Earthquake and Tsunami programs

Hello!
I wanted to let folks know that there will be several airings of shows about earthquakes and tsunamis in the next week or so.

History Channel will air "Megaquakes 10.0" from 9:00-11:00 pm on Wednesday Jan. 12
Wednesday Jan. 12 at 8:00 pm on OPB, NOVA's "The Deadliest Earthquakes"

Yumei Wang and Jay Raskin both participated in these shows.

Governor Declares April to be Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Month

April is Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness month! DOGAMI is working with the governor to spread awareness on the dangers of earthquakes and tsunamis, and to try and teach what is necessary to increase your chances of surviving such a natural disaster.

An excerpt from the full-color PDF press release:

Have you practiced your drop, cover, and hold drill lately? Do you know what to do at the coast if the ground starts to shake?

Portland, Oregon: Governor Ted Kulongoski has proclaimed April to be Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Month, saying in the proclamation that Oregon has taken many steps during the past two decades to help make the citizens of the state safer from future earthquakes (see attached proclamation).

http://www.oregongeology.org/pubs/nr/press-release-2010-03-31.pdf

Further information can be found on the DOGAMI websites, including emergency preparedness information, available training, and tsunami evacuation maps.

http://www.oregon.gov/DOGAMI/

Information from: Althea Turner Geologic Hazards Program CoordinatorOregon Emergency

Oregon lies at a convergent continental boundary where two tectonic plates are colliding. There are over 1000 earthquakes over magnitude 1.0 in Washington and Oregon every year, with at least two dozen being large enough to be felt. Approximately 17 people have lost their lives due to earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1872, there have been 20 damaging earthquakes in Washington and Oregon[1]. The Pacific coast poses special risk from tsunamis associated with a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. In addition to Subduction zone earthquakes, Oregon is also susceptible to crustal earthquakes. The two largest earthquakes in recent years in Oregon, Scotts Mills, (magnitude 5.6) and the Klamath Falls, main shocks (magnitude 5.9 and magnitude 6.0) of 1993 were crustal earthquakes[2].

In recognition of this seismic risk, Oregon has taken measures to mitigate and prepare for the inevitable destructive earthquakes and tsunami. In the 1990s, Oregon began to revise the Uniform Building Code to reflect the recent research showing the higher risks from earthquakes[3]. Many schools, public buildings and critical infrastructure were built previous to the newer, more stringent codes, and are susceptible to failure in a seismic event. According to a 2007 Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) report, over 1000 schools and 200 emergency facilities are at a high or very high risk of “probability that the building will collapse if ground motions occur that are equal to or exceed the maximum considered earthquake at that location.”[4]



[1] http://www.pnsn.org/INFO_GENERAL/faq.html. Retrieved June 24, 2009
[2] http://www.oregon.gov/DOGAMI/earthquakes/EQs.shtml. Retrieved June 24, 2009
[3] http://quake.usgs.gov/prepare/factsheets/PacNW/. Retrieved June 24, 2009
[4] DOGAMI Open-File Report O-07-02. p. iv.