Earthquake Hazards Program

House destroyed by Palu earthquake-induced liquefaction. Note standing water which indicates a nearly surface-level water table that contributed to the widespread liquefaction.

Annual number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or larger in the central and eastern United States, 1973–2020. The long-term rate of approximately 25 earthquakes per year increased sharply starting around 2009.

The nighttime Oakland city skyline as seen from San Francisco with the Bay Bridge in the foreground

A USGS electronics technician performs maintenance on a ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) sensor station, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. ShakeAlert station components include strong-motion accelerometers, solar panel and battery power systems, and communications & telemetry equipment for communication with the wider ShakeAlert network. 

This video presents a visualization of how the Frontier Building in Anchorage, Alaska, shook during the moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake. The building was instrumented by U.S. Geological Survey to obtain data to study its behavior and performance during strong shaking. Such data are useful in making decisions about improving the

This video presents a visualization of how the BP Exploration Building in Anchorage, Alaska, shook during the moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake. The building was instrumented by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to obtain data to study its behavior and performance during strong shaking. Such data are useful in making decisions about

This video presents a visualization of how the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska, shook during the Mw 7.0 November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake. The building was instrumented by the U.S. Geological Survey to obtain data to study its behavior and performance during strong shaking. Such data are useful in making decisions about improving the performance of the

USGS Research Oceanographer Lauren Toth and Oceanographer Anastasios Stathakopoulos study a coral-reef core in the USGS’s Core Archive in St. Petersburg, Florida. Photo: Dominique Gallery, USGS.

Title: The 150th Anniversary of the Damaging 1868 Hayward Earthquake: Why It Matters and How We Can Prepare for Its Repeat

• The Hayward Fault in the heart of the Bay Area is one of the most urbanized faults in the US.
• Studies of the fault reveal that it has produced 12 large earthquakes in the past 2000 years spaced 100-220 years apart.
• There

Maintenance of a high-quality ShakeAlert sensors, power and telemetry stations.

Maintenance of high quality ShakeAlert sensor, power and telemetry station.