Earthquake related behavior is an important part of disaster research in California . Behavior during and immediately after earthquakes is influenced by a range of socioeconomic, situational, and social psychological factors. Here you will find survey data collected as part of research at the University of California , Los Angeles about the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of individuals in responding to earthquakes.Work has been carried out by the Social Science Data Archive in collaboration with:

• Linda B. Bourque, PhD, Professor, UCLA School of Public Health, Community Health Sciences; Associate Director, UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters and, Associate Director of the Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center.
  
   
• Eve P. Fielder, DrPH, Director, Survey Research Center, Health Service Research, UCLA
  
   
• Dennis Mileti, PhD, Research Scientist and former Director, Natural Hazards Center, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder.

In some cases, only the survey instrument is available.  As data files for these instruments become publicly available, they will be added to this site.   Please read the Disclaimer before downloading any materials. Photo by J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Society

What's New?

California Earthquake Preparedness Survey - March 5, 2010

A presentation on the preparedness of Californians in the event of a disaster was given by Linda Bourque, Professor, UCLA School of Public Health; Dr. Lucy Jones, Chief Scientist, Multi Hazards Project, U.S. Geological Survey; Larry Collins, Battalion Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department; Marta Bortner, Assistant Director, External Affairs, CaliforniaVolunteers; and Kelly Huston, Assistant Agency Secretary, California Emergency Management Agency (moderator). The focus was on the findings of the California Earthquake Preparedness Survey conducted in 2008.

Press Conference Audio with Presentation Slides

California Earthquake Preparedness Study (.PDF) - Short Report

California Earthquake Preparedness Study (.PDF) - FACTS - FINDINGS - RECOMMENDATIONS - The 'Get Ready Pyramid'

The presentation was also covered on NBC, KCBS-TV (LA), KCAL (LA), Telemundo (National), KCBS-AM (San Francisco), KNTV NBC (San Francisco) and KPIX CBS (San Francisco). See report   ( Word)   (PDF)

Additional information about the presentation can also be found at KPCC and IMPRE.COM

Other Videos:

Watch the video broadcast "Public Response to Terroriam in America ". This panel discussion included Dennis S. Mileti, Linda B. Bourque and Cory D. Gruber. The presenters shared their findings from their recent study on public readiness for natural disasters and terrorism events (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror - NCSTART) . This press conference originally aired on December 15, 2008 and is archived in the CSPAN Video Archive.

The PowerPoint slides presented at the National Press Club can be downloaded via the link below:

Bourque, L.B. & Milet, D.S. (December 15, 2008). Public Response to Terrorism in America. A Research Briefing at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.

New Studies:

Bourque, Linda B. National Survey of Disaster Experiences and Preparedness (NSDEP), 2007-2008.

The Department of Homeland Security funded a Center for Excellence called the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (NC START) based at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Linda Bourque received the two sub-awards through NC START as well as two additional grants from the National Science Foundation to conduct a national household telephone survey about people's experiences, preparedness and mitigation actions, and perceptions related to terrorism and disasters. A stratified sample of 3,300 households selected by random digit dialing was interviewed using computer-assisted telephone interviews. Of the total sample, 1,000 households were selected from areas considered at high risk of terrorism (Washington, D.C.; New York City; Los Angeles), and 2,300 households were selected from throughout the rest of the continental United States. The study collected information on: household and individual demographic data; past experience with disasters; respondents; definition of terrorism; cues to prepare; preparedness information received passively; trust in government organizations; terrorism-related knowledge; perceived risk; information-seeking and milling; perceived as resilience/self-efficacy; perceived response effectiveness; preparedness and mitigation actions; and behavioral intentions.

New Publications:

Kano, M., Wood, M.M., Mileti, D.S., and Bourque, L.B. Public Response to Terrorism: Findings from the National Survey of Disaster Experiences and Preparedness. Los Angeles, CA: Southern Caliofrnia Injury Prevention Center, 2008.

Data

Questionnaires

In some cases data from surveys has not been processed or may not be available. Where possible, questionnaires in PDF format are available to open in a PDF reader, or saved locally. To save a questionnaire, right-click on the link and choose 'Save Link As...'.

Selected Earthquake Research Bibliography

The principal investigators and others have described their findings in reports, articles and monographs. In this section a list of the most relevant work is included as a bibliography. Here you will find a listing of writings, published and unpublished, related to use of studies documented on this site. Using the left side bar you can click on the author's last name for a listing of each individual's writings. In some cases, and when copyright permits, the title of the work is highlighted and this indicates is can be downloaded as a PDF file. This section is updated as new publications are issued. Authors are invited to submit citations for possible inclusion in this bibliography.