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The Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance Invites You to a Public Briefing on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 Sponsored by the Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, and Seismological Society of America In cooperation with the Congressional Hazards Caucus: Senators Mary Landrieu, Lisa Murkowski, and Ben Nelson, and Agenda Over 5 million people participated in the Great Southern California ShakeOut, the largest disaster preparedness drill in U.S. history. The briefing will feature the science behind the ShakeOut and changes that are taking place to strengthen infrastructure and improve emergency response. Panelists: Lucile Jones, Chief Scientist, Multi Hazards Project, U.S. Geological Survey Gary Sturdivan, Emergency Manager, East Valley Water District, San Bernardino, California Stephen Sellers, Assistant Secretary for Prevention, Operations and Recovery, California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) Last November, over 5 million people participated in the Great Southern California ShakeOut, making it the largest disaster preparedness drill in U.S. history. This briefing will feature the science behind the ShakeOut and the implementation of the ShakeOut to strengthen infrastructure and improve emergency response. Speakers will share some of the keys to success including a broad-based outreach program, media engagement, and public advocacy by hundreds of partners. A comprehensive science-based earthquake scenario helped make the hazard real to people, and communication approaches that applied decades of social science research helped get them to be better prepared. Even more important than the event itself has been the changes that have been taking place to strengthen resilience before disaster strikes, with steps being taken by communities, critical infrastructure operators and emergency managers. A statewide ShakeOut exercise is planned for October 15, 2009, in what is hoped will become an annual exercise. And work is underway on a statewide scenario for a catastrophic winter storm, taking the lessons of ShakeOut to a new set of hazards. Sponsors
The Hazards Caucus Alliance, an informal network of organizations concerned about reducing the risk of hazards, invites your participation in this public briefing and in future Caucus events. For more information about the Caucus, the Alliance or future events, please contact Maeve Boland 703-379-2480 ext. 228; boland@agiweb.org. Contributed by Corina Cerovski-Darriau, Government Affairs Staff. Posted July 16, 2009; Updated August 4, 2009 Please send any comments or questions about this web site to Maeve Boland. |
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