Developing a personal seismic-risk and readiness self-evaluation tool for activating citizens and improving communal resilience.
Finzi1 Y., Maroz1 A., Avni1 S., and Langer2 S.
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Mitzpe Ramon, Israel
- The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Abstract:
Many Israelis that live in areas of significant seismic risk are reluctant to undertake the minimal preparations to safeguard their family. Often, these people harbor amorphous notions of the threats associated with earthquakes and tend to depend on unspecified non-local resources and government authorities to care for them. National emergency authorities have long realized that in order to improve communal resilience and self-reliance during post-earthquake conditions, they must promote personal and familial preparedness. This is particularly important and challenging in peripheral, remote communities such as those along the Dead Sea Fault and in the Negev. Although the importance for information dissemination to the public is widely understood, there are currently no tools for self-assessment of risk or preparedness that are suitable for widespread use by residents.
We have designed a personalized risk and preparedness assessment tool aimed to facilitate individual and familial involvement in earthquake preparedness. This innovative online calculator provides personalized risk assessment based on national seismic risk maps, user input regarding location and structure characteristics of the user’s home. In addition, based on preparation measures taken at the household, the calculator assesses familial preparedness. Data collected by the online calculator will enable innovative analysis and mapping of preparedness and risk patterns within cities. Our online tool identifies weakness in personal readiness and offers immediate personalized feedback. Analysis of this data will provide important insights for authorities regarding specific weaknesses in familial and community resilience. Implementing the online calculator in a popular social network interface will encourage comparison between homes among peers. We believe that by using interactive tools and boosting social connectivity, people will be more willing to actively minimize their community’s and personal risk. Finally, assessment and preliminary mapping of risk and preparedness in Mitzpe Ramon helped expose neighborhoods with relatively high risk of earthquake related damage, and low preparedness.
Keywords:
Emergency preparedness, earthquakes, risk, preparedness, motivate public preparedness