Earthquake Readiness and Recovery: An Asia-Pacific Perspective

People living in countries situated on the circum-Pacific seismic belt (the Pacific Ring of Fire), where some 90% of the world's earthquakes occur, live with high levels of seismic risk. When large earthquakes occur, affected residents are abruptly faced with loss, challenges, and demands that differ significantly from anything they would encounter under normal conditions. The fact that people are not equally affected, and that differential impact and differences in people’s ability to adapt and recover from earthquake events can be attributed in part to people’s level of preparedness or readiness, makes understanding why this is so an important goal in disaster risk reduction. This chapter discusses theoretical analyses of earthquake readiness and empirical studies of earthquake response and recovery in the citizens of two countries situated on the Ring of Fire; New Zealand and Taiwan. By identifying how personal, community, and cultural characteristics interact to influence earthquake readiness, response, and reduction, this chapter offers insights that can inform the development of the risk communication and community outreach programs required to facilitate sustained disaster readiness.