Earthquake, Hazards, and Disaster News

The MCEER Information Service is a comprehensive source for information on earthquake engineering, hazards mitigation, disaster preparedness, and related topics. IS posts new content frequently, covering a wide range of news and research topics.

As an added service, IS reviews published materials, maintains a database for conferences & continuing education opportunities, a portal to noteworthy Web sites, and other topics of interest.

Current News

Earthquake Forecasters Look Closer at Rock Friction

More accurate forecasts of earthquakes may arise from a new computer model focusing on the physics of the rock in one quake-prone segment of the San Andreas fault … MSNBC

Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake Downs Walls, Cuts Power in Northern Chile

An earthquake damaged walls, shattered windows and knocked out electricity in parts of far-northern Chile and the Peruvian city of Tacna but no injuries or major damage were reported… Washington Post

Quake Study Offers New Clues on a California Fault's Mystery

A new modeling method has helped Caltech researchers better understand why the Parkfield segment of the San Andreas fault has been behaving oddly in recent years … Los Angeles Times

Why Was a Huge 'Rogue Earthquake' Not Destructive?

April's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in the Pacific revealed interesting features about plate tectonics… NPR

After the Quake, Japanese Shop for Survival

Walk into any large Japanese retailer nowadays, and you might think Japan had become a nation of survivalists… NPR

Munich RE Raises Prices, Cites Increased Risk of Quakes Near Tokyo

The company said that it had raised prices for earthquake coverage in Japan in part due to geological studies that indicated increased riks of earthquakes in the Tokyo area… Washington Post

Fukushima Nuclear Plant's Slow Recovery Offers Lessons to the US

Despite the Japanese Prime Minister's optimistic assessment of Fukushima, experts have new worries about the plant's recovery… The Guardian (UK)

Fears Increase of Big Earthquake near Tokyo in the Foreseeable Future

A prominent Japanese seismologist rattled some nerves when he declared there was a 70 percent chance of a major earthquake in or around Tokyo in the next four years… Public Radio International

UBC Professor Wins Award to Evaluate Bridge Seismic Safety

A University of British Columbia professor has been awarded $260,000 to evaluate the province's highway bridges for earthquake readiness… Vancouver Sun

Chile's Missing Beaches Return After Quake

The magnitude 8.8, February 27, 2010 earthquake in Chile buckled the earth and destroyed some beaches when they sank, but also widened and flattened others, thus making them more hospitable to marine life… Discovery News

Precursors of the Great Tohoku Earthquake Found

Scientists think they have discovered traces of several earlier earthquakes of similiar size to the magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011 … Nature

Landmark Retrofit

Spurred by the scare of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the Golden Gate Bridge has undergone a $660 million seismic retrofit project over the last decade … San Jose Mercury News

Earthquake Simulator Raising Awareness of Quake Dangers in Indiana

What's it like to experience an earthquake that registers 8.0 on the Richter scale? Indiana residents can find out first-hand from the Quake Cottage, an earthquake simulator that's being deployed by the Indiana Geological Survey… IU News Room

GPS Network is Quick Quake Sensor

NASA is set to test a real-time network of GPS sensors that it hopes will lead to faster, more accurate earthquake analysis… BBC

Shake Table Simulates 8.8-Magnitude Earthquake: Video

A group of researchers is subjecting a five-story mock hospital to the force of an 8.8-magnitude earthquake to see how well the best building and preparedness practices stand up to the rage of a huge quake… Popular Mechanics

O.C. Quake was Small, but it Could Make History

A 3.9 temblor centered in the southern suburb of Laguna Niguel could be the first measured on a little-known fault discovered 13 years ago… Los Angeles Times

Designing a Bridge for Earthquake Country

Marwan Nader, lead design engineer for the new eastern span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, discusses features that give the bridge the flexibility to withstand the 'Big One'… NPR

Satellite System Will Speed Up Tsunami Warnings

Global Positioning System (GPS) networks could cut time needed for accurate alerts by a factor of ten… Nature

Tsunami Scare Shows Gaps as Thousands Miss Quake Warnings

While tsunami detection systems appeared to have worked during the April 11 8.6-magnitude temblor, the quake exposed flaws in the diffusion of warnings and effectiveness of evacuation plans… Businessweek

Long-Term Tsunami Risk Rises After Indonesia Quake

Last week's powerful earthquake off western Indonesia increased pressure on the source of the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed 230,000 people in and around the Indian Ocean… CBC News

Latest Tokyo Earthquake Projection: 9,700 Could Die

In one of four earthquake scenarios prepared by a Tokyo government panel of earthquake experts, as many as 9,700 people could die if a big earthquake were to strike near the capital… Wall Street Journal

How the Virginia Earthquake Packed Such a Punch

Last summer's Virginia earthquake continues to reverberate in the scientific community… Washington Post

Landslide Risk at Reservoir Cited in China

A growing threat of landslides on ground surrounding the massive Three Gorges Dam reservoir could force the government to relocate 100,000 more residents from the area… New York Times

In California Quake Research, Boring is the Hoped-for Result

The experiment, to see if hospitals and emergency buildings constructed to the top earthquake code in California could withstand a huge temblor, was immediately proclaimed a success… New York Times

April 18, 1906 - Earthquake Destroys Much of San Francisco

On April 18, 1906, an earthquake with a magnitude between 7.7 and 8.3 struck San Francisco and set off raging fires… New York Times

Nursing Homes Unprepared for Natural Disasters

Tornado, hurricane or flood, nursing homes are woefully unprepared to protect frail residents in a natural disaster, government investigators say… Washington Post

Engineer's Earthquake Simulation Ready to Roll

One of the biggest efforts ever made to understand how earthquakes affect buildings begins Tuesday at UC San Diego, where engineers will violently shake a five-story structure fitted with 500 sensors and 70 cameras… U-T San Diego

Cardboard Cathedral for Quake-Hit New Zealand City

A cardboard cathedral - designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban - will be built in the New Zealand city of Christchurch to temporarily replace the one damaged by the 2011 earthquake… BBC

Authoritative Source for Earthquake Engineering, Hazards Mitigation, Disaster Preparedness | MCEER Information Service