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California Earthquake Preparedness Survey

2010-03-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

The California Earthquake Preparedness Survey (CEPS) was conducted by the UCLA School of Public Health and Survey Research Center for the State of California. The objective was to provide baseline data describing how prepared California households are for earthquakes and where they get their information about preparedness and mitigation.

Telephone interviews were conducted with a representative sample of 2,081 households in California between June 26 and December 18, 2008. The sample was stratified into: the ten northern California counties at greatest risk of earthquakes, the six southern California counties at greatest risk, and the remaining 42 lower-risk counties. MORE INFO...

HAZUS-MH Training at Loma Linda University

2009-10-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

HAZUS Comprehensive Data Management Worksop at Loma Linda University

November 16-18 / There are a few seats left.

The course cost is $495 to cover course instruction, materials and lab fee.

MORE INFO / REGISTRATION

BAAMA Meeting...

2009-07-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Using HAZUS-MH for Risk Assessment and Mitigation…

July 23, 2009 / Oakland, CA

MORE INFO...

HAZUS Training at Loma Linda University

2009-06-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

There are two HAZUS courses scheduled at Loma Linda University this summer...

L313: Basic HAZUS - August 24 to 26, 2009

L317: Comprehensive Data Management for HAZUS-MH - September 21 to 23, 2009

Both courses will be offered for FEMA/EMI credit.

MORE INFO SOON ...

GIS Called Key to California's Future

2009-05-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

To successfully integrate comprehensive GIS solutions across state agencies, an enterprise GIS strategy, coupled with strong executive leadership, was deemed California's best hope for dismantling state IT silos and facilitating cross-agency data sharing at the Conference on California's Future. Also vital to the mission is getting the public to better understand the role GIS can play in the state's success. READ MORE

California Appoints Geospatial Information Officer

2009-03-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

California now has a Geospatial Information Officer, GIO. The CA GIO is responsible for ensuring that the state receives the benefits associated with geospatial data, specifically, increased data access and sharing; reduced duplication and costs; development of technology standards; centers of expertise; public outreach and increased collaboration in state and local governments. READ MORE

California's water supply vulnerable to quakes, floods

2009-03-21T09:31:00.001-07:00

The California Department of Water Resources has just released a study that concludes there is a 40 percent chance that a major earthquake will flood 27 delta islands between now and 2030, costing billions in repairs and knocking out the water source for 25 million Californians for more than a year.

Without intervention, it is estimated that about 140 levees of California's could fail in the next century due to storms or rising seas. An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or greater could result in fatalities, flooding of islands and costs of $15 billion. In California levees have failed about 160 times in the past 109 years. READ MORE

California Department of Water Resources: Delta Risk Management Strategy - Final Phase 1 Report

2009-03-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Next Meeting...
Thursday / Mar 19, 2009 / 1pm - 3pm
The Oakland Scottish Rite Center
1547 Lakeside Drive / Oakland, CA 94612-4520
MORE INFO

CalGIS 2009

2009-03-11T19:08:00.001-07:00

Did you know there is a one-day HAZUS-MH class at the CalGIS 2009 conference? Last we heard there were still seats available. MORE

Army Corps cracks down on flunking levees

2009-03-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

More than 100 levees in 16 states flunked maintenance inspections in the last two years and are so neglected that they could fail to stem a major flood, records from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show. California was #2 on the list! READ MORE

National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) draft version of the Report to Congress on Recommendations for a National Levee Safety Program, DOWNLOAD

SoCalHUG On-line meeting...

2009-03-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

HAZUS.org is providing an on-line meeting site for folks who cannot attend the March 11th SoCalHUG meeting in person.

There is no software to load. We encourage folks to check out their systems before the meeting starts. To verify if you can participate, click here.

HAZUS.org would like to thank ADOBE, a Western Disaster Center / HAZUS.org industry affiliate, for providing this demonstration ADOBE ACROBAT CONNECT PRO resource.

Meet us on-line at http://eqclearinghouse.acrobat.com/socalhug at 1PM on March 11th.

If your HUG wants to use this on-line meeting system contact HAZUS.org.

Soil Liquefaction During Earthquakes Technical Seminar

2009-03-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

Register now for a day-long seminar to be given in San Francisco on March 17th by I. M. Idriss and R. W. Boulanger, authors of the recently published EERI monograph sent to all members in 2008, Soil Liquefaction During Earthquakes. Participants earn 0.7 Continuing Education Units. MORE

Register on-line for class

Bay Area Earthquake Alliance - Quarterly Meeting

2009-02-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

1st Quarterly Meeting, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Golden Gate Club / The Presidio / San Francisco, CA
MORE INFO...

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the new Alliance and it’s goal to stimulate information sharing about earthquakes, preparedness and mitigation among decision-makers, local, state, and federal governments, historians, educators, scientists and engineers, emergency responders, business and industry leaders, and the public sector.

Geospatial Coordination Web Site Launched by California Natural Resources Agency

2009-02-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

The Cal-Atlas site facilitates the coordinated and sustainable development, maintenance, licensing and sharing of geospatial data and web map services by California government agencies, partners and stakeholders. California government agencies work with the California GIS Council, regional GIS collaboratives and the broader California GIS community to define the data architecture, systems, standards, agreements and processes for a fully integrated and effective California Spatial Data Infrastructure. GO THERE

The new Web site will centralize a variety of data and information. Cal-Atlas provides a number of important Web accessible services. These include:

* A catalog for use by organizations to categorize and share information about their geospatial information resources (e.g., maps and geospatial data, Web services and applications)
* A library from which interested parties may obtain Geographic Information System (GIS) data and where agencies can place their data to share with others
* Tools to make it easy to find GIS data and services
* A "gallery" of maps and mapping sites contributed by Cal-Atlas users
* A portal to help organizations work together on GIS data and share the costs of acquiring imagery and other kinds of geospatial data.

