Quarantelli, E. L.2005-03-052005-03-051982-06http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/452One of the earliest research topics in the disaster area was the issuance of emergency warnings and the reactions to them. This is understandable. If persons can be warned of a threat, they can take preventive, mitigatory, precautionary, and protective measures, including evacuating themselves out of an endangered area. Warnings can obviously be useful it not necessary for adaptive behavior to environmental changes –natural or manmade – which put life, property, group routines, and the ecological balance in peril. It is not therefore surprising that when social and behavioral scientists started to do research on disasters about 30 years ago, many of the studies focused on the question of disaster warnings and reactions of potential victims to them. This interest has persisted over the years.221753 bytesapplication/pdfen-USdisaster warningvictimsenviromental changesemergency warningsOther