Earthquake Hazard Mitigation: The Need for Human Resources Development and Research

Most of California's population and industry are located in zones of high seismicity, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimated that a 7.5 to 8.3 Richter magnitude earthquake in an urban area could cause up to $60 billion in damage (1). Such an earthquake could cripple the state's public and private economies, and, as California's economy is the sixth largest in the world, have a negative effect on the world market. Building practices in California offer only minimal protection from seismic damage, however new technologies, such as seismic isolation, can mitigate damage and are becoming available to government and industry. There is a need for design professionals, building officials, planners, and building owners to become aware of these new technologies, and the legal constraints to their use, and incorporate them into practice, and for engineering and architectural educators to include new seismic design technologies in undergraduate curricula.