Living with Tectonic Hazards KQ3 - How Do People Prepare For and Respond to Earthquakes?

Preparedness Measures 

Even though people are not able to prevent earthquakes and other tectonic hazards from happening, they can implement measures to prepare themselves to cope with the impacts of the earthquakes. This reduces the extent of damage and allow populations to survive an earthquake.



Some of this preparedness measures include (B.E.L.T)

• Building and Infrastructure Development - building and reinforcing infrastructures that are resistant and able to withstand potential earthquakes (e.g. Taipei 101, Taiwan)
• Emergency Drills - getting people to be familiar with procedures in the event of an earthquake
• Land Use Regulations - implementing rules and guidelines to restrict developments in earthquake prone areas
• Technology - monitoring and warning systems to warn populations

Although these preparedness measures may prepare people and help them mitigate the impacts of the earthquakes, there may be limitations (M.A.C) to reduce the effectiveness of these measures. Some of which includes

• Manpower - to construct and/or reinforce building to become earthquake-resistant, it requires specialists such as engineers. In addition, the enforcement of rules and regulations will require more law enforcement officers (i.e. government agencies, police etc)
• Adherence to Rules and Regulations -  uncooperative individuals or companies may not follow the rules and regulations implemented by the government. People may also not treat the emergency preparedness drills seriously and follow the procedures set.
• Costs - construction and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure that are earthquake-resistant may be expensive. Some areas may also be privately owned, therefore governments may have to purchase and acquire land to compensate these owners in order to move them out. Acquiring and building of advanced monitoring technology may be too expensive especially for lower-developed countries

In the event of an earthquake, there will be two levels of responses  by the people

1. Short-term (i.e. responses that occur immediately after the event and last for weeks) - search and rescue survivors, providing them with basic necessities such as food, shelter and water.
2. Long-term (i.e. responses that stretch over months and years) - rebuilding the region and preparing for future earthquake events to reduce extent of damage (i.e. preparedness measures)