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Earthquake Resistant Construction of Electric Transmission and Telecommunication Facilities Serving the Federal Government
"The vulnerability of electrical transmission and telecommunication facilities to damage in past earthquakes, as well as available standards and technologies to protect these facilities against earthquake damage are reviewed. An overview is presented of measures taken by various Federal agencies to protect electrical transmission and telecommunication facilities against earthquake hazards. It is concluded that while most new facilities which are owned and operated by Federal agencies are presently designed to provide some, though not necessarily adequate, earthquake resistance, there generally is no effort to retrofit existing facilities. No evidence was found of requirements to protect electrical transmission and communication facilities which have major contractual obligations to serve the Federal Government and only limited seismic design requirements are stipulated for electrical transmission systems constructed with Federal funding. It is recommended that Federal guidelines be developed for minimum levels of seismic design of electrical transmission and telecommunication systems."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
Yokel, Felix Y.
1990-09
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East Meets Midwest: An Earthquake in India Helps Hazard Assessment in the Central United States
"Although geographically distant, the State of Gujarat in India bears many geological similarities to the Mississippi Valley in the Central United States. The Mississippi Valley contains the New Madrid seismic zone that, during the winter of 1811-1812, produced the three largest historical earthquakes ever in the continental United States and remains the most seismically active region east of the Rocky Mountains. Large damaging earthquakes are rare in 'intraplate' settings like New Madrid and Gujarat, far from the boundaries of the world's great tectonic plates. Long-lasting evidence left by these earthquakes is subtle (fig. 1). Thus, each intraplate earthquake provides unique opportunities to make huge advances in our ability to assess and understand the hazards posed by such events."
Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior
2002-03
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Earthquake Shaking-Finding the 'Hotspots'
"A new Southern California Earthquake Center study has quantified how local geologic conditions affect the shaking experienced in an earthquake. The important geologic factors at a site are (1) softness of the rock or soil near the surface and (2) thickness of the sediments above hard bedrock. Even when these "site effects" are taken into account, however, each earthquake exhibits unique "hotspots" of anomalously strong shaking. Better predictions of strong ground shaking will therefore require additional geologic data and more comprehensive computer simulations of individual earthquakes."
United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)
2001
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St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project
This fact sheet provides information on creating hazard maps. "St. Louis has experienced minor earthquake damage at least 12 times in the past 200 years. Because of this history and its proximity to known active earthquake zones, the St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project will produce digital maps that show variability of earthquake hazards in the St. Louis area. The maps will be available free via the internet. They can be customized by the user to show specific areas of interest, such as neighborhoods or transportation routes."
United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)
2010-01
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NVHUG Loss-Estimation Modeling of Earthquake Scenarios for Each County in Nevada Using HAZUS-MH
"With the support of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG) conducted a project to model the potential earthquake loss in each county in the state of Nevada using HAZUS-MH. Potential earthquake faults that are located near each County seat where selected as the basis for each County HAZUS-MH model. The results generated by HAZUS-MH for this project, including statistics and maps, have been made available to the Nevada HAZUS User Group and to the general public via the Web at www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/of061/of061.htm. One of the first pieces of information needed in disaster planning, preparedness, and response is a general estimate of potential damage and costs of an event, such as an earthquake. Nevada has a relatively high level of earthquake hazard, but that hazard is not evenly distributed throughout the state. Another relevant factor is that the characteristics of the population, infrastructure, and societal resources vary dramatically across the state. The probability of at least one magnitude 6 or greater event in the next fifty years is between 34 and 98%. The probability of at least one magnitude 7 or greater event in the next fifty years is between 4 and 50%. Hazards include intense ground shaking, ruptures of the ground, liquefaction, landslides, and ancillary problems, such as fires and hazardous waste spills. Understanding these facts, plus the fact that it is possible to prepare, respond, and mitigate structural and nonstructural risks motivated this project."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
Hess, Ronald H.
