There's no doubt that Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating weather events to hit the United States-costing lives, property, and prosperity. In "Catastrophic Gumbo, " author Alvin JacQues provides a firsthand look at the facts, drama, details, and aftermath of this powerful storm. A survivor of Hurricane Katrina, JacQues considers himself lucky to be alive, and he credits his strong faith in God for both his survival and the opportunity to tell his story. In this memoir, he examines the enormous devastation and causalities and tells a heroic tale of survival. "Catastrophic Gumbo" includes more than thirty stories that describe what really happened during this natural disaster-including his rescue by the Coast Guard, his experience of six days of chaos at the Superdome, the drowning of his mother, the ever-present death and destruction that he witnessed, and the corruption of the New Orleans Police Department. A compelling account, "Catastrophic Gumbo" gives a behind-the-scenes and personal look at the before, during, and after of this tragedy that hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in 2005.

From avalanches to volcanoes, and from the Gulf Oil Spill to bridge collapses, author Alvin JacQues explores the fascinating world of disasters-both manmade and natural. Inspired by his survival of Hurricane Katrina, chronicled in his first book "Catastrophic Gumbo, " JacQues delivers a compilation of facts and commentary on a number of global natural and manmade disasters, both historical and more recent, that have impacted the human race. Gathered from more than sixty locations, JacQues details the mayhem caused by a range of events that include an F5 tornado in Oklahoma, a typhoon in China, a blizzard in the United States, the flood of 1889, the sinking of the Titanic, and the crash of Flight 111. A compelling collection of stories, "Catastrophic Companions" narrates the reality of extreme events and communicates not only the power of Mother Nature, but of the perseverance of the human race to endure these tragedies for which often there is no preparation.

On the evening of September 21, 1998, Hurricane Georges made landfall on Puerto Rico's east coast as a strong Category 2 hurricane. It traveled directly over the interior of the island, mainly in an east-west direction, and passed off Puerto Rico's west coast on September 22. Puerto Rico had not experienced a hurricane of this magnitude since Hurricane Hugo, a devastating Category 3 hurricane that passed over the northeast corner of Puerto Rico in a southeast to northwest direction in September 1989. On September 30, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Mitigation Directorate deployed a Building Performance Assessment Team (BPAT) to Puerto Rico to assess damages caused by Hurricane Georges. The team included architects, engineers, planners, insurance specialists, and floodplain management specialists. The BPAT's mission was to assess the performance of buildings and other structures throughout Puerto Rico and make recommendations for improving building performance in future events. After an aerial assessment of the island, the BPAT conducted field investigations in selected areas affected by the storm. The field investigations of significantly damaged areas centered on the performance of single-family residential home construction. Isolated examples of success and failure in commercial buildings (primarily building envelope issues in high-rise buildings) and several essential facilities observed during field investigations were also documented. Commercial buildings were not investigated for compliance with current structural seismic guidelines. One- and two-family residential buildings, however, were investigated for their ability to sustain a seismic event. Seismic resistance of nonstructural elements was also observed. It is important to note that wind speeds experienced on the island were not of the strength to test the design of Puerto Rico's buildings. A more significant wind event striking Puerto Rico would likely have resulted in even more failures than were observed. A large number of residential buildings in Puerto Rico experienced structural damage from the high winds of Hurricane Georges. The BPAT concluded that while not all of the damage caused by Hurricane Georges could have been prevented, a significant amount could have been avoided if more buildings had been constructed to Puerto Rico's existing Planning Regulation 7 (building code). Additional damage could have been avoided if more buildings had been designed and constructed to current codes and regulations that address flood, wind, and seismic loads. Although the BPAT observed several examples of successful mitigation implementation, many buildings unfortunately received too little attention to mitigation. If effective mitigation efforts had been implemented more extensively in the design and construction of buildings, the widespread devastation of the hurricane would have been substantially reduced.

