Critical Systems Thinking on the Inefficiency in Post-Earthquake Relief: A Practice in Longmen Shan Fault Area

The Longmen Shan Fault area is one of the most active seismic zones in the world, has a relatively dense population and a low economic development level. Therefore, the provision of effective post-earthquake relief is very important for saving lives and restricting financial losses. However, providing urgent relief is a complex problem that requires efficient coordination between the organizations, and departments involved, and the specific environments, for the supply of urgent materials, energy and information. In practice, although there are sufficient relief supplies, because of the lack of systemic thinking, relief activities are often chaotic leading to inefficiencies and even increases in the damage and loss of life. In this study, a critical systems thinking approach is used to reflect on the system contexts, boundaries, structures and functions of the emergency relief systems. Using systems modeling we constructed simulations for different relief plans and their consequences, and a work shop of metasynthetic engineering was constructed to integrate the different views, knowledge and contexts. At the practical stage, after the model’s validity was verified from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake data, based on the 2013 Lushan earthquake simulation results, some recommendations are made to improve future post-disaster relief operations. Finally, the significance of critical systems thinking is demonstrated to ensure effective and efficient of post-earthquake relief. Some limitations and future research also have been presented in conclusion.