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Building for the Earthquakes of Tomorrow: Complying with Executive Order 12699
This manual is intended to accompany FEMA's independent study course "IS-8.a Building for the Earthquakes of Tomorrow: Complying with Executive Order 12699." "Since the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act was passed in 1977, many actions have been taken to improve seismic safety. Executive Order 12699, 'Seismic Safety of Federal and Federally Assisted or Regulated New Building Construction,' signed by President Bush in January 1990 is a significant Federal seismic risk reduction action. This Executive Order requires all new Federal, federally assisted, and federally regulated buildings to be appropriately seismic resistant. Among new construction affected are all buildings financed, either partially or fully, with Federal grants or federally guaranteed loans. Because this Executive Order is so wide reaching, covering everything from single-family dwellings to large Federal complexes across the nation, a training course was needed to provide the tools, information, and planning guidance for those people affected by the Executive Order. The purpose of this course is to provide individuals in State and local governments, and the building and financial industries, with information about the requirements of the Executive Order and how they will be implemented. The course is also intended to provide the student with basic knowledge about earthquakes and how buildings can be built to be safe during an earthquake."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
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Strategic Plan for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program: Fiscal Years 2008-2012
"This Strategic Plan for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) for Fiscal Years 2008-2012 is submitted to Congress by the Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC) of NEHRP, as required by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, as amended by Public Law 108-360. The Plan outlines a cooperative program of earthquake monitoring, research, implementation, education, and outreach activities performed by the NEHRP agencies. […] This Plan provides a straightforward and executable strategy for NEHRP. Successful strategic planning and Program accomplishment must be consistent with existing policies, based on realistic assumptions, and responsive to changing conditions. The pace of Program accomplishment will depend on the funding that is requested by NEHRP agencies and appropriated by Congress for NEHRP purposes during the 2008-2012 Plan period. This Plan should be used to guide relevant funding decisions by NEHRP agencies. Following the adoption of this Plan, the NEHRP agencies will jointly develop an annual Management Plan that details Strategic Plan implementation activities that are consistent with agency appropriations and funding priorities. The NEHRP agencies will keep abreast of advancements in science and technology, adjusting both short-and long-term developmental efforts to take advantage of new results. NEHRP will remain focused on the elements of this Strategic Plan, but will adapt to contingencies and opportunities that may arise. If a major earthquake occurs in the United States during the Plan period, NEHRP will initiate efforts to study the effects and impacts of that event, including successes, failures, and unforeseen problems that arose in mitigation, response, and recovery practices and policies, and adjust this Plan as needed."
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (U.S.)
2008-04
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Making Ports and Harbors More Resilient to Earthquake and Tsunami Hazards
"Over the past decade, the threat of very large earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest has been well documented by the scientific community. Such events pose significant threats to coastal communities, including a potential for significant loss of life and damage to public and private infrastructure and property. Damage could result from numerous earthquake-related hazards, such as severe ground shaking, soil liquefaction, landslides, and tsunami inundation. Because of their geographic location, ports and harbors are highly vulnerable to these hazards. This is problematic because ports are centers for much of the economic and social activity of coastal communities, and are also expected to be vital as post-event, response and recovery transportation links. Increasing the resiliency of port and harbor communities to earthquake and tsunami hazards is thus a high priority. To address this issue, a collaborative, multi-year research, planning, and outreach initiative involving Oregon Sea Grant, Washington Sea Grant, the NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] Coastal Services Center, and the USGS [United States Geological Survey] Center for Science Policy was begun in early 2000 to increase the resiliency of Pacific Northwest ports and harbors to earthquake and tsunami hazards. Two pilot demonstration projects, one in Yaquina Bay, Oregon and the other in Sinclair Inlet, Washington are almost concluded at this date. Specific products of this project include a regional stakeholder issues and needs assessment, a community-based mitigation planning process aimed at port and harbor resources, a GIS -based [geographic information system] vulnerability assessment methodology, a regional data archive, and an educational web-site."
United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Coastal Services Center (U.S.)
Goodwin, Robert F.
2003-07
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Effects of the Earthquake of March 27, 1964 on the Communities of Kodiak and Nearby Islands
"The great earthquake (Richter magnitude
of 8.4-8.5) that struck south-central
Alaska at 5:36 p.m., Alaska
standard time, on March 27, 1964
(03:36, March 28, Greenwich mean
time), was felt in every community on
Kodiak Island and the nearby islands.
It was the most severe earthquake to
strike this part of Alaska in modern
time, and took the lives of 18 persons
·in the area by drowning; this includes
two in Kodiak and three at Kaguyak
Property damage and loss of income to
the communities is estimated at more
than $45 million.
The largest community, Kodiak, had
the greatest loss from the earthquake.
