Objective: To assess the utility to organizations of a system that warns of earthquake shaking that will occur within 10-50 seconds. Methods: Data were collected in phone interviews from a purposive sample of 192 organizations in four institutional sectors in Los Angeles County (education, health care, emergency response, and utilities and transportation). Respondents were asked what is currently done at their organization when an earthquake begins and whether injuries, equipment damage, data loss, secondary hazards and effectiveness of emergency response activities would be more, less, or about the same with 10 and 50 seconds of warning. Results: Over half of the respondents (59%), indicated that their behavior would not change with a 10-second warning, but that they would be able to begin taking action (e.g., taking cover) sooner. Fifty-two percent of respondents suggested that a 50-second warning would, in addition, allow for extra protective and life safety actions to be taken. While only 48% of respondents thought having 10 seconds of warning would result in fewer injuries, 86% thought there would be fewer injuries with 50 seconds of warning. Conclusion: Increased life safety is the only significant benefit if earthquake warnings are very short. Longer warning times produce benefits in a wider range of areas. Organizations underestimate the level of technological sophistication and training needed to implement a warning system of this kind. See www.ph.ucla.edu/cphdr/
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to: 1. Describe how various types of organizations might use an earthquake early warning system for injury prevention and protection of property. 2. Identify the potential benefits of and barriers to implementing an earthquake warning system in an organization.
Keywords: Disasters, Injury Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.