Summary Minutes

Nevada Earthquake Safety Council

20 November 1998

The Nevada Earthquake Safety Council met from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on 20 November 1998 on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

Ron Lynn chaired the meeting.

Individuals attending the meeting are members of the Council:

* indicates member of the Board of Directors.
# indicates a representative of a member of the Board.

A quorum of directors (the necessary 11) was present.

Board Members not attending included:

The minutes from the meeting on 21 August 1998 were approved.

The next meeting of the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, February 19, 1999, in Las Vegas. Additional meetings planned include:

Friday, May 21, 1999, in Reno

Friday, August 27, 1999, in Las Vegas

Friday, November 19, 1999, in Reno.

Ron Lynn announced the availability of two recent reports: (1) a technical resources bulletin of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association, titled "Seismic Restraints for Piping Systems," and (2) “Findings and Recommendations of the Residential Buildings - Cripple Wall Subcommittee” of the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and the Structural Engineering Association of Southern California Task Force on Evaluating Damage from the Northridge Earthquake.

Jon Price reported on funding for activities of the Council. Federal fiscal year 1999 funding from FEMA via the Nevada Division of Emergency Management is pending. The following items are being supported with federal fiscal 1998 year-end funding from FEMA, which totaled $93,190.

1. Pilot Community Emergency Response Team program, City of Reno Fire Department

2. Earthquake Awareness, Preparedness, and Mitigation Week activities

3. Reprinting 10,000 copies of the brochure "Earthquakes in Nevada and How to Survive Them"

4. Reprinting 400 copies of "Planning Scenario for a Major Earthquake in Western Nevada"

5. Funding for additional ATC courses in 1999

6. Calendar on Earthquakes for distribution to schools

7. Liquefaction Research - A Pilot Study by Professor Gary Norris

8. Reprinting 10,000 copies of "Earthquakes in Nevada, 1852-1996"

9. Continuation of Seismo-Watch programming on public access cable television in 1998 (covered by DEM with other funds)

10. Preparation and printing of "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country" for the Reno-Carson City area

11. Continuation of Seismo-Watch programming on public access cable television in 1999

12. Telephone monitoring of the effectiveness of the public access cable television broadcasts of Seismo-Watch

13. Seismo-Watch earthquake reports in a rural Nevada newspaper.

Jon Price suggested that Council members and committee chairs begin to think about year-end funding requests that will be due to the Division of Emergency Management by July 1999.

ACTION ITEM: A discussion of projects for possible 1999 federal fiscal year-end funding will be placed on the agenda for the February 19, 1999 Council meeting, and a discussion to set priorities for such funding will be placed on the agenda for the May 21, 1999 Council meeting.

Jim Goodfellow reported on activities of the Division of Emergency Management. He noted that three sources of funds have been allocated for the new All Hazards Mitigation Advisory Committee (AHMAC). Included are $66,200 that can be used for hazard mapping (with a 50/50 match), $30,000 for FEMA Project Impact activities, and $70,000 for hazard mitigation activities. Jim mentioned that the All Hazards Mitigation Advisory Committee is being organized under formal State regulations. DEM is asking, on behalf of the AHMAC, that the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council assist on issues regarding the Uniform Building Code. FEMA is requiring that the State adopt the code by January 1999 and that local governments adopt the code by January 2000.

Jon Price noted that FEMA is about to release a national earthquake risk assessment, and that both the Western States Seismic Policy Council and the Association of American State Geologists have requested that FEMA give the states (particularly the state geologists and directors of emergency management) as much prior notice as possible concerning the contents of the assessment. Jon reported that preliminary versions of the assessment place Nevada fairly high, relative to most other states, in terms of average annual loss to buildings expected from earthquake damage. FEMA is using the U.S. Geological Survey's probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, coupled with FEMA's loss estimation model (the HAZUS program) to conduct this assessment.

ACTION ITEM: The Council should discuss the assessment at a future meeting, as soon as the information is released.

The Council voted unanimously to commend Jon Price for his recent election as Chair of the Western States Seismic Policy Council.