Damnge was caused chiefly by 5.6 feet
of tectonic subsidence and a train of 10
seismic sen waves that inundated the
low-lying areas of the town. The seismic
sea waves destroyed all but one of
the docking facilities and more than 215
structures; many other structures were
severely damaged. The waves struck
the town during the evening hours of
March 27 and early morning hours of
March 28. They moved from the southwest
and northeast and reached their
maximum height of 20-30 feet above
mean lower low water at Shahafka
Cove between 11:00 and 11:45 p.m.,
March 27. The violently destructive
seismic sea waves not only severely
damaged homes, shops, and naval station
structures but also temporarily
crippled the fishing industry in Kodiak
by destroying the processing plants and
most of the fishing vessels. The waves scoured out 10 feet of sediments in the
channel between Kodiak Island and
Near Island and exposed bedrock.
This bedrock presented a major post-earthquake
construction problem because
no sediments remained into which
piles could be driven for foundations of
waterfront facilities."
United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)
Kachadoorian, Reuben, 1921-; Plafker, George
1967
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Effects of the Earthquake of March 27, 1964 in the Homer Area, Alaska, with a Section on Beach Changes on Homer Spit
"The March 27, 1964, earthquake shook
the Homer area for about 3 minutes.
Land effects consisted of a 2- to 6-foot
subsidence of the mainland and Homer
Spit, one earthflow at the mouth of a
canyon, several landslides on the
Homer escarpment and along the sea
bluffs, and minor fissuring of the
ground, principally at the edges of bluffs
and on Homer Spit. Hydrologic effects
consisted of at least one and possibly
two submarine landslides at the end of
the spit, seiche waves in Kachemak
Bay, ice breakage on Beluga Lake, sanding
of wells, and a temporary loss of
water in some wells.
Seismic damage to the community
was light in comparison with that
of other communities closer to the
epicenter. One submarine landslide,
however, took out most of the harbor
breakwater. The greatest damage was
due to the subsidence of the spit, both
tectonically ( 2-3 ft) and by differential
compaction or lateral spreading (an
additional 1-4 ft). Higher tides now
flood much of the spit. The harbor and
dock had to be replaced, and buildings
on the end of the spit had to be elevated. Protection works for other buildings
and the highway were needed. These
works included application of fill to
raise the highway and parts of the spit
above high tides. Reconstruction costs
and disaster loans totaled about $2[and one half]
million, but this amount includes added
improvement costs over preexisting
values.
Homer Spit in particular and the
Homer area in general rank as areas
where precautions must be taken in selecting
building sites. The hazards of
landslides, earthflows, compaction and
submarine slumping-all of which
might be triggered by an earthquake-should
be considered in site selection.
In plan, Homer Spit resembles a scimitar
with its curving blade pointed seaward.
It is about 4 miles long and as
much as 1,500 feet wide. The spit is
composed largely of gravel intermixed
with some sand.
After the earthquake and the resulting
tectonic subsidence and compaction.
much of the spit was below high-tide
levels and consequently flooded periodically.
The entire beach face has retreated.
Much of the material eroded from the beach has been redeposited to
form a new storm or frontal berm, locally
migrating around buildings and
covering roads. Beach recession of 10-
15 feet is probably the overall average;
maximum recession 1 year after the
earthquake was 56 feet along one
limited section of the distal end of the
spit.
Subsidence of the mainland has
caused accelerated erosion of the
beaches and headlands that have been-and
are--source areas for the material
deposited on Homer Spit. The resulting
increased supply of gravel and sand
probably will cause the spit to widen
gradually on the Cook Inlet side. Similarly,
the new frontal berm will probably
grow to a height sufficient to prevent
overtopping by all but the larger
storm swashes. The nature of shore
processes on the spit has not been materially
altered by subsidence, but the
rates of erosion and deposition have
been accelerated. The lasting effect of
subsidence (excluding flooding) will be
enlargement of the beach on the Cook
Inlet side and gradual wasting of the
beach on the bay side of the spit."
United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)
Waller, Roger M.; Stanley, Kirk W.
1966
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Effects of the Alaska Earthquake of March 27, 1964 on Shore Processes and Beach Morphology
"Some 10,000 miles of shoreline in south-central Alaska was affected by the subsidence or uplift associated with the great Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964. The changes in shoreline processes and beach morphology that were suddenly initiated by the earthquake were similar to those ordinarily caused by gradual changes in sea level operating over hundreds of years, while other more readily visible changes were similar to some of the effects of great but short-lived storms. Phenomena became available for observation within a few hours which would otherwise not have been available for many years.
