STUDY OF THE AWARENESS AND READINESS TO ACT IN DISASTERS OF FOREIGN CITIZENS TEMPORARILY RESIDING IN THE CITY OF PLEVEN

According to official data from EM-DAT (the International Disaster Database for Disaster Epidemiology) in 2021, the number of catastrophic events related to natural disasters worldwide was 432, exceeding the average annual number of 347 from 2001 – 2020. In this context, a study involving 240 citizens from 31 different countries who were temporarily residing in the city of Pleven was conducted. This study aimed to gauge their willingness to take adequate action and provide medical assistance in various disasters. All foreign citizens temporarily residing in Pleven had experienced a disaster situation, with over half having experienced more than one. However, the awareness among these two analyzed groups about potential disaster threats was found to be very low. Our study revealed low awareness and a lack of will-ingness to act during disasters. Only 20% were familiar with early warning sirens; more than half did not have home or property insurance; 88% did not possess an evacuation backpack; and only 15% were knowledgeable about collective remedies. The study’s results highlight the need for systematic, in-depth work from responsible institutions to prepare for-eigners for potential disasters and accidents.


INTRODUCTION
The city of Pleven is strategically exposed to a number of potential disasters, mainly related to the climate, 90% of the leading disasters are due to the weather.In a UN report cited by Reuters, a double increase in disasters of natural origin was registered [1,7] According to official data of EM-DAT (The International Disaster Database-Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters-CRED), in the last 20 years, the Republic of Bulgaria has been mainly affected by floods, ex-treme temperatures, storms, fires and earthquakes, the same being the leading for the Danube region, where the city of Pleven is located [4][5][6][7] In the period from 2002 to 2017, the Republic of Bulgaria mobilized the Solidarity Fund of the European Union five times due to disasters, four of which were classified as a "major natural disaster" and one as a "regional natural disaster" [4][5][6][7].

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and preparedness of foreign citizens temporarily residing in the city of Pleven for responding to and protecting themselves during disasters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Annual reports of the European Council on Strengthening Disaster Protection Mechanisms, reports of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and reports and opinions of the Center for the Study of Disaster Epidemiology in Leuven, Belgium were used.
A survey was conducted in the period from 01.12.2021 to 01.12.2022 among a sample of 240 participants from all foreign students and specialists who have the status of long-term resident students, according to the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria.[1]Participants in the sample were randomly recruited personally by the interviewers.Among them, 155 are from EU member states, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and 85 from non-EU countries, such as Great Britain, Ireland, India, Japan, Turkey, Korea, China, Canada, Sri Lanka, Lebanon , Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Turkmenistan, Kosovo, Ukraine, Russia, Libya, Egypt, Pakistan, etc.The study participants have the following completed education: 1% with primary education, 41% with secondary education, 33% with bachelor's degree and 25% with master's degree.The largest group of respondents have completed secondary education.
The participants are divided into the following groups: by age, 64% are from 18 to 25 years old, and 36% https://doi.org/10.5272/jimab.2023293.5067are from 26 to 35 years old.According to the duration of the temporary stay, they are also divided into two groups: 54% have a short stay of up to 5 years, and 46% have a stay of more than 5 years.The limit of 5 years is in accordance with the law on foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria [1].
The questionnaire contains 25 questions, of which 14 are dichotomous, 7 are multivariate.All questions are of closed type and allow only one possible answer.The last four questions of the survey contain personal information about the respondents such as gender, age and others.
The survey was conducted among foreign citizens residing in the territory of the city of Pleven on the occasion of training or specialization in medicine.All respondents were trained in Disaster Medicine.This implies a certain level of awareness /Who possesses sufficient information in a given area/ [2] and preparedness /Who has preparation; prepared, trained/ [3].
The study used a sociological method to investigate awareness and preparedness for disaster protection using an anonymous survey approach.The survey questions were developed personally by the researchers, participants in project 13/2022 at the MU-Pleven.
Data were entered and processed with the statistical package STATGRAPHICS Plus.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Respondents gave the following answers to the questions asked: To the question "How many disasters have you experienced so far?", the following responses were received: 45% of 240 respondents experienced one disaster situation (pandemic), 55% more than one: flood, earthquake, disaster, people from Ukraine and Russia mention for the war.
The distribution of responses by age in the two groups: 45%, one disaster situation and 55% more than one (Fig. 1).

Fig. 2. Awareness of potential disasters by age
The low level of awareness about the presence of a potential threat of a natural or anthropogenic disaster on the territory of the city of Pleven is striking.The first group has 15% awareness of the problem.In the second group, only 8% are familiar with the problem.(Fig. 2) The awareness of both groups is very low and endangers their life, health, property in a real disaster situation.High awareness is a person's guarantee of survival and coping in a disaster situation.
To the question, "Are you familiar with the disaster protection plan in your temporary settlement (Pleven)?"The first group is familiar to 25%, the second 10% (Fig. 3).Out of all 240 persons, 17% are familiar with the protection and evacuation plan (Fig. 4).Half of the first group heard sirens early warning.In the second group, 20% of the respondents heard for early warning (Fig. 5).Alarmingly low levels are obtained in the two groups on which phone they should call in case of disaster, the first group knows the correct phone number, 10%, the second group-15% (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6. Emergency telephone awareness by age
Less than half (40%) of the first group and 10% of the second have a home and property insurance (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7. Home Insurance Use by Age
A low percentage of both groups (12%) has prepared a backpack with documents and dry food for evacuation (Fig. 8).
The distribution of natural disasters characteristic of Pleven shows that the highest frequency is attributed to floods (38.00%), followed by fires (33.00%) (Fig. 9).In their responses, the older group displayed the highest level of concern for floods (42.89%), while the younger group expressed the greatest risk perception related to fires (45.53%) (Fig. 10).More than half (54%) believe that the impact of disasters on human life can be reduced by prior preparation, 46% believe that people are helpless (Fig. 11) The self-assessment of providing first aid in an accident area is high, 60% in the second group and 45% in the first group (Fig. 12).

