On January 30, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a full committee hearing to address the role of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in preparing for and responding to natural hazards, as well as the current status of mapping and monitoring systems. Several witnesses testified regarding early warning systems and programs for earthquake, volcano, and tsunami hazards.
The Hazards Caucus Alliance, a network that supports the Congressional Hazards Caucus, hosted a briefing on April 6 about how geologic and hazards mapping and monitoring are used to prepare and protect communities from natural hazards.
The Tsunami Evacuation Map from the Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources provides a large amount of information about tsunami evacuation procedures for the state of Washington. Each of the shaded areas in the image above can be zoomed in on for more detailed information including:
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which houses the Geo-Institute, announced that the 2016 revision of its ASCE Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures will, for the first time, contain a chapter on tsunamis. Part of the creation of this chapter was the establishment of a committee to study the response of buildings, and their internal structures, to tsunamis. The committee was officially established in February of 2011, just weeks before the devastating Tohoko Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. Click for more:
On November 10, the National Academy of Sciences hosted a panel discussion on the Cascadia Subduction Zone and its potential for large scale fault rupture.
On Thursday November 10, The National Academies' Board on Earth Science and Resources and the Committee on Seismology and Geodynamics held a joint meeting on The Cascadia Subduction Zone: Science, Impacts, and Response. The meeting provided a forum for the discussion of progress and future directions in the monitoring, modeling, measurement, mitigation, and communication of earthquake and tsunami risk in the Pacific Northwest. Click “Read More” for a summary of some key takeaways.
The Government of Puerto Rico's Portal Datos Geograficos Gubernamentales (governmental geographic data portal) provides a range of information on natural hazards and resources in Puerto Rico, which can be viewed in a GIS program. The interactive map includes: