Geologic Hazards Science Center

One USGS scientist has sorted through the challenges, the claims, and the data to determine what the possibilities and limitations really are for EEW, and the results may surprise you.

Read the new Science for Everyone article: The Blind Zone of Earthquake Early Warning

On May 10, Gavin Hayes takes on the role of Senior Science Advisor for Earthquake and Geologic Hazards within the USGS Natural Hazards Mission Area.  The Senior Science Advisor serves as the coordinator for the Earthquake Hazards, Global Seismographic Network, and Geomagnetism Programs and provides oversight and guidance across the full breadth of USGS geohazard-related activities.

On March 31, 2020, a  magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck  near Boise, ID, in the Challis National Forest. Seismic instruments indicate the earthquake originated at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers).

On March 26, 2020, a  magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck West Texas near the New Mexico border. Seismic instruments indicate the earthquake originated at a depth of 5.3 miles (8.5 kilometers). 

Updated Forecast Shows 1% Chance of Aftershock Above 5.7

A new U.S. Geological Survey map of Puerto Rico shows the relative risks of landslides due to the kind of intense rainfall brought on by hurricanes. It identifies 20%  of the island as at high risk, 9% at very high risk, and 1% at extremely high risk of landslides under those conditions. 

The U.S. Geological Survey released a new report on geoelectric hazards for two-thirds of the contiguous U.S., spanning from the northeast to the west coast of the Nation. 

A sequence of earthquakes in southwest Puerto Rico continues to affect people living there, with the largest recent aftershock a magnitude 5.2 on Jan. 15. U.S. Geological Survey scientists on the island and the mainland are providing up-to-date scientific information to help the Commonwealth government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency make decisions that protect the public.

USGS experts recently released a study that incorporates the latest earthquake science findings into an update of the National Seismic Hazard Model for the “lower-48” United States.  Read the full report here:  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/8755293019878199

"19 November 2019–Hand-dug trenches around Leigh Lake in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming reveal evidence for a previously unknown surface-faulting earthquake in along the Teton Fault—one occurring about 10,000 years ago." A Seismological Society of America news release covers recent research published by USGS scientists and cooperators.

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"Major landslides triggered by the 1964 magnitude 9.2 Great Alaska earthquake responded to, but were not reactivated by, the magnitude 7.1 Anchorage earthquake that took place  30 November 2018, researchers concluded in a new study published in Seismological Research Letters."

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