News Release
Date: September 28, 2013
Contact: Jennifer Reynolds, Media Specialist • (909) 798-8605• jreynolds@sbcm.sbcounty.gov
Kathleen Springer, Senior Curator • (909) 798-8615• kspringer@sbcm.sbcounty.gov
For release: Immediately
Event date: Sunday, September 29, 2013
The Great California ShakeOut: How Natural Hazard Science Creates Resilient Societies
The risk from a national disaster is higher today than at any other time in our nation's history, due to our increasing reliance on technology and communications. Expected losses from natural hazards in the US exceed $3 billion per year. Where does science come in to play in helping to reduce these losses? Kathleen Springer, Senior Curator of Geological Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum, will address this question and more in her lecture, “The Great California ShakeOut: How Natural Hazard Science Creates Resilient Societies,” at the County Museum in Redlands on Sunday, September 29, at 2:00 p.m. The lecture is included with paid museum admission.
“I will illustrate in my lecture that our region straddles the mother of all faults, the mighty San Andreas fault,” said Springer. “This giant gash that slices through California is the boundary between two of the largest tectonic plates on the planet, which in turn makes our area one of the most geologically active regions in North America.”
The science-driven earthquake scenario used in the Great California ShakeOut envisions a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and associated 180-mile long rupture on the southern San Andreas fault. Springer explained that this scenario is “a remarkable teaching tool to promote earthquake awareness and preparedness to the greater community.” Springer’s lecture will focus on the science that went into creating this hypothetical earthquake as well as the ramifications of such a disaster, when (not if) it occurs in southern California. She will highlight how the scientific research of such hazards—their risk and cost of mitigation—effectively leads to informed decision-making, thereby creating a society more resilient to such disasters.
The Great California ShakeOut, a statewide and now annual earthquake drill which teaches that we “Drop, Cover and Hold On” to survive a large magnitude earthquake, will occur at 10:17 a.m. on October 17, 2013. In 2012, with 9.4 million participants, the Great California ShakeOut was the largest earthquake drill in the world.
“The SBCM is the hub of the ‘EPIcenter’ collaborative,” said Springer. “These Earthquake Education and Public Information Centers include other southland museums, parks, and informal science education venues that are committed to promoting earthquake preparedness information.” In addition to the September 29 lecture, this fall Springer is leading two field trips along the San Andreas Fault along with organizing a free public event that will include visitors participating in the ShakeOut drill and Earthquake Safety Fair at the county museum on October 17.
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