$ Billions needed now to ready US for the next big quake

The recent NRC "National Earthquake Resilience" report recommends three major goals: raising understanding of earthquakes; developing cost-effective measures to reduce the effects of earthquakes on individuals, the built environment and society at large; and improving the earthquake resilience of communities nationwide. READ MORE

REPORT...

Catastrophic Preparedness: How Ready Is FEMA for the Next Big Disaster?

Hearing of Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, March 17, 2011.

“FEMA spends an average of $4.3 billion each year on responding to disasters. Most of the money is spent on direct disaster assistance programs such as Individual Assistance (e.g., temporary housing), Public Assistance (e.g., debris removal and repair of damaged public property), and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (e.g., retrofitting buildings to make them resistant to earthquakes or strong winds). These programs are intended to address the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of a disaster on individuals and communities. "

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TESTIMONY

With the help of HAZUS-MH Highest-risk California hospitals mostly on track for quake safety

A recent report by the CA state hospital building agency shows that most of the highest-risk hospital buildings in the state will be retrofitted by the required deadlines in 2013 or 2015.

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List of at risk buildings ...

Over Reaction to Tsunami Alert on CA Central Coast

Along the central Monterey Bay coast "hundreds" of residents decided to take the official tsunami voluntary evacuation order into their own hands and ended up to driving 30+ miles up to the local mountain summits. There were reports of traffic jams as people bought bread and milk and long lines at the ATMs. Some schools reported few if any students.

Opinion: HAZUS.org thinks this is a perfect example of why effective public exercises are needed.

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The Homeowners Guide

A good reference concerning dealing with disasters and home care ... MORE INFO

Thanks for the reference from Drew at Algonguin Hall...

FEMA HAZUS Program Director Recognized

The Federal 100 Awards recognize government and industry leaders who have played pivotal roles in the federal government IT community—individuals who have gone above and beyond their daily responsibilities and have made a difference in the way technology has transformed their agency or accelerated their agency’s mission. Professionals from government, industry and academia are honored for their efforts in affecting change, progress and efficiency in determining how the federal government acquires, develops and manages IT.

Did you know that Eric Berman the FEMA HAZUS Program Manager is a receiptiant of one of this year's awards ... Congratulations Eric ... Well Deserved! 2011 Winners (.pdf)...