May 11, 2007 Beckman Institute Auditorium Welcome!

This year is the 150th anniversary of the last great San Andreas earthquake in Southern California, the magnitude 7.9 Fort Tejon earthquake that shook the entire region. Prominent scientists are nervous about the potential for a repeat of another great earthquake on the San Andreas fault. Their concern is shared by emergency managers and others, who all fear major loss of life and property, especially lifelines, unless we take action now to be ready. Hurricane Katrina showed the the results of failing to be ready for a regional catastrophe and what can happen when a megadisaster pushes our resources to the limit.

Our May meeting continued a series of discussions focused on the plans for the "Southern California Earthquake Scenario: Threat to Lifelines M7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas Fault". The meeting provided a forum for lifelines, emergency responders and the scientific community to openly discuss and share information and concerns to better understand the potential consequences of a large rupture on the southernmost portion of the San Andreas fault. Our meeting focused on:

• Getting people connected- exploring and discussing how lifelines are interdependent on one another.
• Gathering information in order to create the best picture possible of what could realistically happen.
• Encouraging each organization to participate in the November 2008 ShakeOut with their own concurrent emergency exercise.

Together we can attempt to identify possible gaps that may exist in our present mitigation plans and take action now to be ready thus preventing a disaster from becoming a catastrophe.

To view PDFs of each presentation, please follow the links below:

So. Cal. Earthquake Scenario and Overview of the 2008 "ShakeOut" Excercise
Ken Hudnut, USGS, Pasadena

Seismic Vulnerability of Lifelines: Then and Now
Mike Mahoney, Senior Geophysicist, DHS/FEMA Mitigation Division

How Private Sector Utilities use Proprietary Information
The Public and Private Partnership and what the CUEA is Working to Accomplish
Don Boland, CUEA, Executive Director

Imported Water Supply Infrastructure- Mitigation Strategy
Shane Chapman, Assistant Manager of Water Systems Operations, MWD

Critical Facilities and Earthquakes: Managing Risk of Operational Failures
Keith Porter, Caltech, Engineering

Our Agenda is available in pdf format here.
Click here to view a pdf of the Dare to Prepare campaign's mission statement.

The ERA would like to thank all of our speakers and members for their participation and contributions to these vital aspects of emergency preparedness. We will be distributing follow-up materials to meeting attendees shortly. Our next meeting will be held in October, 2007.