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• Japan: Legal Responses to the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011

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  From the summary: "The Great East Japan Earthquake brought the starkest crisis since the desolation of the Second World War. During the emergency period just after the earthquake, the Japanese government tried to do everything it could under existing disaster response systems. However, because large areas were affected and some municipalities lost functions, the existing systems, which placed the responsibility on each affected municipality to take action, did not work well in some parts of the country. The national government therefore made exceptions and stepped in, assuming financial responsibilities for local governments. Many issues arose as a result of the earthquake, such as food safety concerns and disaster debris management and disposal. The nuclear crisis caused by the earthquake also created long-lasting radiation problems. A new system was created for local governments outside of the disaster area to accept and process debris. The government also established new standards for radiation levels in foods. In addition to utilizing existing systems and programs, exceptions were made and new systems were created to support disaster victims and ease their hardship, with many laws being amended or new laws created to address the situation. A reconstruction agency was created to coordinate various reconstruction efforts. Based on post-earthquake assessments of the effectiveness of the existing nuclear regulatory authority, a new nuclear regulatory agency and new standards for nuclear power plants were created. Japan has used the experience to better prepare for future disasters. Laws and regulations were amended, and a new tsunami countermeasure law was enacted."

  Law Library of Congress (U.S.)

  Umeda, Sayuri

  2013-09
• Assessment of Damage to Residential Buildings Caused by the Northridge Earthquake

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  "This report presents the findings of a damage assessment survey of the Northridge earthquake. The primary purpose is to provide a statistically-based representation of the seismic performance of residential construction relative to local construction characteristics. In addition, case studies of more extreme failures provide insight into the causes of life-threatening performance problems. The Northridge Earthquake occurred at 4:31 a.m. on January 17, 1994. Its epicenter was located in a densely populated area of Los Angeles county near the community of Northridge. Over 30 deaths were reported as a direct result of the tremor, and a total death toll of 58 was attributed to both direct and indirect causes. Current estimates of the severity of this earthquake place it at a magnitude of ML= 6.4 on the Richter scale (Mw=6.7 and Ms=6.8). Uncorrected peak horizontal ground accelerations were recorded at 0.9g near the epicenter and varied from 0.1g to 1.8g at specific nearfield locations. In terms of the effective peak horizontal ground accelerations, the 475 year return period design estimate of 0.4 g was exceeded by a factor of 1.5 to 2 at several locations. A large 'pulse' of ground movement produced during the 15 and 20 second duration by this earthquake is among the worst recorded in U.S. history. Large ground movements from the earthquake were felt as far away as Las Vegas."

  United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Office of Policy Development and Research

  NAHB Research Center

  1994-07-30
• Earthquake Home Hazard Hunt

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  "This poster has information for you and your family to help you find and fix areas of your home that might be damaged in an earthquake and that might injure family members during an earthquake. Information is also provided on planning for an earthquake and safety steps you can take during and after an earthquake. Your earthquake home hazard hunt should begin with all family members participating. Foresight, imagination, and common sense are all that are needed as you go from room to room imagining what would happen if the earth and house started shaking. Anything that can move, break, or fall when your house starts to shake is a potential hazard."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2005-09
• National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program: Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004

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  "This report describes the progress of the NEHRP [National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program] agencies and their partners in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 and 2004 in mitigating earthquake losses through basic and directed research and implementation activities in the fields of earthquake science and engineering. The progress described in this report is organized according to the four goals of the Strategic Plan for the NEHRP for 2001-2005, Expanding and Using Knowledge To Reduce Earthquake Losses (Strategic Plan).The four goals represent the continuum of activities undertaken by the NEHRP agencies, ranging from research and development to application and implementation. The activities form a complementary program that has the ultimate aim of reducing earthquake losses across the Nation."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2005-01
• Annual Report of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, March 2008

