NEHRP Clearinghouse
- Title
- Earthquake Prediction and Public Policy.
- File
- PB290355.pdf
- Source
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC. Applied Science and Research Applications., January 1975, 153 p.
- Abstract
- This report deals with the role of government agencies in responding to earthquake predictions. Analyses, however, indicate that constructive use of the period of advance warning will depend largely on the participation and leadership from the private sector. Only through cooperative planning by leaders of business, finance, and labor working together with government officials can the most troublesome prospects in the economic sphere be resolved effectively. The socially significant characteristics of earthquake prediction were examined. The principal hazards from earthquakes are identified and the strategies are outlined for dealing with them on the basis of advance warning. After analyzing how people may respond to an earthquake warning, guidelines are suggested for the release of such warnings. The economic aspects of the response to prediction and important legal issues are explored. The probability that the costs and inconveniences of earthquakes and prediction will fall disproportionately on some population segments is noted. Implications of the political process for the development of a constructive response to prediction are also examined. The major ways in which earthquake prediction can be used to reduce the loss of life, the destruction of property, and the social disruption of the community are summarized.
- Keywords
- Planning; Predictions; Earthquake resistant structures; Earthquake prediction; Seismic risk; Earthquake warning systems; Public opinion; Economic analysis; Government policies; Decision making; Building codes; Earthquakes