Fig. 12. First aid preparation by age
We rate both groups' first aid self-confidence as high.
The awareness of the collective means of protection (hideouts, shelters) in both groups is very low, 40% of the first group and 15% of the second (Fig. 13).

Fig. 13. Awareness of collective remedies by age
Self-esteem was low in both correct behavior and protection groups, 45% first and 30% second group (Fig. 14).
More than 70% of all survey participants noted a need to increase their own knowledge of proper behavior and protection in a disaster situation (Fig. 15).A preferred method is a training course (Fig. 15).Storms are the second most frequently recorded disasters: 121 events in 2021.The number of reported storms from 2001-2020 the annual average is 102.Among the significant ones is a Typhoon Rai in the Philippines, affecting 10.6 million people and 457 deaths.Tropical Cyclone Sehora in April killed 226 people in Indonesia.North American winter storm kills 235 and causes $30 billion in damage.Hurricane Ida caused 96 deaths and US$65 billion in economic costs [7,8,18].
In 2021 there were 3 extreme temperature events.During the period 2001-2020, a total of 21 extreme temperature events were registered.
Their consequences are serious.At the beginning of April 2021.A cold wave caused massive agricultural damage of US$5.6 billion to vineyards in France.
In the summer of the same year, a heat wave in Western and North America led to sharp peaks in mortality: Canada-815 and the United States-229 deaths.The actions of the heat waves also coincide with a large number of forest fires -19 compared to 2001-2021, an average of 11 per year.The deadliest forest fire of 2021, with 90 victims, is in Algeria.At the end of the year, the Marshall Fire event in Colorado caused economic damage of 3.3 billion US dollars, making it the 9th worst disaster of 2021.[7,8,18].
The American West faces prolonged droughts, with the economic costs of $9 billion, globally with Africa and Asia most affected.
Earthquakes do not significantly exceed those of 2001/2020 according to the world's climatologists, there are no mega earthquakes.The earthquake of August 2021 The magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti was estimated to be the deadliest, with 2,575 deaths, and the magnitude 7.1 Fukushima earthquake caused an economic cost of US$7.7 billion [7,8,18].
In well-developed countries of the world, national strategies for prevention, warning and combating disasters have been developed and implemented.State, public institutions, scientists and others take an active part in them [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10].
The main legislation for the protection of the population and disaster management in the city of Pleven is the Disaster Protection Act (DPA) [SG No. 102/19.12.2006] [4] The Republic of Bulgaria has developed a National Disaster Risk Reduction Program 2021-2025 [5] and National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2018-2030 [6].
The national risk assessment (2015) does not cover all risks that may have an impact on in the city of Pleven, such as extreme temperatures and anomalies.Summer has maximum temperatures of up to 43ÚC, winter is cold with high humidity of 75%, a prerequisite for the formation of fogs and icing [8,9,10,11].The old mixed sewage system is the reason for the poor ecological condition of the Tuchenitsa River [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].

CONCLUSIONS
Surveys of foreign citizens temporarily residing in the city of Pleven prove low awareness and insufficient knowledge of disaster protection.
It was established that all foreign citizens temporarily residing in the city of Pleven have experienced a disaster situation, and more than 55% of them more than once.
The lowest is the awareness of the two researched groups (15% and 8%) about the potential threats of disasters on the territory of Pleven, as well as the degree of awareness among the two groups (17%) about the disaster protection plan in the temporary settlement.
The analysis regarding the awareness and readiness for action of the two studied groups of temporarily resident citizens: • Insufficient hearing and recognition of early warning sirens in a disaster (20%).
• A small percentage of both groups (10% and 15%) know which phone to call in case of a disaster.
• Less than half (40% of the first group) and (10% of the second group) have homes and property insurance.
• Most people (88%) do not have a prepared evacuation backpack.
• Awareness of the collective means of protection (hideouts, shelters) in both groups is low (40% and 15%) • Everyone's confidence in proper behavior and disaster protection is low (30%) The respondents show a high degree of readiness and a high self-assessment regarding their readiness (60%) to provide first aid to victims in the area of the accident.
More than 70% noted a need to increase their own knowledge of proper behavior and protection in disasters and would prefer to receive additional training.
We live in a very dynamic and rapidly changing time.Disasters of natural and anthropogenic origin occur continuously.Climate change and global warming are at the root of all natural disasters.Human society experienced a pandemic that affected all walks of life.Soon after, in the month of February 2022, a war broke out between Russia and Ukraine.
These changes impose the need for every member of society, regardless of gender and age, to be well informed and adequately prepared for actions in the event of a crisis or disaster situation.Mobility, competence, flexibility will help us survive and help other victims nearby.The overall low assessment of the work with the temporary resident citizens in the city of Pleven can be changed by organizing and conducting training courses and seminars.

Fig. 5 .
Fig. 5. Knowledge of the early warning signal by age Fig. 8. Prepared Disaster Evacuation Backpack by Age

Fig. 9 .
Fig. 9. Knowing the frequency of natural disasters characteristic of the Pleven region

Fig. 11 .Fig. 14 .
Fig. 11.Opinions about the impact of disasters on human life Fig.14.Knowledge of action and protection in a disaster situation by layover

Fig. 15 .
Fig. 15.Opinion on the need to increase knowledge of disaster protection during layovers