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  "The Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC) of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) presents the NEHRP 2007 Annual Report. This has been an active and productive year for NEHRP with significant progress toward long-term goals and objectives for reducing losses from future earthquakes. As required by Public Law 108-360, this report describes these activities and progress, and gives program budgets for fiscal year (FY) 2008 and those proposed for FY 2009. 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). The ICC is composed of the Directors of the NEHRP agencies and the Directors of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Office of Management and Budget. NIST serves as the NEHRP lead agency and its Director chairs the ICC." The accomplishments of NEHRP in FY 2007 are: "NEHRP Leadership"; "NSF Research Centers"; "George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES)"; "Earthquake Safety in Building Design and Construction Standards and Codes"; "Earthquake Monitoring"; and "Assessing Seismic Hazards."

  National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (U.S.)

  2008-04
• HAZUS-MH Estimated Annualized Earthquake Losses for the United States, April 2008

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  "Estimating the varying degree of earthquake risk throughout the United States is useful for informed decision-making on mitigation policies, priorities, strategies, and funding levels in the public and private sectors. For example, potential losses to new buildings may be reduced by applying seismic design codes and using specialized construction techniques. However, decisions to spend money on either of those solutions require evidence of risk. In the absence of a nationally accepted criterion and methodology for comparing seismic risk across regions, a consensus on optimal mitigation approaches has been difficult to reach. [...] This study highlights the impacts of both high risk and high exposure on losses caused by earthquakes. It is based on loss estimates generated by HAZUS®-MH, a geographic information system (GIS)-based earthquake loss estimation tool developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). The HAZUS tool provides a method for quantifying future earthquake losses. It is national in scope, uniform in application, and comprehensive in its coverage of the built environment. This study uses Hazards U.S. Multi-hazard (HAZUS-MH) Version MR2, a PC-based standardized tool that uses a uniform engineering-based approach to measure damages, casualties and economic losses from earthquakes nationwide. HAZUS®-MH MR2 was released by FEMA in 2006 and incorporates updates to the building valuation data and enhanced loss estimation functions. Appendix B contains a detailed discussion of HAZUS-MH MR2."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2008-04
• PAGER - Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response [website]

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  "PAGER stands for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response. It is an automated system that takes in seismic data from remote sensors in order to rapidly estimate earthquake shaking and the scope and impact of earthquakes around the world. In its previous form, which has been available since 2007, PAGER delivered rapid estimates of the total number of people and settlements exposed to a wide range of shaking from light to catastrophic. Currently, PAGER also provides first-order/factor-of-ten/order of magnitude estimates of potential fatalities, as well as the approximate economic impact the earthquake may cause. Since the PAGER loss estimations are available well in advance of ground-truth observations or news accounts, they can play a primary alerting role for domestic as well as international earthquake disasters."

  Geological Survey (U.S.)
• Program for Earthquake Hazards Assessment in the Pacific Northwest

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  "The Pacific Northwest (including the part of California north of Cape Mendocino, Oregon, Washington, and part of British Columbia) may be capable of producing a great subduction-zone earthquake of magnitude 8-9. [...] Potential losses in the Pacific Northwest, as a result of either a great subduction-zone earthquake or crustal and (or) intraplate earthquakes near population centers, are expected to be large for a number of reasons. [...] Losses due to earthquakes can be reduced by means of effective mitigation measures, but these mitigation measures cannot be implemented without reliable characterization of earthquake hazards."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Shedlock, Kaye M.; Weaver, Craig S.