Lifeline is an earthquake engineering term denoting those systems necessary for human life and urban function, without which large urban regions cannot exist. Lifelines basically convey food, water, fuel, energy, information, and other materials necessary for human existence from the production areas to the consuming urban areas. Prolonged disruption of lifelines such as the water supply or electric power for a city or urbanized region would inevitably lead to major economic losses, deteriorated public health, and eventually population migration. Earthquakes are probably the most likely natural disaster that would lead to major lifeline disruption. With the advent of more and more advanced technology, the United States has increasingly become dependent on the reliable provision of lifeline related commodities, such as electric power, fuel, and water. A natural question is: What is the potential for major disruption to these lifelines, especially at the regional level? The initiation of this study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is based in part on a need to better understand the impact of disruption of lifelines, from earthquakes and to assist in the identification and prioritization of hazard mitigation measures and policies. In addition, the report is intended to improve national awareness of the importance of protecting lifeline systems from earthquakes, and of assuring lifeline reliability and continued serviceability. The specific contractual requirements of this project and report are: To assess the extent and distribution of existing U.S. lifelines, and their associated seismic risk; and To identify the most critical lifelines, and develop a prioritized series of steps for reduction of lifeline seismic vulnerability, based on overall benefit. FEMA is also sponsoring a companion study to develop and demonstrate a model methodology for assessing the seismic vulnerability and impact of disruption of water transmission and distribution systems. In this initial study, lifelines of critical importance at the U.S. national level have been analyzed to estimate overall seismic vulnerability and to identify those lifelines having the greatest economic impact, given large, credible U. S. earthquakes. The lifelines examined include electric systems; water, gas, and oil pipelines; highways and bridges; airports; railroads; ports; and emergency service facilities. The vulnerability estimates and impacts developed are presented in terms of estimated direct damage losses and indirect economic losses. These losses are considered to represent a first approximation because of the assumptions and methodology utilized, because several lifelines are not included, and because, in some cases, the available lifeline inventory data lack critical capacity information.

This publication was equally funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which leads the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) and by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for the implementation portion of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP). This project was originally undertaken to address the need for guidance on how to build a structure that would be capable of resisting the extreme forces of both a tsunami and an earthquake. This question was driven by the fact that there are many communities along our nation's west coast that are vulnerable to a tsunami triggered by an earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone, which could potentially generate a tsunami of 20 feet in elevation or more within 20 minutes. Given their location, it would be impossible to evacuate these communities in time, which could result in a significant loss of life. This issue came into sharp relief with the December 26, 2004 Sumatra earthquake and Indian Ocean tsunami. While this event resulted in a tremendous loss of life, this would have been even worse had not many people been able to take shelter in multi-story reinforced concrete buildings. Without realizing it, these survivors were among the first to demonstrate the concept of vertical evacuation from a tsunami. Many coastal communities subject to tsunami located in other parts of the country also have the same issue. In these cases, the only feasible alternative is vertical evacuation, using specially designed, constructed and designated structures built to resist both tsunami and earthquake loads. The design of such structures was the focus of the earlier work on this project, which resulted in the FEMA publication, Guidelines for Design of Structures for Vertical Evacuation from Tsunamis (FEMA P646). This is a companion publication intended to present information on how vertical evacuation design guidance can be used and encouraged at the state and local level. It is meant to help state and local government officials and interested citizens by providing them with the information they would need to address the tsunami hazard in their community, to help determine if vertical evacuation is an option they should consider, and if so, how to fund, design and build such a refuge.

This book provides background information and educational materials to help state officials promote the adoption and enforcement of state and local model building codes that contain the latest seismic provisions. These codes can reduce the damage that will inevitably occur when future earthquakes strike at-risk parts of the country. This book is intended for state officials, especially for earthquake program managers and hazard mitigation officers in the emergency management agencies of the states and territories prone to earthquakes. It is designed to help you convince your state and local governments that codes are effective, inexpensive, and a good investment for the future of our communities. Chapters 2 and 3 of this book contain background material on the purpose, function, and effectiveness of building codes in general and seismic codes in particular. Chapters 3,4, and 5 describe step-by-step processes for adopting state or local codes and for administering codes. Several appendices contain: the history and principles of seismic design, current seismic design practices in the United States, examples of state building code requirements, examples of state legislation, examples of local code Administration, the services of the three model code organizations in the United States, sources of further information and addresses, recommended readings, educational material for making local presentations, sample press releases for the media, sample brochures aimed at local audiences, a glossary of relevant terms.

This volume of selected readings and the handbook it accompanies have been developed to provide participants in the building process at the local, state, and regional levels with the information they need to adequately address the potential effects on their communities of using new or improved seismic safety design provisions in the development of regulations for new buildings. It represents one product of an ongoing program conducted by the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A brief description of this program is presented below so that readers of the handbook and these selected readings can approach their use with a fuller understanding of their purpose and limitations. In the chapters included in the handbook: The potential impacts identified by the committee are described. Information sources and data bases that may be able to provide communities with general as well as specific information and guidance are listed. General terms related to earthquakes are defined and the modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) scale and the Richter magnitude scale are described. In this accompanying volume of selected readings, the committee has assembled a series of papers that address various aspects of the seismic safety issue. A number of these papers were prepared specifically for the BSSC study and several were presented at the BSSC committee meetings with building process participants. Several other papers were originally presented at a 1984 FEMA workshop but were not published. Included are: An estimate of the impact of the NEHRP Recommended Provisions on design and construction costs developed for the BSSC study; Descriptions of the seismic hazard in various areas of the United States developed for the BSSC study; Explanations of seismic safety codes; Descriptions of current seismic hazard mitigation practices and programs; A description of recent seismic safety policy research developed for the BSSC study; A summary of the BSSC committee meetings with building process participants in Charleston, Memphis, St. Louis, and Seattle; A relatively extensive set of references.

