As a seismologist, people sometimes ask me how we as a society can prepare for earthquakes. Granted, I'm a researcher and not a policymaker, but I still like to give an answer that I think is important and underlooked: tackling wealth inequality.

The obvious answers are stuff like enforcing building codes, creating earthquake early warning systems, building up emergency funds, etc, and those are clearly very important! However, wealth inequality reaches into a LOT of issues, including this one.

If the connection to earthquakes isn't clear yet, let me elaborate. Individual preparedness is great for safety and resilience at a personal and community level, but a lot of the prep advice is hard or impossible for those without at least a little disposable income.

Make an emergency kit of food, water, etc? Hard to keep it if your kids are hungry today.

Get an earthquake early warning app? Only if you can afford a smartphone.

Make sure there's nothing that could fall above where you sleep? Tough to manage if you're unhoused.

It goes on.

Preparation like that makes a big difference in safety and resilience in the event of a significant earthquake. There's a TON of people who would love to take those steps for themselves and their families, but can't because they don't have the means.

It's the same for post-earthquake recovery. Getting medical care, replacing essential possessions, temporarily moving, getting repairs, etc all require money that a lot of people don't have because a few people are hoarding it.

Multi-billionaire CEOs won't face increased danger in an earthquake because you tax them at a higher rate and make them pay their employees a thriving wage.

When you make the rich stop taking advantage of others' labor, though, LOTS of people will gain the financial ability to stay safer, AND you can put more money into community emergency preparation, too.

Earthquakes aside, there are tons of moral and practical reasons to redistribute wealth. More people being able to prepare for, survive, and recover from disasters is just one of many.