  1993
• Haiti Earthquake: Crisis and Response [February 2, 2010]

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  "The largest earthquake ever recorded in Haiti devastated parts of the country, including the capital, on January 12, 2010. The quake, centered about 15 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, had a magnitude of 7.0. A series of strong aftershocks have followed. The damage is severe and catastrophic. It is estimated that 3 million people, approximately one third of the overall population, have been affected by the earthquake. The Government of Haiti is reporting an estimated 112,000 deaths and 194,000 injured. In the immediate wake of the earthquake, President Preval described conditions in his country as 'unimaginable,' and appealed for international assistance. As immediate needs are met and the humanitarian relief operation continues, the government is struggling to restore the institutions needed for it to function, ensure political stability, and address long-term reconstruction and development planning. Prior to the earthquake, the international community was providing extensive development and humanitarian assistance to Haiti. With that assistance, the Haitian government had made significant progress in recent years in many areas of its development strategy. The destruction of Haiti's nascent infrastructure and other extensive damage caused by the earthquake will set back Haiti's development significantly. Haiti's long-term development plans will need to be revised."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Margesson, Rhoda; Taft-Morales, Maureen

  2010-02-02
• Monitoring Earthquakes across the United States

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  "Those who plan for and respond to earthquake disasters, and those who study earthquakes, require timely notification of earthquake occurrences and information to mitigate losses. Earthquake events throughout the United States are currently monitored by sophisticated systems that provide the notification and information needed by decision makers before and during times of crisis. The national and regional earthquake monitoring systems for the United States have evolved into one of the world's finest emergency-management and research tools."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Brown, William M.; Buland, Raymond P.; Benz, Harley M. (Harley Mitchell)

  1997
• Multi-hazard Loss Estimation Methodology, Earthquake Model: HAZUS-MH MR1, Advanced Engineering Building Module: Technical and User's Manual

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  "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/NIBS earthquake loss estimation methodology (HAZUS) and provide damage and loss functions compatible with current HAZUSMH 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). For mitigation purposes, it is desirable that users be able to create building-specific damage and loss functions that could be used to assess losses for an individual building (or group of similar buildings) both in their existing condition and after some amount of seismic rehabilitation. The term 'building-specific' distinguishes the development of damage and loss functions, as described in this manual, from the 'generic' building functions of HAZUS. Building-specific damage and loss functions are based on the properties of a particular building. The particular building of interest could be either an individual building or a typical building representing a group of buildings of an archetype."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2003-01
• Did You Feel It? Citizens Contribute to Earthquake Science

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  "Since the early 1990s, the magnitude and location of an earthquake have been available within minutes on the Internet. Now, as a result of work by the U.S. Geological Survey and with the cooperation of various regional seismic networks, people who experience an earthquake can go online and share information about its effects to help create a map of shaking intensities and damage. Such 'Community Internet Intensity Maps' (CIIMs) contribute greatly toward the quick assessment of the scope of an earthquake emergency and provide valuable data for earthquake research."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  2005-03
• Review of Injuries From Terrorist Bombings and Earthquakes

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  "Terrorist bombings and earthquakes provide valuable insight on the types of injuries that may occur in an improvised nuclear device (IND) scenario. Review of blast events provided information on injuries from overpressure, tumbling, debris, burn, and crush injuries. Data from eighteen case studies based on 432 bombings revealed 16,699 different injuries among 6,554 casualties. Injury types included wounds, fractures, and burns. Body areas typically involved the head and neck, extremities, and soft tissues. Glass shattering was a common source of injury. Eight earthquake case studies were reviewed with 6,775 injuries reported for 4,526 casualties. The most common types of wound and body regions include fractures, crush, and contusions and extremities, back, and hip. Earthquake injuries primarily originate from building collapse causing persons to be hit, trapped, or crushed by building parts. The report details the spectrum and quantity of injuries resulting from blast and earthquakes, thereby providing valuable information for response planning for an IND. Knowledge concerning anticipated injury types provide data for casualty estimation and help inform medical response planning and resource requirements."

  United States. Defense Threat Reduction Agency; United States. Strategic Command (2002- )

  Dant, Tyler; Stricklin, Daniela; McClung, Amber . . .