Early on the morning of 4th September 2010, a series of seismic events began to unfold in Christchurch, New Zealand. They would eventually take 185 lives and directly affect hundreds of thousands of men, women and children. This book is a compilation of stories from some of these people. Preschoolers, teenagers, families, and retirees tell of the impact of the ongoing earthquakes and aftershocks, the emotional and physical toll they exacted, and their hope for a new Christchurch. They reflect the incredible resilience the people of Canterbury have shown throughout this devastating time. Some of the stories are poignant, some humorous, some shocking and some sad. All of them are from the heart and deserve to be heard. Magnitude 7.1 & 6.3 was put together by Debbie Roome who is an award-winning novelist and freelance writer with 25 years experience.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, works to reduce the ever-increasing cost that disasters inflict on the nation. Preventing losses before they occur by designing and constructing buildings and their components to withstand anticipated forces from various hazards is one of the key components of mitigation and is one of the most effective ways of reducing the cost of future disasters. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is the federal program established to address the nation's earthquake threat. NEHRP seeks to resolve two basic issues: how will earthquakes affect us and how do we best apply our resources to reduce their impact on our nation. The program was established by Congress under the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-124) and was the result of years of examination of the earthquake hazard and possible mitigation measures. Under the NEHRP, FEMA is responsible for supporting program implementation activities, including the development, publication, and dissemination of technical design and construction guidance documents. Generally, there has not been much technical guidance addressing residential buildings unless they are located in areas of high seismicity or exceed a certain size or height. This is because most residential buildings were thought to perform fairly well in earthquakes due to their low mass and simple construction. While buildings may not normally experience catastrophic collapse, they can still suffer significant amounts of damage, rendering them uninhabitable. This is especially true when construction techniques are less than adequate. What is particularly important from FEMA's point of view is that, given the sheer number of this type of building, even minor damage represents a significant loss potential and temporary housing demand that will need to be addressed after an earthquake by all levels of government. This guide provides information on current best practices for earthquake-resistant house design and construction for use by builders, designers, code enforcement personnel, and potential homeowners. It incorporates lessons learned from the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes as well as knowledge gained from the FEMA-funded CUREE-Caltech Woodframe Project. It also introduces and explains the effects of earthquake loads on one- and two-family detached houses and identifies the requirements of the 2003 International Residential Code (IRC) intended to resist these loads. The stated purpose of the IRC is to provide: ..". minimum requirements to safeguard the public safety, health, and general welfare, through affordability, structural strength, means of egress facilities, stability, sanitation, light and ventilation, energy conservation and safety to life and property from fire and other hazards attributed to the built environment." Because the building code requirements are minimums, a house and its contents still may be damaged in an earthquake even if it was designed and built to comply with the code. Research has shown, however, that earthquake damage to a house can be reduced for a relatively small increase in construction cost. This guide identifies above-code techniques for improving earthquake performance and presents an estimate of their cost. Note that the information presented in this guide is not intended to replace the IRC or any applicable state or local building code, and the reader is urged to consult with the local building department before applying any of the guidance presented in this document. The information presented in this guide applies only to one- and two-family detached houses constructed using the nonengineered prescriptive construction provisions of the IRC. Applicable IRC limits on building configuration and construction are described.

