Runnerstrom, E.E, & Grant, L.B.
Effective seismic risk communication with a SCEC target audience.
Poster presented at Southern California Earthquake Center
Annual Conference 2002 in Oxnard, California.
The objective of this
pilot study is to understand the use of SCEC products by city level governments
for mitigating seismic risk. We are
surveying the use of SCEC products in selected Orange County, California
communities. This study is in
progress. Our preliminary methodology
involves reviewing the following local mitigation strategies: civic ordinances,
safety elements, geotechnical background reports, and seismic risk mitigation
programs, goals, and processes. We
intend to measure the influence of SCEC products on the development of these
local mitigation strategies. Examples
of SCEC products include:
•Phase II report (1995)
•Phase III report (2000)
•Liquefaction report (1999)
•Landslide report (2002)
•Putting Down Roots Handbook (1995)
•SCEC Workshops
•SCEC Data Center online
•SCEC Education Modules online
The extent to which
SCEC products are used by city jurisdictions varies. Future results of this study should help to explain SCEC’s
influence on local mitigation practices and identify effective areas for
seismic risk communication. If these
results improve our understanding of how cities use SCEC products to develop
mitigation strategies, then this research should contribute to achieving SCEC
objectives regarding the improvement of mitigation techniques, seismic
policies, knowledge transfer, and earthquake awareness by the general
public. An extension of this research
includes measuring the extent to which SCEC products indirectly affect local
mitigation efforts due to impacts at the federal, state, and county levels of
government. Another extension would be
to identify common characteristics of SCEC products that aid in strengthening
seismic policies.