  2016-08-16
• Reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program: R&D for Disaster Resilient Communities, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation of the Committee on Science and Technology, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session, June 11, 2009

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  From the opening statement of David Wu: "We will hear today that the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, or NEHRP, has made many significant strides in enhancing earthquake safety and is a valuable program. However, the Subcommittee has also found that federal agencies currently have a stovepipe approach to hazards mitigation research activities. Separate and distinct programs exist for earthquake, tsunami, fire, and wind threats, despite areas of commonality such as prediction research, emergency preparedness needs, and the potential for mitigation via enhanced construction codes. Even more importantly, the key to successful mitigation of any and all potential hazards is a coordinated and effective public education program. [...] One question we can raise is whether the current structure of federal hazards research is optimal and how we could improve it. [...] Today we will hear from experts on needs for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. I hope to also learn if a program structured like NEHRP might also improve wind, fire, and tsunami research programs. It is worth exploring whether a coordinated, comprehensive, and fully funded hazards mitigation program could be a more effective approach than the current stovepipe structure, where different hazards communities fight for their own funding priorities and lessons learned are less likely to be shared between those researching different threats." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: David Wu, Adrian Smith, Harry E. Mitchell, John R. Hayes, Jr., Kenneth D. Murphy, Thomas D. O'Rourke, Michael K. Lindell, and James Robert Harris.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2009
• HayWired Earthquake Scenario -- We Can Outsmart Disaster

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  From the Document:"The HayWired earthquake scenario, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), anticipates the impacts of a hypothetical magnitude-7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. The fault is along the east side of California's San Francisco Bay and is among the most active and dangerous in the United States, because it runs through a densely urbanized and interconnected region. One way to learn about a large earthquake without experiencing it is to conduct a scientifically realistic scenario. The USGS and its partners in the HayWired Coalition and the HayWired Campaign are working to energize residents and businesses to engage in ongoing and new efforts to prepare the region for such a future earthquake."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Hudnut, Kenneth W. (Kenneth Watkins); Wein, Anne M.; Cox, Dale A. . . .

  2018-04
• Lifeline Infrastructure and Collocation Exposure to the HayWired Earthquake Scenario -- A Summary of Hazards and Potential Service Disruptions

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  From the Abstract: "This chapter provides a comprehensive exposure analysis of five interacting lifeline infrastructure systems (comprised of facilities and conveyances) to six different HayWired earthquake scenario hazards. The lifeline infrastructure systems examined are transportation, water supply and wastewater, oil and gas, electric power, and telecommunications. The hazards considered are the HayWired mainshock ground shaking, surface rupture (represented as coseismic slip and afterslip), liquefaction, landslides, fire following the earthquake, and aftershocks. New geographic information system methods were developed to: (1) create a more detailed liquefaction probability map for the San Francisco Bay region that is not limited to a census-tract scale; (2) map relative levels of earthquake hazard intensities into a single multi-hazard intensity map; and (3) map collocation and density of infrastructure systems in a multihazard environment. Using these new methods, we look at the interaction between lifeline infrastructure systems and hazards in several ways: the exposure of single lifeline infrastructure types to single hazards; the exposure of single lifeline infrastructure systems to combinations of multiple hazards; and potential interactions between systems in hazardous areas after an earthquake."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Jones, Jamie L.; Wein, Anne M.; Schweikert, Amy E. . . .

  2019
• Southern California Earthquake Center [website]

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  "The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), headquartered at the University of Southern California, was founded in 1991 with a mission to: gather data on earthquakes in Southern California and elsewhere; integrate information into a comprehensive and physics-based understanding of earthquake phenomena; and communicate understanding to society at large as useful knowledge for reducing earthquake risk. An outstanding community of over 600 scientists from 16 Core Institutions, 47 Participating Institutions, and elsewhere participate in SCEC. SCEC also partners with a large number of other research and education/outreach organizations in many disciplines. Funding for SCEC activities is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). To support this community, SCEC engages in information technology research that will revolutionize our methods of doing collaborative research and distributing research products on-line. In addition, the SCEC Communication, Education, and Outreach Program offers student research experiences, web-based education tools, classroom curricula, museum displays, public information brochures, online newsletters, and technical workshops and publications."

