Do earthquake survivors want to escape the threats of earthquakes and why?

Abstract

Destructive earthquakes and the possibility of experiencing destructive earthquakes may cause people to move from their area to safer ones. However, despite high earthquake risk, people may not want to leave the area they reside for various reasons. The objective of this study was to investigate whether earthquake experience, earthquake insurance, satisfaction with city, self-efficacy, risk perception, social support, post-earthquake insecurity and price gouging was correlated with relocation willingness in an earthquake-prone area. Data were collected using a survey from 1114 people residing in Kocaeli (Türkiye), where a devastating earthquake occurred in 1999. 610 people who participated in the study were affected by this earthquake and 504 people were not affected. In order to better understand the impact of earthquake exposure on relocation willingness, ordinal logistic regression analyzes were performed separately for the earthquake affected and unaffected sample. The result showed that the relocation willingness of the unaffected participants was higher than the relocation willingness of the affected participants. People who were psychologically affected by the earthquake were more likely to relocate. Satisfaction with the city reduced the participants' relocation willingness mostly. The fear of earthquakes and perceived insecurity after a future earthquake increased all participants' relocation willingness. It is hoped that this study will guide scientists and disaster managers working in regions where destructive disasters may occur to improve strategies related to relocation policy and earthquake risk reduction.