Abstract:
Common regional hazards in Oregon include wildfires and earthquakes. These hazards vary in severity and have the potential to cause damage to persons or communities in the state. Earthquakes range from small to significant in size and consequence. When ground shaking from an earthquake occurs, safety recommendations encourage individuals to take protective actions like drop, cover, and hold on. ShakeAlert is an earthquake early warning system that delivers notifications to publics and stakeholders affected by possible ground shaking. In March 2021, ShakeAlert became available in Oregon. Using conceptual underpinnings from risk communication and public relations, the purpose of this dissertation was twofold. It first examined Oregon residents’ beliefs and attitudes toward earthquake risks, safety behaviors, and ShakeAlert. Then, it analyzed how Oregon publics formed and performed communication behaviors according to the situational theory of publics. An online Qualtrics survey of a representative sample of Oregonians gathered a total of 1,041 responses. Survey respondents perceived a moderate-to-high earthquake risk in Oregon. Research results confirm theoretical groupings of publics and suggest an individual’s group membership, earthquake experience, and perceived level of organizational trust may impact the breadth of communication behaviors (i.e., information seeking, processing, engaging, and gaining) an individual engages in. This project proposes an applied segmented risk communication messaging approach targeting groups with various attributes such as barriers for earthquake safety, low awareness of ShakeAlert, or recommended protective action behaviors. Additionally, research results propose an avenue for risk and hazard scholars to employ the situational theory of publics in the contexts of earthquake risk.