Earthquakes represent an enormous threat to the Nation. Although damaging earthquakes occur infrequently, their consequences can be staggering. As recent earthquakes around the world have demonstrated, high population densities and development pressures, particularly in urban areas, are increasingly vulnerable. Unacceptably high loss of life and enormous economic consequences are associated with recent global earthquakes, and it is only a matter of time before the United States faces a similar experience. Earthquakes cannot be prevented, but their impacts can be managed to a large degree so that loss to life and property can be reduced. To this end, the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) seeks to mitigate earthquake losses in the U.S. through both basic and directed research and implementation activities in the fields of earthquake science and engineering. This program is authorized and funded by Congress and is managed as a collaborative effort among the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). These four Federal organizations work in close coordination to improve the Nation's understanding of earthquake hazards and to mitigate their effects. The missions of the four agencies are complementary: FEMA, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, works with states, local governments, and the public to develop tools and improve policies and practices that reduce earthquake losses; NIST enables technology innovation in earthquake engineering by working with industry to remove technical barriers, evaluate advanced technologies, and develop the measurement and prediction tools underpinning performance standards for buildings and lifelines; NSF strives to advance fundamental knowledge in earthquake engineering, earth science processes, and societal preparedness and response to earthquakes; and USGS monitors earthquakes, assesses seismic hazard for the Nation, and researches the basic earth science processes controlling earthquake occurrence and effects. Mindful of the increasing threat posed by earthquakes, NEHRP initiated a review of the scientific goals and strategies of the Program and a discussion of the opportunities and priorities for the five-year interval 2001-2005. This review and discussion culminated in the new strategic plan presented here. Shaping the plan are four goals that represent the continuum of activities in the Program, ranging from research and development to application and implementation. These four goals are as follows: A. Develop effective practices and policies for earthquake loss-reduction and accelerate their implementation. B. Improve techniques to reduce seismic vulnerability of facilities and systems. C. Improve seismic hazard identification and risk assessment methods and their use. D. Improve the understanding of earthquakes and their effects.

Earthquakes, especially major ones, are dangerous, inevitable, and a fact of life in some parts of the United States. Sooner or later another "big one" will occur. Earthquakes: Occur without warning; Can be deadly and extremely destructive; Can occur at any time. As a current or potential owner of a home, you should be very concerned about the potential danger to not only yourselves and your loved ones, but also to your property. The major threats posed by earthquakes are bodily injuries and property damage, which can be considerable and even catastrophic. Most of the property damage caused by earthquakes ends up being handled and paid for by the homeowner. In a 2000 study titled HAZUS 99: Average Annual Earthquake Losses for the United States, FEMA estimated U.S. losses from earthquakes at $4.4 billion per year. Large earthquakes in or near major urban centers will disrupt the local economy and can disrupt the economy of an entire state. However, proper earthquake preparation of your home can: Save lives; Reduce injuries; Reduce property damage. As a homeowner, you can significantly reduce damage to your home by fixing a number of known and common weaknesses. This booklet is a good start to begin strengthening your home against earthquake damage. It describes: Common weaknesses that can result in your home being damaged by earthquakes, and Steps you can take to correct these weaknesses. There are no guarantees of safety during earthquakes, but properly constructed and strengthened homes are far less likely to collapse or be damaged during earthquakes. FEMA advises you to act on the suggestions outlined in this booklet and make yourself, your family, and your home safer.

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The Great Irish Famine of 1845-52 was the defining event in the history of modern Ireland. At least one million people died, and double that number fled the country within a decade. The Great Irish Famine surveys the history of this great tragedy through the testimonies of four key contemporaries, conveying the immediacy of the unfolding disaster as never before. They are: John MacHale-the Catholic Archbishop of Tuam John Mitchel-the radical nationalist Elizabeth Smith-the Scottish-born wife of a Wicklow landlord Charles E. Trevelyan-the assistant secretary to the Treasury Each brings a unique perspective, influenced by who they were, what they witnessed, and what they stood for. It is an intimate and compelling portrayal of these hungry years. The book shows how misguided policies inspired by slavish adherence to ideology worsened the effects of a natural disaster of catastrophic proportions. Reviews: 'A significant and sophisticated addition to the historiography of the Famine' - Christopher Cusack, Times Literary Supplement 'Delaney's approach to the story is innovative ... (it will be found) in the hands of those who appreciate first-rate history...a very impressive book'- Breandan Mac Suibhne, Dublin Review of Books ' ... a genuinely original and illuminating perspective on a subject too often dealt with by means of second-hand narrative and unexamined cliches.' - Roy Foster, Professor of Irish History, Oxford University 'There are many books on this terrible event, but this is one of the most fluent and original. Although it is based on large amounts of primary research its style is accessible and engaging, and the result is a valuable study of a truly harrowing crisis'. - The Times Higher Education Supplement '... an extraordinarily important subject ... focusing on four fascinating characters' - Ryan Tubridy 'Delaney offers an insinghtful, readable overview of this overwhelming disaster ... highly recommended.' - 'Choice', America's Library Association publication 'Enda Delaney's The Great Irish Famine: A History in Four Lives does not break fresh ground in research, but it is riveting, insightful and pacy, and, far from appearing tired, it invigorates standard historical methodology.' - Niamh O'Sullivan, The Irish Times

