Most people living in seismic zones the world over do little to prepare themselves for earthquakes. This may seem like a contradiction in terms. After all, what can one do in the face of such a massively destructive force? But there is plenty that can be done.

(AP photo/Kyodo News)

Continue reading Cultural Barriers to Earthquake Preparedness

Tags: cultural barriers, disaster preparedness, Earthquakes, EPICentre

Emergency managers wanting to help the public recognize the threat of earthquakes need look no further than a map that shows the locations of the world’s earthquakes since 1898.

Continue reading Map Visualizes a Century of Earthquakes

Tags: Earthquakes, map, natural disasters, natural hazards, risk map

The enormous fault off 
the coast of the Pacific Northwest has been silent for three centuries. But after years of detective work, geologists have 
discovered that it can
 unleash mayhem on 
an epic scale.

Continue reading The Giant, Underestimated Earthquake Threat to North America

Tags: disaster preparedness, Earthquakes, natural disasters

Volcanoes are not nature’s only trump cards: A whole array of potential disasters could have unpredictable and alarming consequences.

Continue reading After the volcano: Ash clouds aren’t the only natural hazard that could throw us into chaos

Tags: asteroids, Earthquakes, Eyjafjallajokull, Magnetic-field reversals, solar storms, volcanoes

One key aspect of disaster recovery planning has traditionally been about returning to business as usual after a natural disaster. But what if the effects of natural disasters could be avoided altogether? Is it time for the serious corporate contingency planner to consider proactive planning efforts geared toward mitigating or even preventing natural disasters?

Continue reading Can Commercial Enterprises ‘Prevent’ Natural Disasters?

Tags: Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, natural disasters, tropical storms, volcanoes, wildfires, wrobel

Although areas affected by earthquakes are often off-limits immediately following the event, the Virtual Disaster Viewer allows users to access information about building damage, humanitarian response, infrastructure loss, and landslides on the fly.

Continue reading Virtual Disaster Viewer

Tags: Earthquakes, Infrastructure Damage, satellite imagery

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently released a report, Impact of Earthquakes on the Central USA, which presents the findings of a two-year study on the impact of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on states in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ).

Continue reading Study: Impact Of 7.7 Quake on New Madrid Seismic Zone

Tags: Business Continuity, disaster preparedness, Disaster Recovery, Earthquakes, natural disasters, natural hazards, quake

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers the Learning Resource Center which offers a wealth of bibliographic materials relating to specific, significant disaster incidents, such as

• Earthquakes
• Fires
• Hurricanes
• Terrorist Incidents
• Other Disasters

Tags: disasters, Earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, terrorist incidents

FEMA Unveils New QuakeSmart Project

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced it is partnering with a firm called the Safe America Foundation (Atlanta, GA) to develop a program called QuakeSmart that will work with business leaders and owners to better prepare them for earthquakes.

The goal of QuakeSmart is to build awareness within the business community of the relatively simple things they can do to reduce or mitigate the impact of earthquakes, and to support community preparedness.

The effort will begin with a series of QuakeSmart Community Forums in several cities in the Midwest and on the West Coast. The first four forums will be conducted in Monterey, California; Reno, Nevada; Evansville, Indiana; and Cape Girardeau, Missouri. All four events will be held in September to coincide with National Preparedness Month.

Tags: Earthquakes

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale shook Southern California Tuesday morning, July 29, 2008, causing buildings to sway and triggering some precautionary evacuations. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, California, as well as in Las Vegas, Nevada. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded 27 aftershocks. The quake was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near the San Bernardino County city of Chino Hills, and the USGS estimated the quake was about eight miles below the earth’s surface. The magnitude-5.9 Whittier Narrows quake in 1987 was the last major event in that area.

For some fascinating video of the 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake, see A Lesson in Recovery.

Data Centers are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. This guide offers lots of useful recommendations for Data Processing Facility Earthquake Hazard Mitigation.

Tags: Earthquakes