r/IAmA Oct 19 '22

We're Pacific NW U.S. earthquake experts ready to talk about tsunamis, earthquake early warning and more Science

EDIT: We are pretty much done! Thanks everyone for the great questions. We have some folks that could check in later if we didn’t get to your question or if you discover us later today but the answers won’t be right away. Remember no matter where you are, we invite you to drop, cover and hold on at 10:20 am Thursday. Learn more at shakeout.org

Oct. 20 is the Great ShakeOut, where millions of people across the country practice earthquake safety and drop, cover and hold on under a sturdy object. Today, we have experts in Washington state and Oregon talking about ShakeOut, earthquakes and we can even touch on Pacific Northwest volcanoes. For instance, did you now it’s possible to now get a warning on your phone before an earthquake strikes? It’s called the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System.

We are a team with a variety of expertise particularly in the Pacific Northwest including: earthquakes (science/physics, monitoring, protective actions, preparedness), tsunamis (tsunami safety, hazards, modeling, preparedness, and recovery), structural engineering/building performance and emergency preparedness.

PROOF HERE. More proof here.

From Washington Emergency Management Division:

Brian Terbush

Elyssa Tappero

Mark Pierepiekarz, P.E., S.E.

Hollie Stark

Dante DiSabatino

From Pacific Northwest Seismic Network:

Bill Steele

Dr. Renate Hartog

Dr. Alex Hutko

From Washington Department of Natural Resources (Washington Geological Survey):

Corina Allen

Daniel Eungard

From Simpson Strong-Tie (Structural Products and Solutions including Earthquake Retrofits):

Emory Montague, S.E.

From Oregon Office of Emergency Management:

Althea Rizzo

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u/WaQuakePrepare Oct 19 '22

I can't speak for all of government, but I do know that here in Washington State and at most if not all local, county, and tribal levels, we have what we call a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan which is reviewed annually and updated every five years. As part of that, we plan and practice for response on both small and large scales. Most recently we did what we call our Cascadia Rising exercise for what would happen if there were to be a Cascadia Subduction Zone event. This is a multi-agency drill which tests capabilities at all levels and is only one of many we do as the state government to prepare. I would highly encourage you to find out about what plans are in place for the hazards in Michigan and its counties and cities. This may get long in the tooth but all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam are part of an Emergency Management Assistance Compact where if a disaster overwhelms a state's ability to respond, they can request resources and personnel from other states to assist. Recently Washington sent some IT resources to Florida as part of their Hurricane Ian response. Hope that helps a litte.

-Hollie

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u/KwordShmiff Oct 19 '22

That is really cool, thank you for sharing this information.