Hazard and Risk

The well-known statement "Earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do" highlights the need to make our communities more earthquake resilient. The impact of earthquakes on public safety and the national economy can be reduced through improvement of the built environment to resist earthquake effects such as ground shaking. Extending natural hazards science to risk involves (1) conducting research to...

We anticipate the final 2025 PRVI NSHM to be available by December 21st 2025.

Alaska has more large earthquakes than the rest of the United States combined. More than three-quarters of the state’s population live in an area that can experience a magnitude 7 earthquake. Our research provides objective science that helps stakeholders prepare for and mitigate the effects of future earthquakes and tsunamis, which bolsters the economic health and well-being of Alaska and the...

Large earthquakes on the 1100-km-long plate-boundary fault of the Cascadia subduction zone beneath Washington, Oregon, and northern California pose a significant hazard to population centers of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Tsunamis from a Cascadia megathrust earthquake, and from earthquakes on other trans-Pacific subduction zones, pose a threat along the Pacific Coast in Washington, Oregon, and...

Southern California has the highest level of earthquake risk in the United States, with half of the expected financial losses from earthquakes in the Nation expected to occur in southern California. Sitting astride the Pacific - North American plate boundary at the Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault, Southern California has over 300 faults capable of producing magnitude 6 and larger earthquakes...

Earthquakes cause an estimated annualized loss to the U.S. of several billions of dollars. To mitigate earthquake losses, it is necessary to evaluate the earthquake hazards across the country.