Abstract
Identifying and providing basic solutions using a collaborative approach in earthquake-stricken cities of Iran has not yet been addressed. This article focuses on an area of practice and views disaster risk management from the point of view of volunteer groups to illustrate how the main components of disaster risk management affect the strengthening of public participation. In this article, Buein Zahra, a small city in Iran, is considered as a high-risk earthquake zone. The basic components of risk management are identified, namely public awareness, knowledge, skills, enabling environment, organisational development and social participation. An assessment of these indicators was done, and multidimensional relationships were established between them to enable an increase in the capacity for public participation. Accordingly, the results indicate that a mere increase in public awareness and knowledge, as seen today, and an improvement in enabling environment, although affecting disaster risk reduction, cannot by themselves lead to real public participation. Organisational development and strengthening of crisis coping skills are two key components to improving participation during crises in the small cities of Iran. According to the results of this study, institutional capacity and unreal political commitment have caused inefficiency of public participation in earthquake preparedness.
Highlights
Iran is exposed to a high level of seismic hazards throughout the country
According to the earthquake zoning map, 67% of the vast area of Iran is at risk of an earthquake and only 3% of the cities in Iran are in low-risk areas (ISDR 2004)
This study is part of a voluntary project entitled ‘Creating Community Emergency Response Volunteers and Improving disaster risk management (DRM) in Buein Zahra’; it concentrated on an area of practice and viewed DRM through the eye of volunteer groups
Summary
Iran is exposed to a high level of seismic hazards throughout the country. It has become evident that a long-term vision is required to reduce the level of risk for the population (ISDR 2004; Peduzzi et al 2009). Many cities, including Buein Zahra (7.2 ML), Tabas (7.7 ML), Rudbar-Manjil (7.4 ML) and Bam (6.5 ML), have persistent significant damage because of high-magnitude earthquake activities. Review of the historical seismic data shows that almost all parts of the country are affected by the physical, social and economic problems associated with earthquakes (Giardini et al 1999). The development of a national policy of disaster risk reduction (DRR) was promoted largely by scientific groups and technical interests. After the Manjil earthquake in 1999, a multilateral and interdisciplinary national earthquake risk reduction plan was developed. Factors such as increasing the capacity of citizenship participation and the institutional capacity of society in disasters have not been considered adequately (Ghafory-Ashtiany & Hosseini 2008)
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