Protecting Washington Schools from Damaging Earthquakes
Washington State is earthquake country. Hazardous earthquake shaking can pose a variety of risks for school buildings and the people inside them. In this presentation, we will discuss the types of earthquakes that we should expect to experience, and the concrete steps schools can take to protect their occupants before, during, and after shaking. We will also cover the publicly funded ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system, and how it can be used to automatically alert people through PA systems.
About the Presenters
Gabriel Lotto is an earthquake scientist at the University of Washington’s Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. He works to raise awareness of how individuals and organizations can use the publicly-funded ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system to increase their resilience against damaging earthquakes.
Bill Steele has directed the Educational Outreach and Communications Program for the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) at the University of Washington, since 1993. He works closely with news reporters and filmmakers to provide hazards information and coordinate scientist involvement in development accurate and interesting news reports and documentaries.
Bill also serves as the Washington State Regional Coordinator for ShakeAlert. He collaborates with companies and public agencies to identify opportunities to implement automated loss reduction actions triggered by ShakeAlert. He is also working to document how EEW can be used to reduce injuries and economic losses during an earthquake and speed recovery.