Spatial analysis of the weaknesses in crisis management in earthquake -prone areasCase study: Salas Babajani city

 Based on the research background, it can be stated that the previous researches are about evaluating crisis management, presenting a crisis management model, providing a solution to measure the vulnerability of cities to earthquakes, etc. Hence, the difference between the present study and the previous researches is that it shows the damage of crisis management from spatial aspects. In addition, according to the description of the tasks of the 14 crisis management working teams, with emphasis on the integrated management approach (which has not been performed in any of them), the present study attempts to fill this research gap.

 The research method is descriptive-analytical and applied in terms of purpose. The data collection method is documentary and survey, as in order to extract earthquake crisis management indicators and develop theoretical bases from the documentary method and note taking tool; and to measure the research indicators in the scope of the study, the survey method and the researcher-made questionnaire have been used. The statistical population of the research consists of experts and specialists in the field of city and urban crisis management who have adequate knowledge and expertise on the topic under study. Due to the unknown size of the statistical population, the sampling is non-random, purposeful method, and its size was considered to reach scientific saturation (50 people). For data analysis, independent one-sample t-tests were used to examine the average dimensions of earthquake crisis management. Also, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to rank the research components. Finally, spatial statistics in the GIS software environment and the IDW interpolation method were used to show the spatial distribution of the condition of crisis management damage in Salas Babajani city.

 The results of the research show that the condition of crisis management indicators indicates that, in general, the condition of crisis management against earthquakes is not suitable. The highest and lowest averages are close to each other in all five rural districts of Salas Babajani and follow a single pattern. It should be said that, in general, in terms of location, by moving away from the center of the city towards the marginal areas, especially towards the southwestern and northern borders of the city, the crisis management indicators show a worse situation. In other words, the more we move away from the political center of the city- Taze Abad city, located in the Dashte-Hor rural district, the situation of crisis management indicators is very unsuitable. This issue shows that according to the centralized political structure of Iran and region, activities and services in the crisis management sector are also provided by a centralized method. In addition, the structure of the natural environment also caused the unsuitable situation of the eastern part of the city, namely the northern and southern rural districts, because in these areas the slope of the land and the height above the ground are high, so the services provision are disrupted in different stages.

 The general idea of the present study is that the political contexts and processes governing management system in Iran operate similarly at a regional scale. In other words, structural requirements at the regional scale continue to increase concentration some areas. Similar studies performed by other researchers about crisis management in different regions of Iran indicate consistency with the results of this research because most of them have emphasized on the role of centralization and lack of integrated management in regions and provinces. Thus, based on the results of this research, it can be said: as long as a residential order cannot solve the crisis management problem in the various fields of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, the gap between residential areas and the lack of integrated management should experience and tolerate under the requirements of sectorial management. It is obvious that until the upstream concentrated national and regional contexts, processes and mechanisms are not modified, the management at national, regional and local scale don’t achieve the sustainable balance.