This report, FEMA-351 - Recommended Seismic Evaluation and Upgrade Criteria for Existing Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings has been developed by the SAC Joint Venture under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide structural engineers with recommended criteria for evaluation of the probable performance of existing steel moment-frame buildings in future earthquakes and to provide a basis for updating and revision of evaluation and rehabilitation guidelines and standards. It is one of a series of companion publications addressing the issue of the seismic performance of steel moment-frame buildings. The set of companion publications includes: FEMA-350 - Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommended criteria, supplemental to FEMA-302 - 1997 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures, for the design and construction of steel moment-frame buildings and provides alternative performance-based design criteria. FEMA-351 - Recommended Seismic Evaluation and Upgrade Criteria for Existing Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommended methods to evaluate the probable performance of existing steel moment-frame buildings in future earthquakes and to retrofit these buildings for improved performance. FEMA-352 - Recommended Postearthquake Evaluation and Repair Criteria for Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommendations for performing postearthquake inspections to detect damage in steel moment-frame buildings following an earthquake, evaluating the damaged buildings to determine their safety in the postearthquake environment, and repairing damaged buildings. FEMA-353 - Recommended Specifications and Quality Assurance Guidelines for Steel Moment-Frame Construction for Seismic Applications. This publication provides recommended specifications for the fabrication and erection of steel moment frames for seismic applications. The recommended design criteria contained in the other companion documents are based on the material and workmanship standards contained in this document, which also includes discussion of the basis for the quality control and quality assurance criteria contained in the recommended specifications. The information contained in these recommended evaluation and upgrade criteria, hereinafter referred to as Recommended Criteria, is presented in the form of specific recommendations for design and performance evaluation procedures together with supporting commentary explaining part of the basis for these recommendations.

This report, FEMA-353 - Recommended Specifications and Quality Assurance Guidelines for Steel Moment-Frame Construction for Seismic Applications has been prepared by the SAC Joint Venture, under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to indicate those standards of workmanship for structural steel fabrication and erection deemed necessary to achieve reliably the design performance objectives contained in the set of companion publications prepared under this same contract: FEMA-350 - Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings, which provides recommended criteria, supplemental to FEMA-302, 1997 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures, for the design and construction of steel moment-frame buildings and provides alternative performance-based design criteria; FEMA-351 - Recommended Seismic Evaluation and Upgrade Criteria for Existing Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings, which provides recommended methods to evaluate the probable performance of existing steel moment-frame buildings in future earthquakes and to retrofit these buildings for improved performance; and FEMA-352 - Recommended Postearthquake Evaluation and Repair Criteria for Welded, Steel Moment-Frame Buildings, which provides recommendations for performing postearthquake inspections to detect damage in steel moment-frame buildings following an earthquake, evaluating the damaged buildings to determine their safety in the postearthquake environment, and repairing damaged buildings. The recommended design criteria contained in these three companion reports are based on the material and workmanship standards contained in this document, which also includes discussion of the basis for the quality control and quality assurance criteria contained in the recommended specifications.

Since earthquake shaking is possible almost everywhere in the United States, earthquake safety should be practiced by everyone. There is a great deal that you and your students can do to take care of yourselves during and after an earthquake. The lessons in this booklet cover planning, preparation, practice, and more practice. The classroom activities are designed for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. We provided teaching notes; "Learning Links" summarizing interdisciplinary connections; and a set of masters ready to reproduce for transparencies, handouts, and worksheets. Students find the topic of earthquakes fascinating. Their fascination may contain an element of fear, like the fear that arises in teaching fire safety. That fear can be reduced by reminding them that they are learning how to take care of themselves if an earthquake happens. Parents' fears may also need to be addressed. Let your students know that fear is a normal reaction to any danger. Make your message clear: We can't do anything to prevent earthquakes, but we can prepare ourselves to cope with them. We can help ourselves and others to do many things that will make our homes and schools safer. This publication provides ready-to-use, hands-on activities for students and teachers explaining what happens during an earthquake, how to prepare for earthquake shaking, and how to stay safe during and after an earthquake. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Science Teachers Association have also prepared Earthquake: A Teacher's Package for K-6, which includes hands-on classroom activities to support all elementary subject areas: creative writing, art, mathematics, social studies, and science. Known as Tremor Troop, this publication contains matrices that link the classroom activities to the National Science Education Standards. For middle and high school teachers, FEMA and the American Geophysical Union have prepared Earthquake: A Teacher's Package for Grades 7-12. Classroom activities are described, and activity sheets for students and background material for teachers are provided in each of the volume's six units. Known as Seismic Sleuths, this publication also contains matrices that link the classroom activities to the National Science Education Standards.

