Geological Hazards and Society
2008 -2015
Funder: Foundation for Research, Science and Technology
Contact: Kelvin Berryman
This programme aims to develop quantitative estimates of earthquake, volcano, landslide, geomagnetic and tsunami hazard in New Zealand as a basis of an all-hazard approach, and evaluate how New Zealand society is addressing these perils.
The programme includes research aimed at understanding the processes that cause earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and tsunami, why they occur where they do, and at what rate do these phenomena occur in different parts of the country. It is through such improved understanding that we are better able to estimate the future likelihood and effects of geological hazard events.
Research into society's response to hazard knowledge and how hazard knowledge is incorporated into the regulatory and planning environment are additional key elements of the programme's work. This will address the role of land use planning as a hazard risk reduction tool and consider the regulatory environment of the recovery process to determine how it can be used to ensure effective community re-establishment in the aftermath of a disaster. The research also aims to assist the CDEM sector with developing appropriately targeted strategies to improve emergency management procedures, and crisis management methodologies that have considered societal perceptions of hazards.