5.1 Social Scientific Perspectives
Disaster Funding Mechanisms following the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake: A Demolition and Debris Management Perspective
C.O. Brown, M. Milke & E Seville
ABSTRACT: Disaster recovery is significantly affected by funding availability. The timeliness and quality of recovery activities are not only impacted by the extent of the funding but also the mechanisms with which funding is prioritised, allocated and delivered. This research addresses the impact of funding mechanisms on the effectiveness and efficiency of post-disaster demolition and debris management programmes.
A qualitative assessment of the impacts on recovery of different funding sources and mechanisms was carried out, using the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake as well as other recent international events as case studies. The impacts assessed include: timeliness, completeness, environmental, economic and social impacts.
Of the case studies investigated, the Canterbury Earthquake was the only disaster response to rely solely on a privatised approach to insurance for debris management. Due to the low level of resident displacement and low level of hazard in the waste, this was a satisfactory approach, though not ideal. This approach has led to greater organisational complexity and delays. For many other events, the potential community wide impacts caused by the prolonged presence of disaster debris means that publicly funded and centrally facilitated programmes appear to be the most common and effective method of managing disaster waste.
Exploring Elements of an Effective Recovery Process
D.M. Johnston, J.S. Becker, M. Coomer, S. Cronin, M. Daly, E. Doyle, S. Glassey, B. Glavovic, R. Houghton, M. Hughes, S. Johal, S. Jolly, G. Leonard, L. Patterson, R. Peace, W. Saunders, K. Stuart, R. Tarrant, H. Taylor, I. de Terte, L. Timar, R. Tuohy, K. Wright, D. Paton, S. Reese, K. Ronan & T. Wilson
ABSTRACT: Effective recovery from disasters depends not just on the physical impacts of the event but also on how the societal environment supports the complex and protracted processes of recovery. Research highlights the importance of not only strong local government capacity, but also of a cohesive system of public, private and volunteer groups integrated into the community. Our research explores a range issues in the context of recent recovery efforts in New Zealand The research has highlighted that effective recovery planning must consider in advance issues around 1) psychosocial support and community involvement in the recovery process 2) the needs of vulnerable populations and 3) policy and economic issues. The 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake provides a rare opportunity to improve and enhance existing knowledge of the recovery process.
Community Resilience, Latent Resources and Resource Scarcity After an Earthquake: Is Society Really Three Meals Away from Anarchy?
J. Thomas, K. Mora, S. Murray, D. Walton & V. Dravitzki
ABSTRACT: Immediately after an earthquake event a detailed baseline level of the resources in peoples’ homes is relatively unknown, as is the behavioural response to resource scarcity. Computer-aided personal interviews were conducted with 172 householders to examine how many days people believed they were able to shelter in place, taking into account not only the water, food and medicine they had stockpiled, but also the availability of less obvious sources (such as water in the hot water cylinder or food from gardens). Peoples’ perceived willingness to 1) help others, 2) ask for assistance from neighbours, 3) commit less socially acceptable acts (such as breaking into an empty house to take food and water), and 4) commit unsafe acts (such as drinking unpurified water) was also examined, both after a three day period and then a seven day period without official aid. The results are discussed with regard to particular post-disaster pro-social behaviours and how social norms shift as people adapt to survive.
Pedestrian Traffic as an Indicator of Business Recovery
A.J.M. Harding & F.I. Powell
ABSTRACT: There is a need for time- and cost-effective ways to track the recovery of business areas in the aftermath of natural disasters and other shock events. The purpose of this ongoing study is to test the reliability of regular pedestrian counting as an indicator for business recovery, using the Christchurch CBD as a case study. For this study, 12 sites were selected in the CBD for regular pedestrian traffic monitoring over a twelve month period following the 4th September 2010 earthquake. These sites were selected from those used in an assessment of urban vitality in 2008 undertaken for the Christchurch City Council (Gehl Architects, 2009) so that comparative data were available. The sites were selected to represent varying earthquake damage throughout the CBD, and for their suitability for installing automatic thermal pedestrian counters. In this paper we discuss the results of the study to-date and our findings that trend data for pedestrian counts clearly indicate the parts of the CBD where businesses are struggling. We conclude that pedestrian footfalls perform as a reliable and cost-effective indicator of business recovery when contextual information about factors such as the location of road, footpath, and shop closures is also known.
Impacts of the Property Investment Market on Seismic Retrofit Decisions
T.K Egbelakin, S. Wilkinson & P.B. Nahkies
ABSTRACT: Recent damaging earthquakes have shown that strengthening of buildings susceptible to seismic risks is one of the key issues in hazard and disaster management field. Using the property market to create value for seismic safety has been suggested in literature as a motivator to improve the implementation of adequate seismic mitigation measures. The purpose of research in this paper is to investigate how property investment can be used to create value for earthquake risks, in order to encourage seismic retrofit implementation of EPBs. A case study methodology was used to understand the impacts of the property market stakeholders’ practices on seismic retrofit decisions. Findings provide important new insights on how property market-based incentives and investment practices can be used to promote the adoption of adequate risk mitigation measures. The findings suggest the need for stakeholders involved in property investment and retrofit decisions to work together to foster seismic rehabilitation of EPBs. Market-based incentives such as mandatory disclosure of seismic risks and insurance premium discounts for retrofitted EPBs can offer compelling reasons for the different property market stakeholders and the public at large to retain, care, invest, and act responsibly to rehabilitate EPBs.
Key Words: Building owners, Earthquake Prone Buildings (EPBs), Seismic retrofit implementation, Property market, Investments and Retrofit Decisions