2 February 2010
Plans for a briefing on Capitol Hill
Posted by Michael McFadden
The model slip rate deficit, together with the dates of the large historical earthquakes, indicates the potential for a large (MW 7.5 or greater) earthquake on the Septentrional fault in the Dominican Republic. Similarly, the Enriquillo fault in Haiti is currently capable of a MW 7.2 earthquake if the entire elastic strain accumulated since the last major earthquake was released in a single event today.
From Manaker, D., Calais, E., Freed, A., Ali, T., Przybylski, P., Mattioli, G.S., Jansma, P.E., Pre petit, C., deChabalier, J.-B., 2008. Interseismic plate coupling and strain partitioning in the Northeastern Caribbean. Geophys. J. Int. 174 (3), 889-903.
The quote above demonstrates that a wealth of scientific knowledge is available about the potential devastation of natural hazards around the globe. But translating that information to policymakers and the public can be difficult. Not only does science need to be understood and used to create effective policies that help prevent tragedy, but political will needs to be mustered quickly.
Recognizing that there will be other earthquakes—Haiti is located on the boundary between the Caribbean and North American continental plates—AGU is helping scientists communicate information to policymakers.
To help policymakers understand the current and future situation in Haiti and the Caribbean, AGU’s Strategic Communications and Outreach staff is coordinating a briefing on Capitol Hill for congressional members and staff, as well as staff from the State Department, USAID, and international organizations such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Press will be welcome!
Congressional staff has indicated interest in learning about the science of the earthquake as well as future risk in Haiti and the Caribbean. They are also interested in learning how to re-build with earthquake-resistant infrastructure, and in determining whether building codes in Haiti and the region need to be reevaluated. AGU staff is working with other representatives from the Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance to organize the briefing.
By holding this briefing, we hope to get timely, usable science into the hands of policymakers. What other issues do you think should be addressed at this briefing? What would you like to see get special emphasis? Send us your feedback!
—Elizabeth Landau, AGU Senior Public Affairs Coordinator
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.
The potential hazard of the fault systems in Haiti has long been recognized during our 30-year study of Haiti. I have long advocated to not only monitor the fault lines, particularly the TransXaragua Fault system (also called the Enriquillo fault), but to have a close view of the nature of the geologic terranes, which are critical for any future development of the country. The geologic map we completed in the 1980’s clearly shows this crucial aspect in Haiti, and I hope that not just fault slip surveys are considered in future management and policy making on the development of Haiti. Unfortunately it is a beautiful land strictly controlled by its dangerous fault systems and geologic terranes.
Do you have a reference for this work that we can add to a list of papers about this region?
I posed the question on the LinkedIn White House group: Was Haiti preventable? Should the government increase funding for earthquake and geosciences research?
http://bit.ly/btalJu
(If you get the message “Sorry you are not a member of the group you are trying to access.” join the White House Group on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2199632)
Only actionable forecasts of three or four days are of any use to the world’s poor. Slip-rate forecasting simply isn’t of any value where people are too poor to relocate or improve their homes.
http://www.adn.com/news/environment/earthquakes/story/1107324.html
It’s time for the USGS to make common cause with the new discipline of seismo-electromagnetics. True, no one can give the exact epicenter, time and day, but no one can tell whether tornadoes will touch down or not. The predictive technologies available TODAY could have given the people of Haiti, an actionable three- to four-day forecast that quake danger was extremely high.
The Haitian people has my condoloences. The recent earthquake was a tragedy.