Draper, DianneReynolds, Ryan2017-01-312017-01-3120172017Reynolds, R. (2017). Personalizing Tsunami Risk on Vancouver Island with GIS: A Mixed-Methods Case Study Exploring the Use of GIS in Public Tsunami Risk Assessment and Personal Preparedness in Port Alberni, B.C. (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27316http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3609This work explores how vulnerable populations learn about, perceive, and incorporate natural hazards risks into their lives, and explores whether access to assistive online tools would result in an increased likelihood that at-risk residents would develop and maintain a set of household emergency preparedness and disaster response plans. I focus on a case study conducted on tsunami hazards risk in the community of Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. Located on the western coast of Vancouver Island, Port Alberni is the site of the most destructive tsunami disaster to have occurred in Canada during historic times, and remains a community vulnerable to tsunami hazards from sources located throughout the Pacific Ocean, including along the Cascadia Subjection Zone located just west of Vancouver Island. I first explore how various spatial data may be used to establish a community-wide tsunami evacuation map using a set of Geographic Information System (GIS) models, establishing the ease or difficulty associated with evacuating each household located within the official tsunami inundation zone. Next, I examine how household and personal factors can influence a household’s social vulnerability, potentially affecting their ability to recover following a tsunami disaster. Finally, I explore how these risk elements can be combined with household demographic information using a web-based application to assist study participants to develop a comprehensive set of household tsunami preparedness and response plans customized to the unique needs of participants’ household members and pets. Participant responses to a set of questionnaires and a short interview was used to assess the effectiveness of the online tool in encouraging the development of household emergency plans, and to provide guidance on how future versions of such a tool could be modified to better meet the needs of vulnerable households in other Canadian communities.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Public and Social WelfarePhysical Geographytsunamipreparedness planningassistive planningGISevacuation modellingnatural hazardsVancouver Islanddoctoral thesis10.11575/PRISM/27316