  Southern California Earthquake Center
• Global Volcanic Earthquake Swarm Database 1979-1989

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  "Earthquake swarms are pervasive at volcanoes, but have seldom been studied systematically. Most swarms that are described in the literature are those that occurred in association with eruptions; indeed, earthquake swarms are the most reliable method of forecasting eruptions. For the purpose of this report, a swarm is defined as many earthquakes of the same size occurring in a small volume. Swarms are different in these two ways from a mainshock-aftershock sequence or a foreshock-mainshock-aftershock sequence (fig. 1). Swarms are especially common in volcanic areas. Because swarms are such a common and important phenomenon, we undertook a systematic and comprehensive study of swarms at volcanoes using modern commercially available database software. We term the result the Global Volcanic Earthquake Swarm Database (GVESD)."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Benoit, John Paul; McNutt, Stephen R.

  1996
• Earthquake Insurance: A Public Policy Dilemma

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  "This report examines issues and problems associated with the availability and procurement of earthquake insurance from the point of view of consumers and providers. The report outlines the provisions of earthquake insurance policies currently available to homeowners, businesses, local governments, and special districts. It examines the extent to which earthquake insurance is purchased and why it may be unattractive to consumers. The federal role in providing or promoting earthquake insurance is reviewed. Policies are recommended for the Federal Government and others to develop a more adequate system of coverage."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  1985-05
• Search and Rescue Operations Following the Northridge Earthquake: January 17, 1994 Los Angeles, California

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  "This report is part of a series of reports on technical rescue incidents across the United States. Technical rescue has become increasingly recognized as an important element in integrated emergency response. Technical rescue generally includes the following rescue disciplines: confined space rescue, rope rescue, Trench/colapse rescue, ice/water rescue, and agricultural arid industrial rescue. The intent of these reports is to share information about recent technical rescue incidents with rescuers across the country. The investigation reports, such its this one, provide detailed information about the magnitude and nature of the incidents themselves; how the response to the incidents was carried out and managed; the impact of these incidents on emergency rcsponders and the emergency response systems in the community; and the lessons learned. [...]At 0431 hours on January 17, 1994, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Los Angeles area. The epicenter was located within the Northridge area of the San Fernando Valley, approximately 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles (see Appendix A). Many experts believe that because the earthquake occurred on a holiday morning, casualties were significantly lower than they would have been if the quake had happened at any other time. Over the following days, several aftershocks occurred that continued to damage structures as well as jeopardize the safety of rescue personnel. For firefighters and other emergency responders, the Northridge Earthquake was another in a long line of disasters that have challenged their resolve in recent years. Southern California has been walloped by major wildland fires, floods, mud slides, earthquakes, and riots."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  1994-01-17
• Disaster Mitigation Due to Next Nankai Earthquake Tsunamis Occurring in around 2035

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  "Earthquake occurrences in western Japan are caused by earthquakes beneath the along the Nankai trough. This trough averages 4000 m in depth off the Kii peninsula that runs east to west, off about 100 km from Shionomisaki cape, with its eastern tip reaching into Suruga Bay. Here the northerly Philippine Sea plate is slipping and subducting beneath the Eurasia plate at an average speed of 4 to 5 em/ year, and is believed to have been doing so for several million years. When this slippage exceeds a total of about 5 m, a rupture occurs, creating a M 8- 8.6 earthquake. The 'urban tsunami disaster' due to occur following a Nankai earthquake is expected to strike a wide area that includes many modern coastal cities and ports, resulting in a disaster of unprecedented proportions. Consequently, it will be very difficult to apply the lessons, of past tsunami disasters if an expansive area including residential coastal towns as well as low-lying large urban regions with populations of hundreds of thousands or millions of people is hit by a tsunami. This paper presents disaster scenarios and tsunami disaster reduction methods that are necessary for producing a long-term tsunami measure policy and which, more importantly, have not yet been encountered in actual tsunami disasters."

