Balancing human needs with technology—a design-led approach for exploring an earthquake early warning system in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Despite the high seismicity in Aotearoa New Zealand, there is no official public Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system that will warn the general population in real time of incoming ground shaking from earthquakes. A nationwide public EEW system as a mitigation measure for earthquake risks is still in its early consideration.

Assessing the feasibility of EEW requires understanding of the technical, social, and cultural issues. It entails engagement with a broad set of stakeholders from different sectors, including research institutions, government, emergency management, other sectors, and community groups. Initial scoping studies in New Zealand show that the various sectors and the public have positive views of a potential EEW system. At these early stages of consideration, there is an opportunity to design and develop a genuinely people-centered EEW system in New Zealand.

This chapter discusses a design-led approach used to engage with the public to investigate the feasibility of an EEW in New Zealand. It puts a people-first lens on a public EEW system. It recognizes that a warning system is as much about people and their behaviours as the technical infrastructure. The next parts of the chapter discuss (1) the overarching design science approach used by an EEW research in New Zealand, (2) a particular focus on the participatory design in engaging communities, (3) and finally, the voices and views resulting from the community workshops.