Earthquake Preparation

1
Earthquake Preparation

• Are you ready to rumble?
• Joel Higa, Spencer KBurg, Kristi Lynch, Mika
  Yasuo

2
You Should Know

• More than 1000 earthquakes happen in Washington
  state every year.
• The large earthquakes of 1946,1949,and 1965
  caused more than 200 million dollars in damage.
• Paleoseismologists have evidence that large
  prehistoric earthquakes throughout the state make
  the entire state at risk.
• (http//www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/)

3
Scientific Background

• The Juan de Fuca Plate
• Called Benioff Zone ruptures
• Occur at depths of 25-100 km
• M7.1 Olympia in 1949
• M6.5 Seattle-Tacoma 1965
• M5.1Satsop 1999
• M6.8 Nisqually 2001

-The Nisqually Quake was felt in Vancouver, B.C.,
Salem, Oregon, Spokane, Wash., and Salt Lake
City, Utah. -The Juan de Fuca Plate quakes are
usually dip-slip w/ no large aftershocks.
4
More Scientific Background

• Shallow crustal quakes occur within 30 km of the
  surface.
• North Bend (1945)
• Portland (1962)
• Mt. St. Helens (1981)
• Deming (1990)
• Maury Island (1995)
• Ducall (1996)
• Bremerton (1997)
• Most widely felt Earthquake in Washingtons
  history was in 1872 in the North Cascades was
  thought to be a shallow crustal quake.

5
And More Scientific Background

• Subduction Zone earthquakes
• These produce massive earthquakes in Washington
  (M8-9)
• The average recurrence interval is around 500
  years
• However it is highly irregular
• Varies from 100 to 1100 years
• Last of these quakes hit about 300 years ago.

6
And Yet More Scientific Background

• Liquefaction
• Occurs in the event of an earthquake when the
  sediments and soil in the ground loosen and
  resettle. In Washington, these are most common
  in areas which have historically been the
  location of debris flows from volcanoes. Tacoma
  sits on one of the flows from Mt. Rainier. UPS
  is at moderate risk to liquefaction.
• General Soil instability
• A large part of the Tacoma port area is built on
  top of landfill.
• This material is not solid
• While there might not be liquefaction, it is
  generally very unstable

7
Awareness Campaign

• Posters
• To be distributed in dormitories
• and other locations of high student visibility.
• Press Releases
• To promote a collaborative panel discussion
  between crisis management officials and the
  community
• Pamphlets
• Website
• http//projects.ups.edu/gjones/fall2005/secc/Earth
  quakePlan

8
Earthquake Safety pamphlet

• Would be used for broader community outreach
• Possible venues include the panel discussion
• Distribution in immediate neighborhoods
• Includes
• Emergency checklist
• Water purification methods
• Household cautions

9
Reasons Why We Chose the Geology Department

• Academic departments currently have no disaster
  plans.
• Other university departments do, such as OIS,
  Securities, Facilities, etc.
• We have been invited by the Geology Department to
  create an earthquake plan.
• We will non-structurally retrofit the department.

Government documents section of the Evergreen
State College Library, Olympia, WA in 2001
10
Earthquake Plan Execution

• Use the Geology department plan as a model for
  the campus.
• Meet with the campuss disaster plan committee.
• Integrate it into the overall University Disaster
  Plan.
• Ensure the safety of all university members.

11
Geology DepartmentDisaster Plan

• Expectations for faculty, staff, and employees.
• Emergency objectives list.
• Emergency contacts.
• Earthquake procedures.
• Thompson Hall evacuation plan.
• Thompson Hall Emergency Exit Floor Plans.
• Emergency Links

12
Additional Plans

• Contact List
• Create status report forms to keep track of
  contacts
• Detailing who they are, what position they have,
  how we contacted them, all available contacts,
  and what we will ask of them
• Meetings with various Bureaucratic officials to
  see what they would like to see in the UPS campus
  disaster plan
• TFD (Tacoma Fire Department)
• PC DEM (Pierce County Department of Emergency
  Management)
• Put together panel of officials
• To create awareness in community and opportunity
  for public outreach for officials.
• Retrofit Geology Department
• Establish the Geology dept. plan as a template
  for the rest of the UPS community to follow
• Create a table comparing what our plan does and
  does not have in comparison to other colleges and
  institutions
• Present full and detailed plan to Ron Thomas and
  advisory committee.

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