CUSEC News & Events
CUSEC
A partnership to mitigate disasters and save lives...
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February is Earthquake Awareness Month
As earthquakes continue to occur on a daily basis in the central U.S.—with nearly 2,000 small tremors per year—CUSEC and emergency management officials in our Member States remind citizens and communities about the earthquake risk by designating February as Earthquake Awareness Month.
During the month of February, CUSEC will be involved with several events (listed below) intended to educate the public, private sector, first responders, and government officials. Due to ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the events will be taking place online. Earthquake Awareness Month events scheduled for February 2021 include:
February 11 – Missouri Seismic Safety Commission Meeting
February 11 – CUSEC Board of Directors Meeting
February 12 – Tennessee SAVE Coalition Board Meeting
February 16 – Webinar: Missouri SAVE Coalition Overview
February 17 – Webinar: Tennessee SAVE Coalition Overview
February 18 – Webinar: Arkansas INSPARK Program Overview
February 23-24 – EPA Water & Wastewater Earthquake Resilience Webinars
February 25 – Webinar: Using New Technologies for Earthquake ResilienceAlso, February 7 is the anniversary of the last of the earthquakes that struck the central U.S. in the winter of 1811-12. According to the US Geological Survey:
This sequence of three very large earthquakes is usually referred to as the New Madrid earthquakes, after the Missouri town that was the largest settlement on the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and Natchez, Mississippi. On the basis of the large area of damage (600,000 square kilometers), the widespread area of perceptibility (5,000,000 square kilometers), and the complex physiographic changes that occurred, the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812 rank as some of the largest in the United States since its settlement by Europeans.
While scientists say that there is a 7-10% probability of a re-occurrence of the 1811-12 earthquakes within any 50-year window, they also estimate that there is a 25-40% probability of a M6.0 or greater earthquake occurring in the central U.S. within the same period of time. About 200 earthquakes occur in the central U.S. every year-many of which go unnoticed. And while the primary focus remains on the NMSZ , it is not the only area of concern. Earthquakes are also occurring along the Wabash Valley and East Tennessee Seismic Zones and in Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio, and Texas.
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Webinar Announcement: New Technologies for Earthquake Resilience
On February 25, 2021, CUSEC is hosting a webinar on new technologies to support earthquake risk reduction, mitigation planning, and disaster resilience efforts. The webinar will feature the CUSEC Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) App—a data collection, visualization, and reporting tool for screening buildings for potential earthquake vulnerabilities.
The app and its components are based on FEMA’s P-154 Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings for Potential Seismic Hazards (3rd Edition) methodology. By using the RVS process, combined with the CUSEC RVS App, building and facility owners can identify buildings that may be vulnerable to earthquake shaking and make plans to address those vulnerabilities. During the webinar participants will learn:
- About the RVS process and why it is important for earthquake risk reduction.
- How the CUSEC RVS App can be used to support critical facility/building inventory projects and earthquake mitigation planning efforts.
- Ways data and reports from the RVS App can be used in risk analysis and loss estimation programs, such as FEMA’s HAZUS program.
- Technical requirements needed to access the app and overview of training materials.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Date & Time February 25, 2021 from 1:30PM to 3:30PM (Central Time) Cost FREE Registration Click here to register. Space is limited, so reserve your seat today. Target Audience Building officials, emergency management planners and program managers, government, healthcare, or private sector facility/property managers, engineers, architects, GIS technicians and/or anyone interested in learning how this technology can support earthquake risk reduction.
Presenters Brian Blake (CUSEC), Jeff Briggs (Missouri State Emergency Management), Erik Endrulat (G&H International), Mike Griffin, P.E. (CCS Group), Ray Neel (G&H International), and members of FEMA’s HAZUS team.
CEUs Participants will be issued a certificate of attendance after the webinar.
This webinar is funded by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), Grant Number EMW-2020-CA-00041.
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CUSEC Launches New ShakeOut Participation Dashboard
The Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), in partnership with the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), has recently launched a unique mapping and analysis tool—the ShakeOut Participation Dashboard. The dashboard depicts nationwide participation rates among K-12 students in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill, relative to the number of students enrolled in K-12 public schools. It is designed to be used by school districts, school safety officers, county and state emergency management, state departments of education, and other preparedness stakeholders in their efforts to improve earthquake safety in schools.
The ShakeOut Participation Dashboard is a GIS-based tool to help those involved in school safety improve ShakeOut participation rates among K-12 students.
The purpose of the tool is to identify areas—especially those with moderate or higher seismic hazard levels—where participation may be improved or additional outreach needs to occur. The dashboard uses drill registration data from ShakeOut.org, student enrollment statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, and geologic hazard information from the U.S. Geological Survey. ShakeOut registration data is updated on a daily basis within the dashboard. When clicking on a county to see student participation rates, users can also apply filters to show rates by year or at the state or FEMA Region level. Although no software is required to use the tool, it is best viewed on a desktop or laptop internet browser.
The ShakeOut Participation Dashboard can be accessed at: https://arcg.is/1CKeWe
A brief video tutorial, showing how to use the dashboard can be viewed below or on Vimeo.
For additional information please contact cusec@cusec.org or info@shakeout.org.
Funding support for this project was provided through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, with additional support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate.
