Seismic risk perception of high school students in Mexico City

The Chapter presents results regarding risk perception, preparedness and psychological issues associated with seismic risk. A sample size of N=302 was considered in a cross-sectional study for the case of students of a high school located in a highly seismic zone of Mexico City. A number of deficiencies have been highlighted by the analysis. The main conclusions of the study may be summarise as follows: a) even though the participants discuss earthquake preparedness at home, however, the content of such talks may be regarded as deficient and inadequate. That is, the key issues are not addressed such as safe places and emergency exits at home during the occurrence of an earthquake and family meeting places once an earthquake has occurred; and b) the need to incorporate psychological issues not only in formal educational programmes but also in the design of effective channels of communication on seismic risk.