The Social Geography of Disaster Recovery: Differential Community Response to the North Coast Earthquakes

Abstract

Within a 24-hour period covering April 25–26, 1992, the north coast of California experienced three major earthquakes. A majority of the damage occurred in Humboldt County, notably in the small towns of Femdale, Fortuna, Petrolia, Rio Dell, and Scotia. The recovery response times for these north coast communities has varied. This paper will show that the rates of disaster responses have been affected not only by the magnitude of damage from the earthquakes but also by the predisaster community social structures of two communities.