The purpose of this manual is to assist interested states, coalitions of states, or confederations of local governments to develop and nurture seismic safety advisory boards. The first part contains "how-to" tips and advice to assist states that already have such panels in upgrading their advisory boards. The second part of the manual contains advice on strategic planning for improving seismic safety. Specifically, it includes guidelines for developing a model seismic risk management program by which to gauge progress. A seismic advisory board is a multi-disciplinary panel composed of volunteers with expertise in fields related to earthquakes and preparation for and response to earthquakes, such as earth sciences, engineering, emergency services, local government, social services, and public policy. They are drawn from the private sector, academia, and government. The board's functions are to: advise, the legislature and administrative agencies; advocate earthquake programs; promote improvements to seismic safety and procedures; identify seismic hazards; coordinate plans and actions of responsible agencies, programs, and government levels; gather, integrate, and transfer information from a wide range of sources; plan for the long-term implementation, review, and maintenance of seismic safety programs. The need for seismic safety advisory boards and for model seismic risk management programs is based on the following assumptions: A damaging earthquake can occur with little or no warning. With each passing year, the potential for one increases; Positive, goal-oriented leadership is a prerequisite to starting an effective advisory board; Organizations at many levels of government and in the private sector have responsibilities in seismic safety. The boar can help develop comprehensive and consistent programs for seismic safety and risk management; earthquakes can cause extensive property damage and endanger lives, but this risk can be reduced and managed by prudent policies for locating and designing structures; managing earthquake risks has collateral benefits, bringing about improved buildings, dams, transportation facilities, building stock, communications, fire safety, toxic materials management, and emergency response; concerted efforts bring long-term progress toward seismic safety. This manual is meant to help in the creation of a seismic safety advisory board - either as an autonomous agency or as part of an existing entity. It proved advice gained from dealing with existing hazards and offers options to consider when establishing a new board or revitalizing an existing board to meet the unique needs of a region.

This report, FEMA-352 - Recommended Postearthquake Evaluation and Repair Criteria for Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings, has been developed by the SAC Joint Venture under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide communities and organizations developing programs for the assessment, occupancy status, and repair of welded steel moment-frame buildings that have been subjected to the effects of strong earthquake ground shaking. It is one of a series of companion publications addressing the issue of the seismic performance of steel moment-frame buildings. The set of companion publications includes: FEMA-350 - Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommended criteria, supplemental to FEMA 302 - 1997 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and other Structures, for the design and construction of steel moment-frame buildings and provides alternative performance-based design criteria. FEMA-351 - Recommended Seismic Evaluation and Upgrade Criteria for Existing Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommended methods to evaluate the probable performance of existing steel moment-frame buildings in future earthquakes and to retrofit these buildings for improved performance. FEMA-352 - Recommended Postearthquake Evaluation and Repair Criteria for Welded Steel Moment-Frame Buildings. This publication provides recommendations for performing postearthquake inspections to detect damage in steel moment-frame buildings following an earthquake, evaluating the damaged buildings to determine their safety in the postearthquake environment, and repairing damaged buildings. FEMA-353 - Recommended Specifications and Quality Assurance Guidelines for Steel Moment-Frame Construction for Seismic Applications. This publication provides recommended specifications for the fabrication and erection of steel moment frames for seismic applications. The recommended design criteria contained in the other companion documents are based on the material and workmanship standards contained in this document, which also includes discussion of the basis for the quality control and quality assurance criteria contained in the recommended specifications. The information contained in these recommended postearthquake damage assessment and repair criteria, hereinafter referred to as Recommended Criteria, is presented in the form of specific damage assessment, safety evaluation and repair procedures together with supporting commentary explaining part of the basis for these recommendations.