San Francisco is not prepared for next quake ...

2009-02-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

A report by the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association (SPUR) concludes San Francisco's buildings and infrastructure are fundamentally unprepared to handle the next big earthquake. READ MORE

SPUR Report

Applied GIS within the Earthquake Hazards Team - USGS Earthquake Seminar Series

2009-01-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

The USGS Earthquake Hazards Team will present "Applied GIS Within the Earthquake Hazards Team" at the February 11th USGS Earthquake Seminar Series. MORE

When: February 11, 2009 / 10:30 AM
Where: USGS / 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA / Main Auditorium

Download Event Flyer...

Bay Area Earthquake Liquefaction Maps

2009-01-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

USGS has released updated earthquake liquefaction maps the the San Francisco Bay Area. MORE

The new USGS maps also contribute to the California Geological Survey’s Seismic Hazard Zone maps.

Study shows massive earthquake could cause Anderson Dam to fail

2009-01-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

A study performed for the Santa Clara County Water district indicates that the the largest dam in Santa Clara County could collapse in a major earthquake. DOWNLOAD STUDY

A 6.6 magnitude quake centered directly at Anderson Reservoir near Morgan Hill, or a 7.2 quake centered one mile away, could cause the reservoir's 240-foot-high earthen dam to fail.

In the worst case, a complete failure of Anderson Dam could send a wall of water 35 feet high into downtown Morgan Hill within 14 minutes, and eight feet deep into San Jose within three hours. READ MORE

San Simeon Earthquake Anniversary - 5 Years

2008-12-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

The 6.6-magnitude San Simeon Earthquake shook for less than a minute, but the reverberations have rocked San Luis Obispo County life and its economy in the five years since. READ MORE

San Francisco. 'soft-story' buildings at risk in quake

2008-12-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

An on-going seismic study concludes that without a costly seismic retrofit, 80 percent of San Francisco's weakest wood-frame buildings are expected to collapse or to suffer damage beyond repair in the large earthquake scientists say is likely to occur in the region within decades. READ MORE

This is not an issue unique to San Francisco or northern California. The risks associated with "soft-story" construction were evident following both the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes. MORE

GIS Education Center

2008-12-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

UPDATE
The GIS Education Center at the City College of San Francisco is offering a series of courses this winter n& spring that might be of interest to the HAZUS User Community.

Google Earth / January 17, 24, & 31
Data Acquisition & GPS / February 21, 28, and March 7
Information Design with Maps / January 14, 21, 28, Feb. 4 and 11
GIS Quick Start / February 18, 25, March 4, 11, and 18
GIS Quick Start Advanced / May 6, 13, and 20
Geoprocessing & ModelBuilder / April 18, 25, and May 2
GIS and the Urban Environment / March 3, 10, 17, and 24

For more info, click here...

California Prepares for Potential Flooding

2008-11-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Due to the potential for flooding, mud flows and debris in and around recent wildfire fire burn areas, the Governor in California has directed his Office of Emergency Services (OES) to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and prepare to help local agencies if assistance from the state is needed for expected rains. READ MORE

OPINION
HAZUS.org has it doubts if CA OES, the CA Department of Water Resources and CA local agencies are making the best use of HAZUS-MH to assess flood mitigation strategies and to be prepared for response activities when flooding does occur.

Status Report -Long-Term Disaster Recovery Planning by Local Governments in the San Francisco Bay Area

2008-11-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) as part of their Regional Long-Term Disaster Recovery Initiative recently released the "Status Report - Long-Term Disaster Recovery Planning by Local Governments in the San Francisco Bay Area." Long-term recovery refers to the repair and rebuilding process that government departments, such as planning, finance, housing, public works/building, redevelopment, and emergency management, will need to carry out to start restoring their community after an earthquake or other catastrophic disaster. In advance before any disaster, jurisdictions need to be prepared to finance recovery, expedite long-term housing recovery, support recovery of downtown businesses and the local economy, and ensure that their own facilities and services recover smoothly.

The Survey's summary report documents the areas of recovery planning in which local governments are making significant progress, have mixed levels of progress, and where they need to make improvements. The report examines the collective sum of information and analyzes the status of recovery efforts throughout the Bay Area as a whole, rather than focusing exclusively on what individual jurisdictions have done. The reasoning is that a catastrophic disaster is not localized, but affects the whole region.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
REPORT

Next big quake expected to cause billions in damage to Bay Area

2008-10-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

When the Hayward Fault — which snakes from north San Jose to San Pablo — erupts, damage throughout the Bay Area could approach $200 billion. That's more than the combined economic losses from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, 1992's Hurricane Andrew and 2005's Hurricane Katrina, according to geophysicist Mary Lou Zoback of Risk Management Solutions, at a presentation at the recent CONFERENCE ON EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS IN THE EASTERN SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA. This includes losses due to shaking, fire and ruptures of roads, dams and pipelines. READ MORE