  United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  Kawata, Yoshiaki

  2001-08-07
• Earthquake Preparedness: What Every Child Care Provider Needs to Know

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  "This publication provides an introduction to earthquake safety for child care providers based in their homes and those based in larger facilities. If you provide child care in a facility such as a school, church, or daycare center, you should consult your building's owner, landlord, building administrator, or school administrator about the standards, guidelines, and procedures that are already in place for seismic safety. […] You can never tell when there will be an earthquake, but you can take steps to reduce or avoid damage, injuries, or loss of life for the children in your care, your staff, and yourself. Preparing for an earthquake includes things you already do to protect the children's safety and health, such as having a fire extinguisher handy and maintaining your certifications for first aid and CPR. With additional planning and preparation, the children in your care will have a better chance at surviving an earthquake unharmed."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2006-04
• Earthquake Loss Estimation Methodology: Hazus-MH MR5, Advanced Engineering Building Module (AEBM): Technical and User's Manual

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  "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/NIBS earthquake loss estimation methodology (HAZUS) and provide damage and loss functions compatible with current HAZUSMH 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). For mitigation purposes, it is desirable that users be able to create building-specific damage and loss functions that could be used to assess losses for an individual building (or group of similar buildings) both in their existing condition and after some amount of seismic rehabilitation. The term 'building-specific' distinguishes the development of damage and loss functions, as described in this manual, from the 'generic' building functions of HAZUS. Building-specific damage and loss functions are based on the properties of a particular building."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2010
• Multi-hazard Loss Estimation Methodology: Earthquake Model, Hazus-MH MR5: User Manual

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  "The earthquake loss estimation provides local, state and regional officials with a state-of-the- art decision support tool for estimating potential losses from scenario earthquakes. This forecasting capability will enable users to anticipate the consequences of future earthquakes and to develop plans and strategies for reducing risk. The GIS-based software can be applied to study small or large geographic areas with a wide range of population. HAZUS will accommodate budget constraints, and can be implemented by users with varying technical and subject expertise. The modular approach of the methodology (with different modules addressing various user needs) provides additional flexibility in a variety of applications. The various users of a loss estimation study will have different needs. A local or state government official may be interested in the costs and benefits of specific mitigation strategies, and thus may want to know the expected losses if mitigation strategies have been applied. Health officials will want information about the demands on medical care facilities and will be interested in the number and severity of casualties for different scenario earthquakes. Fire fighters may be interested in areas where large fires can be expected or where hazardous materials might be released. Emergency response teams may use the results of a loss study in planning and performing emergency response exercises. In particular, they might be interested in the operating capacity of emergency facilities such as fire stations, emergency operations centers, and police stations."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2010
• Fiscal Year 2010: Earthquake Technology Transfer: Guidance and Application Kit

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposes to enter into a Cooperative Agreement for an estimated $330,000 with one (1) national, non-profit technical earthquake society (architects, engineers, planners, public officials, social scientists) composed of a membership from practicing professionals, educators, government officials, and building code regulators. Natural hazards exist everywhere. Throughout its history, the United States has experienced floods, wildfires, winter storms, landslides, windstorms, and earthquakes. But of all of these natural disasters, earthquakes pose one of the greatest threats to lives, property, and economy, not only to communities within the western and central US, but indirectly to the Nation as a whole. Under Public Law 95-124, as amended, Congress established the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). In 2008, NEHRP agencies engaged in the development of a strategic plan to guide NEHRP over the 2009-2013 timeframe."

