National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Hearing
April 10, 1997
On April 10, 1997, the Science, Space and Technology
Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and
Transportation Committee held a hearing on the National
Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).
The subcommittee heard testimony from witnesses from
each of the agencies participating in NEHRP: Richard
Krimm, Federal Emergency Management Administration;
Dr. Robert Hebner, National Institute for Standards
and Technology; Dr. M. Christina Gabriel, National
Science Foundation; and Dr. P. Patrick Leahy, U.S.
Geological Survey; and from Dr. Arch Johnston, Center
for Earthquake Research and Information, University
of Memphis.
Dr. Johnston opened the hearing by noting that despite
popular conceptions that earthquakes are a West Coast
phenomenon, the three largest earthquakes in the U.S.
-- Charleston, New Madrid, and Cape Anne - occurred
in the central or eastern part of the country. People
need to be aware that nearly 40 states are potential
candidates for major earthquakes.
Dr. Richard Krimm, Federal Emergency Management Administration
(FEMA) emphasized that reducing risks to life and
property from earthquakes was a major FEMA goal. The
Northridge earthquake caused $40 billion in damage.
Studies of structures after the Northridge earthquake
identified 200 steel frame buildings that failed to
perform as designed. A major goal of FEMA is to provide
information that can be used to make disaster resistant
communities.
Dr. Robert Hebner noted that NIST supports a number
of activities to evaluate the design and construction
of new buildings, as well as assessments on retrofitting
existing structures to make them more resistant to
earthquake damage.
The U.S.G.S., according to Dr. Patrick Leahy, has undertaken
major programs to provide state and local governments
with accurate information about potential seismic
activity by region. This includes use of the Global
Positioning System to continuously monitor fault movements
and improved tsunami warning.
Dr. Chris Gabriel of the National Science Foundation,
discussed NSF's role in research and knowledge creation,
both at the Southern California Earthquake Center
and the National Center for Earthquake Engineering
Research, headquartered at Buffalo. Research supported
at these centers has resulted in new vulnerability
evaluation methods, active control systems, and increased
public awareness of earthquake hazards in the eastern
U.S.
Questions following the testimony focused on strategies
that would be useful in using the knowledge gained
from NEHRP to actually reduce the effect of earthquakes.
Human nature works against people voluntarily taking
actions to prevent or minimize vague future disasters
such as floods or earthquakes, said Sen. Rockefeller,
How can we change that?
Witnesses noted that the information generated by research
was available and often used in building codes and
by the insurance industry, but the decision to implement
those codes or to build in or retrofit structures
for earthquake resistance were voluntary and based
on cost-benefit analysis that factored in the relatively
rare occurrence of earthquakes. All this is complicated
by the media's attention to bogus predictions of major
earthquakes that are not based on solid research.
The hearing ended with a whimper rather than a bang,
and no one felt the earth move.
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