Lifelines (e.g., systems and facilities that deliver energy fuel and systems and facilities that provide key services such as water and sewage, transportation, and communications are defined as lifelines) are presently being sited in "utility or transportation corridors" to reduce their right-of-way environmental, aesthetic, and cost impacts on the communities that rely upon them. The individual lifelines are usually designed, constructed, and modified throughout their service life. This results in different standards and siting criteria being applied to segments of the same lifeline, and also to different standards or siting criteria being applied to the separate lifelines systems within a single corridor. Presently, the siting review usually does not consider the impact of proximity or collocation of the lifelines on their individual risk or vulnerability to natural or manmade hazards or disasters. This is either because the other lifelines have not yet been installed or because such a consideration has not been identified as being an important factor for such an evaluation. There have been cases when some lifeline collocations have increased the levels of damage experienced during an accident or an earthquake. For example, water line ruptures during earthquakes have led to washouts which have caused foundation damage to nearby facilities. In southern California a railroad accident (transportation lifeline) led to the subsequent failure of a collocated fuel pipeline, and the resulting fire caused considerable property damage and loss of life. Loss of electric power has restricted, and sometimes failed, the ability to provide water and sewer services or emergency fire fighting capabilities. In response to these types of situations, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is examining the use of such corridors, and FEMA initiated this study to examine the impact of siting multiple lifeline systems in confined and at-risk areas. The overall FEMA project goals are to develop managerial tools that can be used to increase the understanding of the lifeline systems' vulnerabilities and to help identify potential mitigation approaches that could be used to reduce those vulnerabilities. Another program goal is to identify methods to enhance the transfer of the resulting information to lifeline system providers, designers, builders, managers, operators, users, and regulators. This report presents the analytic methods developed to define the collocation impacts and the resulting analyses of the seismic and geologic environmental loads on the collocated lifelines in the Cajon Pass. The assumed earthquake event is similar to the 8.3 magnitude, San Andreas fault, Ft. Tejon earthquake of 1857. In this, report a new analysis method is developed and applied to identify the increase in the vulnerability of the individual lifeline systems due to their proximity to other lifelines in the Cajon Pass. A third reports presents an executive summary of the study. The Cajon Pass Lifeline Inventory report and this present report taken together provide a specific example of how the new analysis method can be applied to a real lifeline corridor situation.

In December 2004 the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated coastal regions of Sri Lanka. Six months later, Michele Ruth Gamburd returned to the village where she had been conducting research for many years and began collecting residents' stories of the disaster and its aftermath: the chaos and loss of the flood itself; the sense of community and leveling of social distinctions as people worked together to recover and regroup; and the local and national politics of foreign aid as the country began to rebuild. In The Golden Wave, Gamburd describes how the catastrophe changed social identities, economic dynamics, and political structures.

Recent decades have seen a dramatic earthquake related losses. In the past ten years estimated losses were twenty times larger than in the previous 30 years combined. FEMAs expenditures related to earthquake losses have become an increasing percentage of its disaster assistance budget. Predictions are that future single earthquakes, which will inevitably occur, may result in losses of $50-100 billion each. Losses are rising due to several factors. These include: a denser population of buildings being located in seismically active regions. an aging building stock and the increasing cost of business interruption. Nonstructural and contents damage are also large contributors to loss, especially in regions with high-technology manufacturing and health-care industries. It is this increase in losses from all hazards that has led FEMA to support actions to reduce future losses. One of these is Project Impact, an initiative to encourage loss reduction activities through partnerships at the local community level. One of the key components of Project Impact is the community's adoption and enforcement of an adequate building code. Performance Based Seismic Design (PBSD) is a methodology that provides a means to more reliably predict seismic risk in all buildings in terms more useful to building users. PBSD will benefit nearly all building users. The PBSD methodology will be used by code writers to develop building codes that more accurately and consistently reflect the minimum standards desired by the community. A performance based design option in the code will facilitate design of buildings to higher standards and will allow rapid implementation of innovative technology. When performance levels are tied to probable losses in a reliability framework, the building design process can be tied into owner's long-term capital planning strategies, as well as numerical life cycle cost models. PBSD is not limited to the design of new buildings. With it, existing facilities can be evaluated and/or retrofitted to reliable performance objectives. Sharing the common framework of PBSD, existing buildings and new buildings can be compared equitably. It is expected that a rating system will develop to replace the currently used Probable Maximum Loss (PML) system. Such a system is highly desirable to owners, tenants, insurers, lenders, and others involved with building financial transactions. Despite its inconsistency and lack of transparency, the PML system is widely used and a poor rating often creates the financial incentive needed for retrofit decisions. This Action Plan presents a rational and cost effective approach by which building stakeholders: owners, financial institutions, engineers, architects, contractors, researchers, the public and governing agencies, will be able to move to a performance based design and evaluation system. The Plan recognizes that there is a strong demand from stakeholder groups for more reliable, quantifiable and practical means to control building damage. It also recognizes that there is not a focused understanding among these groups as to how these goals can be obtained. This Plan describes how performance based seismic design guidelines can be developed and used to achieve these goals. It will be a vehicle to bring together the diverse sets of demands from within the stakeholder groups and distill them into cohesive and practical guidelines. It engages each of the groups in the development these guidelines, by which future building design will become more efficient and reliable.

