Earthquakes Active
The U.S. Pacific Northwest is an active seismic zone, as evidenced by the 2001 Nisqually earthquake near Olympia (WA) and several other earthquakes in the 1990's. The Hazards Vulnerability Team worked with emergency managers and USGS earthquake researchers to better understand how communities are vulnerable to earthquake hazards.
How many people live and work in earthquake-hazard zones?
We used geospatial tools to estimate the number and type of people and businesses in hazard zones associated with 20 earthquake scenarios in Washington. The analysis compares earthquake scenarios in terms of population exposure and demonstrates how vulnerability varies among communities. The methods described in the study are meant to help emergency managers decide how to choose earthquake scenarios that best support their risk-reduction planning efforts.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Comparing population exposure to multiple Washington earthquake scenarios for prioritizing loss estimation studies
- Overview
The U.S. Pacific Northwest is an active seismic zone, as evidenced by the 2001 Nisqually earthquake near Olympia (WA) and several other earthquakes in the 1990's. The Hazards Vulnerability Team worked with emergency managers and USGS earthquake researchers to better understand how communities are vulnerable to earthquake hazards.
How many people live and work in earthquake-hazard zones?
We used geospatial tools to estimate the number and type of people and businesses in hazard zones associated with 20 earthquake scenarios in Washington. The analysis compares earthquake scenarios in terms of population exposure and demonstrates how vulnerability varies among communities. The methods described in the study are meant to help emergency managers decide how to choose earthquake scenarios that best support their risk-reduction planning efforts.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Comparing population exposure to multiple Washington earthquake scenarios for prioritizing loss estimation studies
Scenario-based, loss-estimation studies are useful for gauging potential societal impacts from earthquakes but can be challenging to undertake in areas with multiple scenarios and jurisdictions. We present a geospatial approach using various population data for comparing earthquake scenarios and jurisdictions to help emergency managers prioritize where to focus limited resources on data developmenAuthorsNathan J. Wood, Jamie L. Ratliff, John Schelling, Craig S. Weaver