(TLP:CLEAR) FEMA and USGS Publish New and Updated Earthquake Loss Report

Summary: This month, FEMA released an updated report with the latest earthquake hazard information for the U.S., which can be used by emergency managers and other stakeholders to better prepare for the devasting effects of earthquakes.

Analyst Note: Earlier this month, WaterISAC held its quarterly Water Sector Natural Disaster Threat Briefing on earthquake risks to critical infrastructure. In particular, the presenters discussed the risk earthquakes pose to utility operations and how their utility is working to mitigate vulnerabilities and enhance their operational resilience to this seismic threat through emergency preparedness, response, and infrastructure capital upgrades (members can view the recording of that threat briefing here).

For FEMA’s new earthquake report, the agency partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to update the P-366: Hazus Estimated Average Annualized Earthquake Losses for the United States and its Territories report, detailing the latest average annualized loss across the U.S. According to FEMA, this report now includes seismic data for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. FEMA’s press release states that “with this report, emergency managers can easily find the latest seismic data to better understand risk. This will help them make more informed decisions on planning, mitigation strategies and building code updates to enhance readiness in their community.”

In addition, FEMA and USGS published an interactive version of the report’s data, allowing officials to easily visualize findings for their specific area, including average annualized earthquake losses for buildings at the state, county, metropolitan and U.S. Census tract levels. Relatedly, last year, FEMA published the FEMA P-2426: Estimated Average Annualized Tsunami Losses for the United States, a first-of-its-kind national study assessing the risk of tsunamis.

Original Source: https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/products-tools/hazus  

Additional Reading:

• Assessing earthquake risks to lifeline infrastructure systems in the United States

Related WaterISAC PIRs: 16 & 17