One of the activities authorized by the Dam Safety and Security Act of 2002 is research to enhance the Nation's ability to assure that adequate dam safety programs and practices are in place throughout the United States. The Act of 2002 states that the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in cooperation with the National Dam Safety Review Board (Review Board), shall carry out a program of technical and archival research to develop and support: improved techniques, historical experience, and equipment for rapid and effective dam construction, rehabilitation, and inspection; devices for continued monitoring of the safety of dams; development and maintenance of information resources systems needed to support managing the safety of dams; and initiatives to guide the formulation of effective policy and advance improvements in dam safety engineering, security, and management. With the funding authorized by the Congress, the goal of the Review Board and the Dam Safety Research Work Group (Work Group) is to encourage research in those areas expected to make significant contributions to improving the safety and security of dams throughout the United States. The Work Group (formerly the Research Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety) met initially in February 1998. To identify and prioritize research needs, the Subcommittee sponsored a workshop on Research Needs in Dam Safety in Washington D.C. in April 1999. Representatives of state and federal agencies, academia, and private industry attended the workshop. Seventeen broad area topics related to the research needs of the dam safety community were identified. To more fully develop the research needs identified, the Research Subcommittee subsequently sponsored a series of nine workshops. Each workshop addressed a broad research topic (listed) identified in the initial workshop. Experts attending the workshops included international representatives as well as representatives of state, federal, and private organizations within the United States: Impacts of Plants and Animals on Earthen Dams; Risk Assessment for Dams; Spillway Gates; Seepage through Embankment Dams; Embankment Dam Failure Analysis; Hydrologic Issues for Dams; Dam Spillways; Seismic Issues for Dams; Dam Outlet Works. Based on the research workshops, research topics have been proposed and pursued. Several topics have progressed to products of use to the dam safety community, such as technical manuals and guidelines. For future research, it is the goal of the Work Group to expand dam safety research to other institutions and professionals performing research in this field. The proceedings from the research workshops present a comprehensive and detailed discussion and analysis of the research topics addressed by the experts participating in the workshops. The participants at all of the research workshops are to be commended for their diligent and highly professional efforts on behalf of the National Dam Safety Program. The National Dam Safety Program research needs workshop on Outlet Works was held on May 25-27, 2004, in Denver, Colorado. The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, would like to acknowledge the contributions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrologic Engineering Center, which was responsible for the development of the technical program, coordination of the workshop, and development of these workshop proceedings.

One of the activities authorized by the Dam Safety and Security Act of 2002 is research to enhance the Nation's ability to assure that adequate dam safety programs and practices are in place throughout the United States. The Act of 2002 states that the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in cooperation with the National Dam Safety Review Board (Review Board), shall carry out a program of technical and archival research to develop and support: improved techniques, historical experience, and equipment for rapid and effective dam construction, rehabilitation, and inspection; devices for continued monitoring of the safety of dams; development and maintenance of information resources systems needed to support managing the safety of dams; and initiatives to guide the formulation of effective policy and advance improvements in dam safety engineering, security, and management. With the funding authorized by the Congress, the goal of the Review Board and the Dam Safety Research Work Group (Work Group) is to encourage research in those areas expected to make significant contributions to improving the safety and security of dams throughout the United States. The Work Group (formerly the Research Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety) met initially in February 1998. To identify and prioritize research needs, the Subcommittee sponsored a workshop on Research Needs in Dam Safety in Washington D.C. in April 1999. Representatives of state and federal agencies, academia, and private industry attended the workshop. Seventeen broad area topics related to the research needs of the dam safety community were identified. To more fully develop the research needs identified, the Research Subcommittee subsequently sponsored a series of nine workshops. Each workshop addressed a broad research topic (listed) identified in the initial workshop. Experts attending the workshops included international representatives as well as representatives of state, federal, and private organizations within the United States: Impacts of Plants and Animals on Earthen Dams; Risk Assessment for Dams; Spillway Gates; Seepage through Embankment Dams; Embankment Dam Failure Analysis; Hydrologic Issues for Dams; Dam Spillways; Seismic Issues for Dams; Dam Outlet Works. The proceedings from the research workshops present a comprehensive and detailed discussion and analysis of the research topics addressed by the experts participating in the workshops. The participants at all of the research workshops are to be commended for their diligent and highly professional efforts on behalf of the National Dam Safety Program. The National Dam Safety Program research needs workshop on Seepage through Embankment Dams was held on October 17-19, 2000, in Denver, Colorado. The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials and URS Corporation in organizing the workshop and developing these workshop proceedings.