EARTHQUAKE PLANNING FOR GOVERNMENT CONTINUITY

The problem of assuring government operational continuity following ea rthquakes has been given little research attention. Recent earthquake experience has documented that government organizations without a publ ic safety mission do incur damaged facilities and routinely see increa ses in public demands following an earthquake. Impediments to service delivery associated with such damages can be minimized if agencies add ress earthquake plan elements likely to enhance postimpact functioning , including: the potential to relocate operations, protection for the workplace, possession of an organizational inventory, emergency instru ctions for employees, the ability to use volunteers, and communication capacity. Factors associated with the adoption of these plan elements were studied in one county government and its municipal county seat i n the southwestern United States. A census of departments within these jurisdictions was asked to complete a questionnaire reporting the lev el of planning activity relative to each of these plan elements. It wa s found that the overall level of preparedness was low, but statistica lly significantly related to agency size, perceived risk, and informat ion seeking. The implications of these findings underscore the potenti al for disruption to government service delivery and permit the identi fication of potential avenues for increasing levels of preparedness.