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
(May 15, 2012) 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
(May 15, 2012) 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
(May 11, 2012) 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?
(May 11, 2012) April's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in the Pacific revealed interesting features about plate tectonics… NPR
After the Quake, Japanese Shop for Survival
(May 10, 2012) 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
(May 8, 2012) 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
(May 8, 2012) 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
(May 8, 2012) 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
(May 8, 2012) 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
(May 4, 2012) 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
(April 26, 2012) 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
(April 26, 2012) 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
(April 25, 2012) 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
(April 25, 2012) 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
(April 24, 2012) 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
(April 24, 2012) 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
(April 23, 2012) 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
(April 23, 2012) 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
(April 23, 2012) 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
(April 20, 2012) 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
(April 19, 2012) 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
(April 19, 2012) Last summer's Virginia earthquake continues to reverberate in the scientific community… Washington Post
Landslide Risk at Reservoir Cited in China
(April 19, 2012) 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
(April 18, 2012) 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
(April 18, 2012) 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
(April 17, 2012) 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
(April 16, 2012) 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
(April 16, 2012) 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