This thesis examines disaster policy at the local government level. Specifically,
earthquake preparedness planning in three British Columbia school districts is
examined. The disaster policy cycle and seismic risk in British Columbia are also
addressed.
Prior to the late 1980's, the Vancouver, Coquitlam and Langley school districts
had not adopted specific measures to prepare for an earthquake. The Loma Prieta
earthquake in California in 1989 increased earthquake awareness in British Columbia
substantially. Thus, the Vancouver, Coquitlam and Langley school districts were faced
with the same problem: the formulation and development of earthquake preparedness
plans.
One might expect that since all three school districts were faced with the same
problem that a convergent approach to earthquake preparedness planning would be
taken. However, the case studies reveal significant divergence in terms of earthquake
preparedness.
In relation to earthquake preparedness planning in the three school districts
case studies, four factors are analyzed: amount of money spent, centralized approach
versus decentralized approach, reliance on external expertise and thoroughness of the
plan. Four possible explanations for the divergence of earthquake preparedness plans
at the school district level are discussed in this thesis. These explanations are
influence of interest groups, influence of key personnel, availability of community
wealth, and magnitude of risk.
The data base of for this thesis consists of the earthquake preparedness
planning experience in the Vancouver, Coquitlam and Langley school districts.
Relevant school district managers, staff, teachers, school administrators and parents
were interviewed. Interviewees were chosen to represent departments or committees
that were directly responsible for disaster preparedness or had some stake, direct or
indirect, in the issues posed by earthquake preparedness. Documentary sources,
government reports and statistics and newspaper articles were also used.
Several conclusions can be drawn regarding emergency preparedness at the
school district level. First, if magnitude of risk is significant and recognized, then the
natural disaster problem has a greater chance of being addressed in an adequate
manner. Second, if interest groups focus on a natural disaster problem, then there is
more likelihood of more thorough action being taken than if interest groups were not
involved. Third, current fiscal restraint indicates that funding, both public and private,
will affect the thoroughness of emergency preparedness planning. Fourth, the
preferences and actions of government officials cannot be ignored in regard to
emergency preparedness planning. The degree to which natural disaster problems
occupy the scope of government officials' preferences and actions will determine the
extent to which disaster policy receives attention in many instances. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/3408 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Baldwin, Pamela M. |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 4253143 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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