Natural hazards have been a part of the landscape since its existence, but they are becoming more devastating as they
intersect with growing populations and as climate change increases their frequency and intensity. As these changes
occur, the need to understand how to reduce disaster impacts becomes paramount. Despite growing concern and increasing
costs of disasters over the past decade, household preparedness, which is at the foundation of disaster readiness, has
seen little to no improvement. Using two research experiments, we adopt the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM; Lindell & Perry,
2004; 2012) as a framework to investigate what motivates households to prepare and examine how effective risk communication
strategies are at increasing awareness and preparedness. Here we find information seeking behavior to be the strongest
influence not only on preparedness, but other PADM factors as well, such as intentions to prepare, feelings (positive
and negative) about earthquake threat, knowledge of protective recommendations, and risk perception. Additionally, in
our Portland, Oregon case study, we find significant gaps exist in terms of public understanding of earthquake hazards
(liquefaction), and what to do during an earthquake. We also find that the majority of residents do not know their risk
zone and have difficulty interpreting and using hazard maps. This research expands our understanding of the factors that
influence household preparedness and highlights specific areas for improvement. Because hazards are a natural part of
living on this planet, it is important that we consider the inherent risks and develop strategies to become more resilient.