  United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

  2010-04
• Administration Officials Join Millions of Americans in Public Earthquake Drill [April 28, 2011]

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  "U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today joined leaders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), state and local officials, and more than three million Americans across the central United States to participate in the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut--the largest-ever, multi-state earthquake drill to be held in the United States, and the first major drill to take place along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which was the site of one of the worst earthquakes in U.S. history nearly 200 years ago. 'The devastating storms and tornadoes that have impacted our nation this week are a vivid reminder that disasters of all kinds can strike at any time, and it is vital that all members of our nation's emergency management team--including the American public--are prepared.' said Secretary Napolitano. 'The Great Central U.S. Shakeout exercise will help millions of Americans know how to protect themselves in the event of an earthquake and strengthen the resiliency of communities across the central United States.' 'The safety of our nation's children is everyone's responsibility,' said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. 'Community leaders, elected officials and educators need to work together to make sure their schools and communities are prepared to respond to earthquakes and other natural disasters.' Secretaries Napolitano and Duncan joined Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to participate in this morning's drill with school officials and students at Carnahan High School of the Future in St. Louis. In total, 2,644 K-12 schools and 117 colleges participated in the ShakeOut, along with businesses, local, state and federal government agencies, child care centers, and many other organizations. Ten states participated in today's drill, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee; Indiana conducted their drill last Tuesday, April 19, 2011."

  United States. Department of Homeland Security. Press Office

  2011-04-28
• Paleoliquefaction Field Reconnaissance in Eastern North Carolina -- Is There Evidence for Large Magnitude Earthquakes Between the Central Virginia Seismic Zone and Charleston Seismic Zone?

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  From the Abstract: "In June 2016, approximately 64 kilometers (km) of riverbank were examined along the Tar and Neuse Rivers near Tarboro and Kinston, North Carolina, for evidence of liquefaction-forming earthquakes. The study area is in the vicinity of the Grainger's fault zone in eastern North Carolina. The Grainger's fault zone is a fault zone in the inner Coastal Plain Province that has well-documented Paleogene and younger deformation of Cretaceous to Eocene strata. Low-magnitude earthquakes near the fault zone (for example, magnitude [M] 2.1 in 2013, 13 km south-southwest of Kinston) suggest larger earthquakes may have struck this region in the past. The study area is about equidistant from newly documented Holocene paleoliquefaction sites in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone (CVSZ) and liquefaction sites formed during the 1886 M7.1 Charleston, South Carolina earthquake. The northernmost Holocene paleoliquefaction features associated with the Charleston Seismic Zone (CSZ) are in Southport, North Carolina."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Carter, Mark W.; McLaurin, Brett T.

  2019
• Government's Response to the Northridge Earthquake, Hearing before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, January 19, 1996

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  From the opening statement of Steve Horn: "On January 17, 1994, an earthquake measuring 6.7 percent on the Richter scale struck the Los Angeles area. It was one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to confront our Nation. In its wake, more than 70 people lost their lives, and thousands were injured. Tens of thousands of structures were damaged, leaving over 25,000 people homeless. Severe destruction to the freeways occurred tying up the region's transportation network. The damage resulting from the quake was estimated to exceed $20 billion. Immediately following the earthquake, the Federal Government, working with State and local governments, mobilized its responses. Coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency], the recovery effort continues through this day. The purpose of today's hearings is to determine the adequacy of the Federal Government's response, the cooperation between Federal, State, local governmental entities as well as the work of nonprofit and community organizations. In a region where earthquakes are a constant threat, it is imperative for Members of Congress to understand first-hand what occurred in the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake in order to learn from it." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Richard Andrews, Steve Horn, Constance Perett, Robert J. Brandt, Donald W. Jones, James T. Haigwood, Terri Jones, John Suggs, Richard Riordan, Blenda J. Wilson, Robert Maxson, J. Richard Williams, and James Lee Witt.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  1997
• Earthquake Resistant Construction of Electric Transmission and Telecommunication Facilities Serving the Federal Government

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  "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
• East Meets Midwest: An Earthquake in India Helps Hazard Assessment in the Central United States

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  "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