Emergency Management

Scientists rely on seismometers and eyewitness accounts to identify an earthquake’s location, time and magnitude. A new study explores how the latter can be limited by socioeconomic factors, which can create biases in datasets that scientists use to characterize seismic hazards and coordinate emergency response.  

We introduce the USGS Natural Hazards newsletter. In this issue: A new geonarrative about the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake, Potential landslide in Alaska, Subduction Zone Science, Post-wildfire debris flow assessments, new @USGS_Quakes Twitter account, Mapping faults in Puerto Rico, Coastal Change Top Story, Photo Round Up and more!

When the ground starts to shake, what do you do?  Great ShakeOut 2019:  Drop, Cover, and Hold On!

Next week, USGS and the nation commemorate the 30^th anniversary of one of the most destructive earthquake disasters in U.S. history – the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in northern California. The magnitude 6.9 quake struck on October 17 in the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area near Santa Cruz and was responsible for the deaths of 63 people and more than 3,500 injuries.

For questions about a streamgage in your state, please contact your local USGS water science center; contacts can be found at https://water.usgs.gov/key_officials.html.

To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Michael, visit the USGS Hurricane Michael page at https://usgs.gov/hurricane-michael.

Learn About USGS Hazards Science and More About National Preparedness Month: The very nature of natural hazards means that they have the potential to impact a majority of Americans every year.  USGS science provides part of the foundation for emergency preparedness whenever and wherever disaster strikes.

Today's update for June 21st, 2018 will be the last of the daily updates on this USGS feature story.  We encourage you to keep checking the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) Kīlauea status website for daily activity updates. You can also visit the USGS Facebook page and the USGS Twitter feed as updates become available. For press inquiries, please email volcanomedia@usgs.gov.

Days after fatal debris flows devastated Southern California’s Montecito community,  a team of U.S. Geological Survey geologists joined county, state, and federal partners to survey and  evaluate the aftermath.

Visit our new USGS fire webpage to learn how USGS fire science is making a difference

To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Maria, visit the USGS Hurricane Maria page at https://www.usgs.gov/maria.