Latest Developments
05/30/2008 The NEHRP Advisory Committee for Earthquake Hazards Reduction has delivered its first formal report to the NIST Deputy Director. This report is now posted for public viewing on the NEHRP web site.
04/22/2008 Hazard maps: Utah's worst-case quake could be a deadly 7.4 magnitude. In the wake of last week's magnitude 5.2 earthquake in Illinois, the U.S Geological Survey has updated its national hazard maps to show the 46 states facing significant risk of a seismic event. A worst-case quake along Utah's 240-mile Wasatch Fault, for example, has been elevated to a powerful magnitude 7.4. Read the full story
04/18/08 NEHRP draft strategic plan is now available for public comment. The NEHRP Interagency Coordinating Committee has approved the public release of the draft updated NEHRP Strategic Plan, for public review and comment.
The draft plan is now available on the NEHRP web site. Comments are due May 9, 2008.
07/26/2006 -- Do You Know the Hazard in Your Backyard?-- USGS Launches Web Site and Facts Sheets on Earthquakes, Floods, Hurricanes, Landslides, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, and Wildfires -- Every year, natural hazards that occur in the United States can result in hundreds of lives lost and cost billions of dollars in the form of disaster aid, disrupted commerce and destroyed public and private properties.
To help educate the public about the threat of natural hazards, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has launched a new Web site and seven easy-to-understand fact sheets on earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes and wildfires. The hazards Web site highlights resources and information available from the USGS and provides links to the individual hazards Web pages for more detailed information. The Web site and fact sheets can be accessed at http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/.
“At the USGS, it is our goal to provide scientific research and analysis that help the public make informed decisions on where natural hazards occur, how severe they may be, how to react to each hazard and how to safeguard people and communities,” said USGS Acting Director P. Patrick Leahy. “If we can use our science to help save lives and minimize the damage caused by natural hazards, we have achieved an enormous goal—helping to prevent natural hazards from becoming disasters.”
The USGS has the lead federal responsibility to provide notifications to the public about earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. These notifications enhance public safety and reduce losses through effective forecasts and warnings based on the best possible scientific information. The USGS plays a supportive role to other federal agencies for flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis and coastal storms.
05/26/2006 -- NEHRP Coaltion Submits Comments on the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Strategic Plan. THe Coalition's statement focused on the need to implement the changes required when the NEHRP Program was reauthorized in 2004. Read Comments.
03/15/2006 -- Federal Earthquake Program Seeks Public Comments The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is the federal government's program to reduce the risks to life and property from earthquakes. The four agencies making up NEHRP—the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the organization's lead agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)—are seeking the public’s assistance in updating the program’s 2001-2005 strategic plan to create the plan for 2006-2010. Anyone interested in participating in this process may download the 2001-2005 plan from the NEHRP Web site and suggest updates via a public comment form at the same site. The form may be e-mailed, faxed or sent by regular mail to NEHRP. NEHRP will accept comments through May 26, 2006.
Additionally, the NEHRP agencies will host an open forum at the 100th Anniversary 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Conference on April 17, 2006. At the forum, each of the four NEHRP agencies will present a brief summary of its current activities and then take comments from conference attendees on NEHRP performance and direction. Click here for conference information.
02/07/2006: President's 2007 Budget Released -- Natural Hazards Programs get some new funding.
- National Institute and Standards and Technology - the core laboratory program was funded at $535 million (an increase of $104 million after removing earmarks) - among the highlighted initiatives is a focus on Structural Safety in Hurricanes, Fires and Earthquakes (this is noted as a $2 million increase). While not directly focused on either the NEHRP program or the Wind Hazards program, it is clearly intended for those purposes. It is also the first time this type of activity is highlighted in the NIST Budget request. The information is here:
- Office of Science and Technology Policy - nominal lead agency or Wind Hazard - its budget in part of the White House budget and difficult to break out - a quick look finds no line item for Wind Hazards.
- National Science Foundation - as usual NSF does not break out NEHRP or Wind Hazard funding (or any other specific funding levels) but overall NSF gets a 7.9% increase ($439 million) bringing NSF up to just over $6 billion - enough, if enacted, to fund an addition 500 research grants - bound to be some earthquake/wind hazards funding in that. Among specific line items - the Network for Earthquake Engineering and Simulations (NEES) gets a request for $21.27 million - up just under 1% from FY 06 enacted.
- United States Geological Survey - Includes $51.4 million for earthquake hazards - up from 50.8 million in FY '06. Additionally, the budget request includes $5.7 million for the multi-hazards initiative - from the press release --
During much of last year, the nation has coped with significant losses from natural disasters. In addition, we have witnessed disasters elsewhere in the world resulting from natural hazards. To better understand and mitigate these hazards, the 2007 USGS budget includes $5.7 million for a multi-hazards pilot initiative. This includes increases for research to assess coastal vulnerability to extreme storms, for earthquake and landslide hazards research, and increases for geographic and water resources studies. The multi-hazards pilot initiative will enhance research on the causes and consequences of natural hazards and improve community responses to the range of natural hazards potentially facing each community.
- Department of Homeland Security - Federal Emergency Management Agency - Details of DHS/FEMA budget are here:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - The NOAA webpage listed the following budget highlights:
Weather and water information + $46.1 million
Strengthen tsunami warning capabilities + $12.4 million
Tornado-severe storms research + $2.0 million
Enhancements to National Weather Service telecommunications network + $2.5 million
NOAA wind profiler network + $3.5 million
Hurricane data buoy operations and maintenance + $1.4 million
1/10/2006: NIST Names New Director for NEHRP Program-- The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today that John (Jack) R. Hayes Jr. has been appointed Director of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) effective Feb. 5, 2006.
