Improving Human Responding During Earth-Shaking Events

Abstract:

What kind of messaging best promotes timely and appropriate protective action when people experience major earth shaking? Answering such questions requires empirical information about how people actually behave during earthquakes in relation to the messaging they’ve previously encountered. To establish a source of such data, we follow Lambie and colleagues’ (2016, 2017) lead in establishing a system for coding and quantifying individual behavior before, during, and after major (MMI 4+) shaking events. Coding is implemented in public domain ELAN 5.9 software, which supports multiple languages and modifiable coding content. Proof-of-concept coding underway utilizes publicly available video footage from recent earthquakes in Anchorage, AK and Ridgecrest, CA. Preliminary findings point to: a) considerable diversity in human response (ranging from immediate, appropriate collective protective action to counterproductive and chaotic responding), as well as b) systematic triggers to responsive action (both appropriate and inappropriate). Among other things, these findings showcase possible targets for modified messaging to improve outcomes and save lives when major earthquakes occur.