Update on New Scientific Research of Earthquake Hazards to Seattle
April 12, 2012
Art Frankel and Craig Weaver of the U.S. Geological Survey gave a presentation to the Seattle City Council on Monday (as noted in this agenda) that has raised some eyebrows – and reaffirms our sensitivity to upcoming seismic disturbances. See their PowerPoint presentation or read on for a few copies of a few of their slides.
USGS Seismic Hazards Investigations in the Puget Sound
March 26, 2012
An ‘ongoing’ effort (but apparently in abeyance since 2002?!) to create an accurate seismic model for the Puget Sound region and British Columbia is the USGS’ Seismic Hazards Investigations in the Puget Sound (SHIPS) project. Since March 1998 SHIPS has conducted a series of seismic studies to better describe earthquake hazards in the Puget Lowland and British Columbia.
Is Vashon at Risk for Tsunamis?
March 21, 2012
Most folks think of an overseas or Cascadia based quake as generating a terrible tsunami – and they are right. However such a tsunami is not likely to cause massive damage to Vashon from what I’ve heard – largely due to the moderating influence of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. (It will be interesting to verify this at our upcoming April 18th community meeting with Washington State experts).
Weather Spotter Training - Apr 26
March 20, 2012
Ted Buehner, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service has announced a new Weather Spotter Training opportunity for the evening of April 26th.
Cascadia Mega-Quake Threat-- Even Larger than Previously Thought?
February 21, 2012
Japan’s Tohoku earthquake last year has provided valuable data that is altering scientists’ understanding of our local Cascadia earthquake potential. Geologists have documented some 22 megaquakes over the last 10,000 years - every 200 to 1,000 years, averaging some 500 years. The region’s last was on January 26, 1700.
FEMA computer predicts massive damage from Seattle quake
August 13, 2011
The Associated Press came to this week’s 5th Annual Hazus conference held at the federal building and wrote up a nice piece citing (yet again) that we are not ready for the huge quakes possible from any number of faults, but especially the Seattle and Cascadia faults:
Seattle’s Community Preparedness Summit
April 9, 2011
Curious how Seattle handles citizen preparedness education and communication flows, I’m at the most recent Community Preparedness Summit, hosted by Seattle OEM’s Mark Howard and Barb Graff this morning. In addition to making lots of contacts from VashonBePrepared’s sister organizations on this side of the ocean, I was especially interested to learn more about how Seattle encourages and teaches their citizens to prepare for whatever events lie ahead.
Sister Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Groups in Seattle
April 9, 2011
A host of sister neighborhood preparedness groups in Seattle exist, all working under the City of Seattle OEM:
West Seattle Be Prepared (that apparently partially chose their name based on VashonBePrepared!) Magnolia | Queen Anne | Interbay Capital Hill Preparedness people See Seattle Community Network for additional resources and organizations
Seattle to start up CERT classes this summer
April 9, 2011Cathy Wenderoth works for the Seattle Police Department as the Seattle OEM’s Volunteer Coordinator. She is now organizing Seattle’s first CERT classes.
Read MoreNew Guidance for Seattle Citizens to Survive Tsunamis and Earthquakes
April 3, 2011www.seattle.gov/emergency has a new set of nice publications for citizens with very basic advice to citizens for surviving and earthquake or tsunami.
Read MoreSeattle OEM 2010 Accomplishments
April 3, 2011
A great list of 2010 accomplishments by Barb Graff, Director of Emergency Management, and her staff at the Seattle Office of Emergency Management can be downloaded at: www.seattle.gov/emergency/docs/accomplishments_2010_seattle_oem.pdf