President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing a federal earthquake risk management standard, which will improve the capability of federal buildings to function after an earthquake. The aim is to reduce risks to people, lower post-quake recovery costs and making it easier for communities to recover swiftly.
The executive order requires federal agencies to ensure that new buildings and alterations use the earthquake-resistant design provisions in the most current building codes.
The White House has hosted an earthquake resilience summit this week to highlight the benefits of adopting a “whole-community approach” to improving resilience. This approach includes scientists, engineers, public officials, non-profit entities, and private companies.
The summit has also been exploring how science and technology can improve the ability to detect and respond to earthquakes in the future. It has included announcements about the next steps in developing an early-warning system.
A 2015 scientific assessment from the US Geological Survey shows that more than 143 million Americans in the continental United States could experience potentially damaging earthquakes. The estimate is nearly double the previous 2006 estimate because populations have grown in earthquake-prone areas and there are now better methods for estimating earthquake risks.
This week, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and partners have begun a beta operational phase of ShakeAlert, a West Coast earthquake early warning test system. The prototype will allow beta users to develop and deploy pilot implementations that take protective actions based on the warnings in areas with sufficient station coverage.
Among other developments covered at the summit, the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation has announced US$3.6m in grants to advance the ShakeAlert system. UC Berkeley scientists will pursue a novel plan to detect the shaking caused by earthquakes, harnessing the same sensors used in smart phones to count your daily steps; Caltech scientists will work to develop a humanlike decision-making process to gather information to issue prompt and reliable alerts; and University of Washington scientists will study implementation of a network of sensors on the ocean floor to provide early warnings.
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