-
February is Earthquake Awareness Month
As earthquakes continue to occur on a daily basis in the central U.S.—with nearly 2,000 small tremors per year—CUSEC and emergency management officials in our Member States remind citizens and communities about the earthquake risk by designating February as Earthquake Awareness Month.
During the month of February, CUSEC will be involved with several events (listed below) intended to educate the public, private sector, first responders, and government officials. Due to ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the events will be taking place online. Earthquake Awareness Month events scheduled for February 2021 include:
February 11 – Missouri Seismic Safety Commission Meeting
February 11 – CUSEC Board of Directors Meeting
February 12 – Tennessee SAVE Coalition Board Meeting
February 16 – Webinar: Missouri SAVE Coalition Overview
February 17 – Webinar: Tennessee SAVE Coalition Overview
February 18 – Webinar: Arkansas INSPARK Program Overview
February 23-24 – EPA Water & Wastewater Earthquake Resilience Webinars
February 25 – Webinar: Using New Technologies for Earthquake ResilienceAlso, February 7 is the anniversary of the last of the earthquakes that struck the central U.S. in the winter of 1811-12. According to the US Geological Survey:
This sequence of three very large earthquakes is usually referred to as the New Madrid earthquakes, after the Missouri town that was the largest settlement on the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and Natchez, Mississippi. On the basis of the large area of damage (600,000 square kilometers), the widespread area of perceptibility (5,000,000 square kilometers), and the complex physiographic changes that occurred, the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812 rank as some of the largest in the United States since its settlement by Europeans.
While scientists say that there is a 7-10% probability of a re-occurrence of the 1811-12 earthquakes within any 50-year window, they also estimate that there is a 25-40% probability of a M6.0 or greater earthquake occurring in the central U.S. within the same period of time. About 200 earthquakes occur in the central U.S. every year-many of which go unnoticed. And while the primary focus remains on the NMSZ , it is not the only area of concern. Earthquakes are also occurring along the Wabash Valley and East Tennessee Seismic Zones and in Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio, and Texas.
-
Webinar Announcement: New Technologies for Earthquake Resilience
On February 25, 2021, CUSEC is hosting a webinar on new technologies to support earthquake risk reduction, mitigation planning, and disaster resilience efforts. The webinar will feature the CUSEC Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) App—a data collection, visualization, and reporting tool for screening buildings for potential earthquake vulnerabilities.
The app and its components are based on FEMA’s P-154 Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings for Potential Seismic Hazards (3rd Edition) methodology. By using the RVS process, combined with the CUSEC RVS App, building and facility owners can identify buildings that may be vulnerable to earthquake shaking and make plans to address those vulnerabilities. During the webinar participants will learn:
- About the RVS process and why it is important for earthquake risk reduction.
- How the CUSEC RVS App can be used to support critical facility/building inventory projects and earthquake mitigation planning efforts.
- Ways data and reports from the RVS App can be used in risk analysis and loss estimation programs, such as FEMA’s HAZUS program.
- Technical requirements needed to access the app and overview of training materials.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Date & Time February 25, 2021 from 1:30PM to 3:30PM (Central Time) Cost FREE Registration Click here to register. Space is limited, so reserve your seat today. Target Audience Building officials, emergency management planners and program managers, government, healthcare, or private sector facility/property managers, engineers, architects, GIS technicians and/or anyone interested in learning how this technology can support earthquake risk reduction.
Presenters Brian Blake (CUSEC), Jeff Briggs (Missouri State Emergency Management), Erik Endrulat (G&H International), Mike Griffin, P.E. (CCS Group), Ray Neel (G&H International), and members of FEMA’s HAZUS team.
CEUs Participants will be issued a certificate of attendance after the webinar.
This webinar is funded by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), Grant Number EMW-2020-CA-00041.
-
CUSEC Launches New ShakeOut Participation Dashboard
The Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), in partnership with the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), has recently launched a unique mapping and analysis tool—the ShakeOut Participation Dashboard. The dashboard depicts nationwide participation rates among K-12 students in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill, relative to the number of students enrolled in K-12 public schools. It is designed to be used by school districts, school safety officers, county and state emergency management, state departments of education, and other preparedness stakeholders in their efforts to improve earthquake safety in schools.
The ShakeOut Participation Dashboard is a GIS-based tool to help those involved in school safety improve ShakeOut participation rates among K-12 students.
The purpose of the tool is to identify areas—especially those with moderate or higher seismic hazard levels—where participation may be improved or additional outreach needs to occur. The dashboard uses drill registration data from ShakeOut.org, student enrollment statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, and geologic hazard information from the U.S. Geological Survey. ShakeOut registration data is updated on a daily basis within the dashboard. When clicking on a county to see student participation rates, users can also apply filters to show rates by year or at the state or FEMA Region level. Although no software is required to use the tool, it is best viewed on a desktop or laptop internet browser.
The ShakeOut Participation Dashboard can be accessed at: https://arcg.is/1CKeWe
A brief video tutorial, showing how to use the dashboard can be viewed below or on Vimeo.
For additional information please contact cusec@cusec.org or info@shakeout.org.
Funding support for this project was provided through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, with additional support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate.
Earthquake Risk
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Earthquake Safety Tips
There are many actions you can take to prepare and reduce the danger from earthquakes…
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