In the subsided areas-including the shorelines of the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and Cook Inlet-beaches tended to flatten in gradient and to recede shoreward. Minor beach features were altered or destroyed on submergence but began to reappear and to stabilize in their normal shapes within a few months after the earthquake. Frontal beach ridges migrated shoreward and grew higher and wider than they were before. Along narrow beaches backed by bluffs, the relatively higher sea level led to vigorous erosion of the bluff toes. Stream mouths were drowned and some were altered by seismic sea waves, but they adjusted within a few months to the new conditions.
In the uplifted areas, generally around Prince William Sound, virtually all beaches were stranded out of reach of the sea. New beaches are gradually developing to fit new sea levels, but the processes are slow, in part because the material on the lower parts of the old beaches is predominantly fine grained. Streams were lengthened in the emergent areas, and down cutting and bank erosion have increased.
Except at Homer and a few small villages, where groins, bulkheads, and cobble-filled baskets were installed, there has been little attempt to protect the post-earthquake shorelines. The few structures that were built have been only partially successful because there was too little time to study the habits of the new shore features and to design appropriate protection measures. Emergence of large areas that were once below water and permanent submergence of once-useful land areas have led to many problems of land use and ownership in addition to the destruction or relocation of wildfowl, shellfish, and salmon habitats."
Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior
Stanley, Kirk W.
1968
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Effects of the March 1964 Alaska Earthquake on Glaciers
"The 1964 Alaska earthquake occurred in a region where there are many hundreds of glaciers, large and small. Aerial photographic investigations indicate that no snow and ice avalanches of large size occurred on glaciers despite the violent shaking. Rockslide avalanches extended onto the glaciers in many localities, seven very large ones occurring in the Copper River region 160 kilometers east of the epicenter. Some of these avalanches traveled several kilometers at low gradients; com-pressed air may have provided a lubricating layer. If long-term changes in glaciers due to tectonic changes in altitude and slope occur, they will probably be very small. No evidence of large-scale dynamic response of any glacier to earthquake shaking or avalanche loading was found in either the Chugach or Kenai Mountains 16 months after the 1964 earthquake, nor was there any evidence of surges (rapid advances) as postulated by the Earthquake-Advance Theory of Tarr and Martin."
United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)
Post, Austin
1967
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Effect of the Earthquake of March 27, 1964, on the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project, Anchorage, Alaska
"The March 27, 1964, Alaska earthquake and its associated aftershocks caused damage requiring several million dollars worth of repair to the Eklwtna Hydroelectric Project, 34 miles northeast of Anchorage. Electric service from the Eklutna powerplant was interrupted during the early phase of the March 27 earthquake, built was restored (intermittently) until May 9,1964, when the plant was closed for inspection and repair.
Water for Eklutna project is transported from Eklutna Lake to the powerplant at tidewater on Knik Arm of Cook Inlet by an underwater intake connected to a 4.46-mile tunnel penstock. The primary damage caused by the earthquake was 1at the intake structure in Eklutna Lake. No damage to the power tunnel was observed. The piles-supported powerplant and appurtenant structures, Anchorage and Palmer substations, and the transmission lines suffered minor damage. Most damage occurred to facilities constructed on un-consolidated sediments and overburden which densified and subsided during the earthquake. Structures built on bedrock experienced little or no damage.
Underground communication and electrical systems in Anchorage were examined with a small-diameter television camera to locate damaged areas requiring repair. Most of the damage was concentrated at or near valley slopes. Those parts of the systems within the major slide areas of the city were destroyed."
Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior
Logan, Malcolm H.; Burton, Lynn R.
1967
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Wasatch Range Catastrophic Earthquake Response Plan [Version 2.0]
This 'Wasatch Range Catastrophic Earthquake Response Plan' provides a framework for Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments and private-sector organizations to respond to and coordinate with each other immediately following a catastrophic earthquake along the Wasatch Fault in Utah. This plan focuses on the immediate application of resources to lifesaving and life-sustaining missions, with a goal of stabilizing the event within the first 72 hours. The primary objectives of earthquake operations encompass courses of action that enable a rapid and effective response and fulfill the needs of survivors and responders. Following these courses of action will save lives, minimize suffering, protect property, safeguard the environment, and maintain the public's confidence in Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments. This plan is based on the concepts and procedures of existing emergency operations plans, Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs), contingency plans, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) of Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments and numerous other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that participate in earthquake response.
