Seismology without Borders
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Sue Hough
USGS Earthquake Science Center
- Date & Time
- Location
- Online-only seminar via Microsoft Teams
- Summary
Although the USGS does not have a Congressional mandate to assess earthquake hazards outside of the U.S. and its territories, USGS scientists are often called to contribute technical expertise to US government (USG) earthquake response efforts in other countries. The recent M7.2 Nippes earthquake in Haiti illustrates how USGS science can be critical for USAID and other USG response, and provide technical support to international partner agencies. Earthquake Disaster Assistance Team missions, when appropriate, are supported by USAID, and may involve collection of perishable data, capacity development, hazard assessments, etc. The focus of EDAT missions is on immediate hazard assessment and/or capacity development, not science per se. Seismology is however a global field, and a large earthquake anywhere can provide an opportunity to learn about earthquakes everywhere. EDAT projects thus provide both opportunities to contribute geoscience skills in an international arena and broaden one's scientific horizons. In this talk I discuss projects over the last decade in Haiti, Nepal, and Myanmar, including activities following the recent earthquake in Haiti. I will also discuss how international scientists can contribute effectively to sustainable risk reduction activities in other countries.