At a recent United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization/Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO/IOC) Second Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System meeting, all nations were encouraged to survey their countries to create water inundation maps to determine what areas would be affected and what areas would be safe for people in the event of a tsunami in the future. In addition, researchers were asked to determine how warning information is disseminated to at-risk publics when disaster warnings are issued.

Perry’s study will be conducted using a scientific random-number telephone survey of 200 adult residents of Seychelles, and will assess several elements of the warning process: 1) the rate at and means through which tsunami information was disseminated; 2) the actions taken in response to the information; 3) the seriousness with which people took the information; 4) the means used to obtain more detailed information about what was happening; and 5) changes in responses between the December tidal wave and the March 28 tsunami warning incident.

Perry’s research will be given to the disaster coordination committee in Seychelles. Additional copies will be provided to the UNDP and to other interested international bodies involved in creating disaster response to multiple hazards including tsunamis.

Perry earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Alabama before coming to ISU in 1997. His research interests include media effects culture, public opinion, and religious broadcasting. He is currently serving as a Fulbright Scholar in Mauritius where he is studying the cultivation effects of television, specifically how those with heavy exposure to the country’s non-Western media perceive violence, gender roles, materialism, religion, and Western culture.