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2012-09
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Preparing for the 'Big One': Saving Lives Through Earthquake Mitigation in Los Angeles, California
"Although the deaths and injuries caused by the January 1994 Northridge earthquake were terrible, it is sobering to realize that much greater losses were averted only by an accident of timing--the quake hit in the pre-dawn hours of a holiday, when most people were in their beds. If it had struck in the middle of a weekday, thousands of children would have been injured or killed at school by falling debris, furniture, and light fixtures. Untold numbers of commuters would have fallen victim to collapsing roads and bridges. Critical health facilities could have been completely overwhelmed by the need for emergency and hospital care. Recognizing that the timing of the next major seismic event may not be so fortunate, Preparing for the ''Big One': Saving Lives through Earthquake Mitigation in Los Angeles, California', focuses attention on the earthquake mitigation needs of the Los Angeles area, discussing steps that can be taken to minimize injury and loss of life in future earthquakes. Most current mitigation efforts are actually a form of post-disaster response and recovery. This report looks at what can be done before the next emergency occurs."
United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Office of Policy Development and Research
Pao, Jean Lin; Siewert, Michael; Creelan, Jeremy . . .
1995-01-17
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Lorna Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989--Public Response
This document covers the emergency response to the Loma Prieta, California Earthquake of October 17, 1989, and includes the following articles: "Human Behavior during and immediately after the earthquake" by Linda B. Bourque, Lisa A. Russell and James D. Goltz; "Citizen participation in emergency response" by Paul W. O'Brien and Dennis S. Mileti; "Public response to aftershock warnings" by Denis S. Mileti and Paul W. O'Brien; "Emergency sheltering and housing of earthquake victims: the case of Santa Cruz County" by Robert C. Bolin and Lois M. Stanford; "Building content hazards and behavior of mobility-restricted residents" by Mansour Rahimi and Glenn Azevedo; "Earthquake preparedness behavior of students and nonstudents" by John-Paul Mulilis and T. Shelley Duval.
United States. Department of the Interior
1993
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Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage: A Practical Guide, Fourth Edition
"Nonstructural failures have accounted for the majority of earthquake damage in several recent U.S. earthquakes. Thus, it is critical to raise awareness of potential nonstructural risks, the costly consequences of nonstructural failures, and the opportunities that exist to limit future losses. Nonstructural components of a building include all of those components that are not part of the structural system; that is, all of the architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as furniture, fixtures, equipment, and contents. Windows, partitions, granite veneer, piping, ceilings, air conditioning ducts and equipment, elevators, computer and hospital equipment, file cabinets, and retail merchandise are all examples of nonstructural components that are vulnerable to earthquake damage. The primary purpose of this guide is to explain the sources of nonstructural earthquake damage and to describe methods for reducing the potential risks in simple terms."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (U.S.)
2011-01
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Annual Report of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program for Fiscal Year 2008
"This document is the annual report of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) for fiscal year (FY) 2008 presented by the NEHRP Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC). This report, required by Public Law 108-360, describes the activities of the NEHRP agencies during the year and their progress toward reducing the impacts of future earthquakes in the United States. Additionally, this report gives program budgets for FY 2009 and those proposed for FY 2010. The NEHRP ICC is composed of the Directors of the four NEHRP agencies and the Directors of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Office of Management and Budget. The four NEHRP agencies are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). NIST serves as the NEHRP lead agency and its Director chairs the ICC." The accomplishments reviewed in this report include: "NEHRP Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2009-2013"; "George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES)"; "International Codes"; and "Earthquake hazards of the Hayward Fault in California's East Bay region."
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (U.S.)
2009-08
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PAGER-Rapid Assessment of an Earthquake's Impact
This fact sheet describes the United States Geological Survey's Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) program. "PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) is an automated system to rapidly assess the number of people and regions exposed to severe shaking by an earthquake, and inform emergency responders, government agencies, and the media to the scope of the potential disaster. PAGER monitors the U.S. Geological Survey's near real-time U.S. and global earthquake detections and automatically identifies events that are of societal importance, well in advance of ground-truth or news accounts."
Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior
2007-12
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Monitoring Earthquake Shaking in Federal Buildings
"Monitoring of earthquake shaking in buildings is a key to improving building design. Federal buildings are scattered throughout the Nation, and tens of thousands of them, worth an estimated $20 billion, are located in the most hazardous earthquake zones of the United States. By instrumenting a variety of these structures, scientists and engineers can acquire a rich data set on building response in earthquakes. Monitoring the behavior of Federal buildings during strong shaking will help to improve building design and reduce losses in future earthquakes."
Geological Survey (U.S.)
2005
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Seismic Waves: The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center: A Decade of Achievement
Seismic Waves is a newsletter published by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program [NEHRP]. "In a perfect world, every building would be fully protected against earthquake hazards. In the real world, trade-offs must be made between safety, durability, and cost. These determinations have often been made unconsciously, by default, or on the basis of very limited information. This has begun to change, however, thanks to the efforts of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER). Headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley, PEER is a center for multidisciplinary earthquake engineering research and education. Fifteen universities located in California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington participate in PEER, nine as core institutions and six as educational affiliates. Researchers and students from other campuses also participate in PEER-sponsored research and educational activities. The Center was established in 1997 through funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF, a NEHRP agency) and the State of California."
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (U.S.)
2008-02
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All Hazards Plan Validation Table Top Exercise-Puerto Rico Earthquake and Tsunami Hazard After Action Report
"The Puerto Rico Earthquake and Tsunami Plan Validation Tabletop Exercise was the culmination of many months of planning for the Commonwealth and Federal Partners in FEMA Region II. It was part of the Catastrophic Planning Tabletop (TTX) Series consisting of FEMA Regional-level exercises to validate catastrophic planning efforts. The plan provides a tactical framework for decision making relating to a catastrophic earthquake occurring on-shore in Puerto Rico and a catastrophic earthquake off-shore resulting in a tsunami on Puerto Rico. The scope of the annex and TTX related to the first 72 hours, defining the resources to support 14 pre-defined response core capabilities necessary to stabilize response operations, while providing for inputs into long-term recovery decision making, given the geographic separation from the continental US. In addition, FEMA and its Federal Partners' capabilities were tested, to provide support to the government of Puerto Rico in order to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs in a post-catastrophic incident environment. The scenario for the TTX was a major earthquake impacting Puerto Rico and causing catastrophic and major damage throughout the central and eastern parts of the island. Thousands of homes and commercial buildings were destroyed or were severely impacted, resulting in over 450,000 people that needed sheltering and feeding. The San Juan harbor was filled with damaged cruise ships, pleasure boats, fishing boats, containers and other debris. The San Juan airport was severely damaged and planes were unable to land/take off with navigational aids down."
United States. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
2012-04
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Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
The webpage from the United States Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program offers information on the 1906 San Francisco [SF] Earthquake. Specific subjects addressed include: "How Big was the Eathquake?," "1906 Seismogram," "Casualties and damage," "When will it happen again?," "What was learned Scientifically from 1906," "1906 Earthquake Photos," "Eyewitness Accounts," and "Other Major Earthquakes in the SF Bay Area."
Geological Survey (U.S.)
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Seismic Waves: Advances in Rapid Earthquake Assessment and Alerting Systems
Seismic Waves is a newsletter published by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. The topic in this edition of Seismic Waves advances in rapid earthquake assessment and alerting systems. "Over the past decade, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has made dramatic strides in translating seismic data into timely and actionable earthquake assessment and notification tools. This work is strengthening and affirming the role of seismic monitoring in reducing the death, suffering, damage, and disruption that can accrue in the aftermath of earthquakes."
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (U.S.)
