four categories such as "decision-making on evacuation", "well-planned evacuation", "ill-planned evacuation", and "completion of evacuation". The assessments on the proposed evacuation behaviour process, we identified the importance of 1) increasing concrete vision and crisis awareness of tsunami, and 2) developing measures to accelerate an initiation of evacuation action, as facilitation of countermeasures for earthquakes and tsunamis.
