EARTHQUAKE Disaster

Southern California Earthquake Data Center
map of the region that features information on recent earthquakes in California and Nevada. Learn about the local faults and recent activity along each fault.

EARTHQUAKES BRING ATTENTION TO SEISMICALLY UNSAFE SCHOOLS
In the wake of the disastrous collapse of over 7,000 "classrooms" and the death of 10,000 students (estimates are closely controlled by the Chinese government) in China after May 12’s devastating earthquake, American seismologists are assessing the sturdiness of schools in the U.S., writes Andrew Revkin in the New York Times blog Dot Earth. The Pacific Northwest, especially, seems vulnerable. According to Yumei Wang, geohazards team leader for the state of Oregon, approximately 1,300 schools there have "a very high probability of collapse." Washington State is similarly vulnerable. Wang states that "what are sorely needed are long-term, institutionalized, government-funded programs to help school districts mitigate their high-occupancy, collapse-prone schools." Oregon is establishing a grant program to do this, but Wang cautions that the retrofitting of schools and other critical infrastructure will take decades and could cost up to $2 billion. Read From Sichuan to Oregon Schools at Risk

1906 Earthquake Disaster

9/11 World Trade Disaster