2011-04
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Comparative Analysis of Emergency Response Operations: Haiti Earthquake in January 2010 and Pakistan's Flood in 2010
From the thesis abstract: "This study explores HA/DR [Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief] operations and the associated response of the international community during the recent earthquake in Haiti and flood in Pakistan in 2010. A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hit Haiti on January 12, causing great damage and mass casualties. The international community responded swiftly and took over relief efforts in the country saving a lot of lives. Handsome donations were also given and committed. Pakistan suffered heavy floods that started in the end of July 2010 and affected nearly the entire country. Loss of life was not very great, but infrastructure damage and people subsequently affected surpassed the combined total of the 2004 Tsunami, Haiti earthquake and 2005 South Asia earthquake. During this disaster the international community, particularly volunteer technologists, were not mobilized the way they were in Haiti. Donations were made late and comparatively slow. No single country can handle a large-scale natural disaster like the two exemplar cases chosen for this thesis, and hence the role of the international community is very important. Such response has not been equitable in the past and it is the goal of this research to find ways to make it more equitable in the future."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Niazi, Javed Iqbal Khan
2011-09
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Earthquake Loss Estimation Methodology: Hazus-MH 2.1, Advanced Engineering Building Module (AEBM): Technical and User's Manual
"This manual describes procedures for developing building-specific damage and loss functions with the Advanced Engineering Building Module (AEBM). The AEBM procedures are an extension of the more general methods of the FEMA earthquake loss estimation methodology (Hazus) and provide damage and loss functions compatible with current Hazus-MH Software. Kircher & Associates working for the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) has developed these procedures under agreements between NIBS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The procedures have been pilot tested and reviewed by NIBS' Earthquake Committee and Building Damage Subcommittee. Hazus damage and loss functions for generic model building types are considered to be reliable predictors of earthquake effects for large groups of buildings that include both above median and below median cases. They may not, however, be very good predictors for a specific building or a particular type of building that is known to have an inherent weakness or earthquake vulnerability (e.g., W1 buildings with weak cripple walls would be expected to perform much worse than typical wood-frame buildings)."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
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Determining the Necessary Components of an Earthquake Preparation/Response Plan for the Park City Fire District
"The Park City Fire District (PCFD) had not experienced a major earthquake in recent history; however, a risk analysis indicated that this type of event could have a profound and negative effect on the infrastructure and citizens of the district. It was deemed necessary for the PCFD to develop a formal fire agency-specific earthquake preparation/response plan that would address this hazard. The problem was that the PCFD had not determined the necessary components of a fire agency-specific preparation/response plan for major earthquakes. The purpose of this research was to determine the necessary components of a fire agency-specific earthquake preparation/response plan for the PCFD."
National Fire Academy
Huntzinger, Ray
2011-10?
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ShakeCast: How the Los Angeles Unified School District Uses Technology to Prepare for and Respond to Earthquakes
"In 1994, the Northridge, Calif., region was struck by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake that damaged nearly 100,000 houses and buildings, including a number of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools. The entire school district was closed for five days to allow first responders and facilities personnel adequate time to assess damage and determine whether buildings were safe to reenter. In the years subsequent to this incident, the LAUSD forged a partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) allowing the district to use two USGS tools at no cost: ShakeCast (an earthquake notification program) and ShakeMap (a companion product that provides users a map of the distribution of earthquake shaking). ShakeCast, a free online tool, delivers notification of shaking levels at userselected facilities affected by an earthquake; this information also may be superimposed on to a geographical map, or ShakeMap created by USGS."
Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (U.S.)
2012
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Lessons Learned from the Lorna Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989
"The magnitude 7.1 Lorna Prieta earthquake (5:04 p.m. P.d.t., October 17, 1989) is the largest earthquake to strike the San Francisco Bay region and environs [...], home to more than 5.9 million people, since the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. It was felt over an area of approximately 400,000 square miles, from Los Angeles on the south to the Oregon-California State line on the north, and to western Nevada on the east. Within about 15 seconds of seismic shaking of the region extending from Monterey Bay to northern San Francisco Bay, the Lorna Prieta earthquake resulted in: [1] 62 known deaths, 3,757 injuries, and more than 12,000 people homeless; [2] Over $6 billion property damage; [3] Disrupted transportation, utilities, and communications."
United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)
Plafker, George; Galloway, John P.
1989
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Major Earthquakes & Cascading Events: Potential Health and Medical Implications
"This ASPR [Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response] TRACIE [Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange] resource provides an overview of the potential significant health and medical response and recovery needs facing areas affected by a major earthquake with or without additional cascading events. The list of considerations is not exhaustive, but does reflect a thorough scan of publications and resources available that describe past incident effects and response. Earthquakes do not pose a significant risk for every community and those communities that could be affected by earthquakes have different risk levels, different hazards or cascading events, and different levels of existing community preparedness and mitigation. Those faced with planning for--and leading the response to and recovery from--an earthquake may use this document as a reference. Planners and responders should integrate jurisdiction-specific risk assessments and issues specific to their communities in their planning efforts."
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
2018-10
