COMMUNITY SELF-HELP DISASTER PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION (CALIFORNIA, EARTHQUAKE)

Current disaster contingency plans are inadequate in the event of a major earthquake striking an urban population center in California. The plans treat disaster area residents as victims dependent upon governmental agencies to deal with the disaster and its aftermath. The current "Community as Victim" model places responsibility upon government rather than the affected citizens. It calls for a massive assemblage of aid outside the disaster area to flow into the damaged region. Unfortunately, because of damage to transportation systems such "outside" aid can be expected to be delayed for one to three days.; An alternative, "Community as Resource" model is proposed as a more realistic and effective program for community survival. The model is developed through an inventory of community-based resources, an analysis of resource deployment in previous disasters, and psychological factors in earthquake preparedness. Compared with the "Victim" model, the "Resource" model is more self-help oriented and more broadly informative, intended to provide citizens with the resources to enhance individual and community survival in the case of a major earthquake. A historical account of governmental reactions to the model, which was first proposed by the author in 1978, is presented to document the model's increasing acceptability by senior emergency services personnel in the State of California.