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

150,000 U.S. Bridges Are Still Rated 'Deficient'

(July 22, 2010) Nearly three years after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, 25 percent of the country's bridges remain "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete"… Star Tribune

Blockbuster from China

(July 22, 2010) An ambitious, emotionally charged, occasionally melodramatic film, "Aftershock" spans two of China's most famous earthquakes: the Tangshan quake that killed 250,000 people in 1976 and the Sichuan quake that killed 87,000 in 2008… Wall Street Journal

Inactive Fault May Trigger Big Quake After All

(July 21, 2010) A seismic fault in the Sierra Nevada, believed to have been quiet for more than 3 million years, is active after all and capable of triggering strong quakes with magnitudes of 6 or even 7, scientists say… San Francisco Chronicle

New Findings Indicate Sediment Composition Affected the Strength of Sumatran Earthquake

(July 12, 2010) "Many people wondered why the 2004 quake was so large," said Sean Gulick, a geophysicist from the University of Texas at Austin. "Perhaps a more interesting question is: why wasn't it larger?… NSF

Haiti, Six Months Since The Earthquake

(July 9, 2010) Nearly six months after a massive earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince and much of Haiti, millions of Haitians still struggle to survive. Aid groups and the Haitian government continue relief efforts but some 1.5 million Haitians remain homeless and the hurricane season is underway… NPR

  • BBC Living in the Rubble

Natural Disasters Happen. Will Your Home Be Ready?

(July 9, 2010) The insurance industry is reminding homeowners of those odds this month, at the official start of the hurricane season, noting that forecasters have said it may be a bad one… NY Times

New Tsunami Early Warning System Stands Guard

(July 9, 2010) The EU funded DEWS (Distant Early Warning System) was launched in 2007 to include and provide protection to all the nations of the Indian Ocean region. DEWS has now created and started to deploy a sustainable system to detect and analyze seismic events in the Indian Ocean… DEWS

Why Some Earthquakes Unleash Tsunamis and Others Don't

(July 9, 2010) … Two earthquakes struck just months apart along the same fault. If one produced the deadliest tsunami in modern history, why didn't the second?…CS Monitor

Haiti’s Eternal Weight

(July 9, 2010) Six months after the earthquake and still less than 5% of the 20-25 million cubic yards of debris has been removed… NY Times

Earthquake Warning for California Fault Line Proves Accurate

(July 9, 2010) California earthquake experts have been saying for weeks that the 7.2 temblor on Easter Sunday in Mexicali had placed pressure on two Southern California fault lines - the Elisnore and the San Jacinto - making quakes there more likely; they proved prescient… LA Times

Spending Bill With Post-Earthquake Aid Heads Back to Senate for New Vote

(July 8, 2010) An appropriations package that includes $2.9 billion in relief and reconstruction aid for Haiti has cleared the House and will next move to the Senate for a vote… Architectural Record

Emergency Response after the Haiti Earthquake: Choices, Obstacles and Finance

(July 8, 2010) Six months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti on 12th January 2010, this report describes the evolution of Medecins sans Frontieres’ work during what is the organization’s largest ever rapid emergency response… Medecins sans Frontieres

New Streamer Technology Improves Resolution of Seismic Data

(July 7, 2010) Petroleum Geo-Services has developed a new streamer technology to improve the resolution of seismic data by using velocity sensors alongside conventional pressure sensors… Engineer Live

Still Homeless from Haiti Earthquake, Thousands Fight Forced Evictions

(July 7, 2010) Six months on, the government has yet to secure adequate shelter for many of the 2.1 million people made homeless by the Haiti earthquake. Some landowners are now trying to evict the refugee camps… CS Monitor

Quake Victims Protest in Italy, Clash with Police

(July 7, 2010) Demonstrators from the quake-stricken city of L'Aquila clashed with police on Wednesday as they tried to get close to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office to demand more state help… Reuters

New Technology Could One Day Lead to an Earthquake Prediction System

(July 6, 2010) A team of scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California, has developed a new imaging technology that could one day lead to the prediction of earthquakes… CNN

Ottawa Earthquake Seen as a Wake Up Call for Seismic Standards

(July 1, 2010) The recent earthquake that shook central Ontario and part of Quebec is a wake-up call for engineers and authorities to pay more attention to seismic standards in this part of the country… Journal of Commerce

Appeal Lost in Quake Deaths

(July 1, 2010) Property owners are ultimately liable if they wait to retrofit their unreinforced buildings, regardless of whether they plan to meet a deadline for earthquake strengthening, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled this week… San Luis Obispo Tribune

Dams & Civil Structures: An Examination of Dam Failures vs. Age of Dams

(July 1, 2010) Some dam failures stem from long-term use, while other incidents are tied to earthquakes, floods, and other events. How are failures distributed over the life of a dam? And does a long period of satisfactory performance mean there will be no significant incident over the remainder of its life? … HydroWorld

Oaxaca in Southern Mexico Shaken by 6.2 Magnitude Quake

(June 30, 2010) A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca… BBC

National Museum Panel Addresses Role of Codes to Mitigate Quake Risks

(June 29, 2010) Panelists addressed the role of codes and other tools designed to mitigate the risk of earthquakes at a panel entitled, Preparing for the Big One: Assessing American Building Codes… ICC

Study Paints Grim New Madrid Quake Scenario

(June 28, 2010) The New Madrid seismic zone is capable of producing a massive earthquake that could devastate parts of the central United States, according to a study publicly released this week by the University of Illinois… Chicago Tribune

California Earthquake Moved Town 31 Inches South

(June 28, 2010) NASA radar images show that the powerful quake that struck Baja California in April moved Calexico, a city on the US-Mexico border, some 31 inches to the south… CS Monitor

Scores Buried by Landslide in South-West China

(June 28, 2010) At least 100 people are feared to be buried or trapped after a landslide triggered by heavy rain in south-west China… BBC

Canadian Earthquake Rattles Northeast

(June 24, 2010) A 5.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the Ontario-Quebec border region in Canada this afternoon sent tremors throughout the Northeast, earthquake experts said. At least two buildings in the Boston area, more than 300 miles from the epicenter, were evacuated due to concerns about the shaking… Boston Globe

Nationwide Project Lends New Details on Earthquakes

(June 24, 2010) The project USArray, which involves a traveling network of 400 high-quality, portable seismographs placed in temporary sites, will reach the halfway mark this summer in its goal to measure upheavals beneath the earth's surface from California to Maine… USA Today

Peru Project Spans One River, Three Decades

(June 21, 2010) The effort to build the longest bridge in Peru began in 1978, and, if all goes as planned, the 722-meter-long span over the Madre de Dios River in the Peruvian Amazon will be completed in December… Engineering News Record

Earthquake Risk Calculator Goes Global

(June 21, 2010) The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) will calculate seismic risk based on the geological characteristics of an area, as well as the types of building and the building regulations in place… Nature

Floods across Southern China Take Heavy Toll

(June 21, 2010) Torrential rain and landslides in southern China have killed 132 people… BBC

First Hurricane of 2010 Pacific Season Forms off Mexico

(June 21, 2010) The first hurricane of the 2010 Pacific season has formed off the coast of Acapulco in Mexico… BBC

7.0M Earthquake Strikes Papua, Indonesia

(June 21, 2010) Two people killed, two injured and at least 500 buildings damaged or destroyed on Yapen in Papua, Indonesia… USGS

Research & Professional News

UNR Scientists Testing Major Quake Effect on Bridges

(June 21, 2010) Construction material designed to help bridges survive major earthquakes was put to a shuddering test Tuesday by scientists at University of Nevada, Reno…Reno Gazette-Journal

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