Awareness and Education Committee

Diane dePolo presented a written report of the Education and Awareness Committee (see attachment). Craig dePolo discussed plans for producing "Living with Earthquakes in Nevada," a newspaper supplement similar to "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country," which was produced for California.

ACTION ITEM: There should be an opportunity for a press conference regarding Earthquake Awareness and Preparedness Week during the next Council meeting.

Jim Reagan led the Council in applause commending Diane dePolo for all her efforts in getting various educational activities underway.

Response and Recovery Committee

Bob Cullins reported that approximately 70 people attended the ATC 20 course in Las Vegas, and that an additional course will be offered in December in Reno.

Bob mentioned that the Summerlin community is interested in establishing a Community Emergency Response Team program.

Bob noted that the Search and Rescue Exercise on November 14 in Stead, which Jim Reagan organized, was a resounding success. Later in the meeting Craig dePolo showed photographs from the exercise.

ACTION ITEM: Ron Lynn asked that Terri Garside get copies of the tapes run on TV stations. Channel 3 (NBC) in Las Vegas had most footage; Terri should contact Channel 4 (NBC) in Reno to request a copy of the footage produced by Channel 3 in Las Vegas.

Jim Reagan reported that there will be a full-day earthquake exercise on Wednesday, February 24. It will involve approximately 140 participants and will be held at the Reno Hilton. Some of the funding for the exercise is coming from Project Impact for Sparks. Craig dePolo is the point of contact for the Council; interested individuals should contact Craig.

Jim Goodfellow noted that FEMA has analyzed business losses after the Oklahoma City bombing disaster. Approximately two thirds of the businesses in the immediate area failed shortly after the disaster. Similar losses have occurred after major earthquakes.

Risk Mitigation Committee

No report was given on activities of this committee, which has not met since the last meeting.

Geoscience Committee

John Bell reported that the Geoscience Committee has been working on several issues. The Committee assisted Jon Price, on behalf of the Council, in submitting proposed changes to the 2000 International Building Code. John Bell and George Ghusn presented the recommended changes to the Nevada Organization of Building Officials and to the Association of Engineering Geologists. Ron Lynn mentioned that the presentations by John and George were excellent; however, the building officials did not necessarily fully understand the recommendations or their implications for cost of buildings. John Bell suggested that a symposium on these issues may be useful and that more evaluation of the costs would help, but that such evaluations are beyond the scope of the Geoscience Committee.

The Geoscience Committee has approved revisions of the Council's Suggested Guidelines for Evaluation Potential Surface Fault Rupture/Land Subsidence Hazards in Nevada. This item was discussed later in the Council meeting.

John Bell also announced release of the 107-page Proceedings of the Conference on Seismic Hazards in the Las Vegas Region as Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 98-6. Burt Slemmons lauded Craig dePolo, the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the Earthquake Safety Council for their efforts in producing this volume.

John Bell reported that the Liquefaction Subcommittee (chaired by Gary Norris) reviewed reports and proposed guidelines for liquefaction studies from California. Subgroups are scheduled to meet and report back to the subcommittee in January, when Professor Norris returns from his sabbatical.

Alan Ramelli with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology has an exploratory trench open across one of the major faults in Carson City. This trench will probably be open until the end of the year. It is located just south of the U.S. Forest Service Office near the Railroad Museum, west of Curry Street. There appear to be two earthquake events (with a total of about 2.5 meters of displacement) exposed in this trench. The youngest event is probably Holocene in age (less than 10,000 years); the older of the two events may be Holocene as well. For safety reasons, please do not go into the trench itself, but you can safely view the fault from the edge of the trench.

Mike Blakely noted that two weeks previously members of the Engineering and Architecture Committee and the Structural Engineers Council of Nevada met with local building officials and builders and developers from Reno, Sparks, Washoe County, and Carson City. Mike said that these four jurisdictions will be adopting the 1997 Uniform Building Code, and eventually they will adopt the 2000 International Building Code.

In addition, Mike helped design the rubble pile that was constructed for the November 14th search and rescue exercise.

Strategic Planning Committee

Jim Reagan provided a written report of the Strategic Planning Committee. Committee chairs will be requested to provide input for an annual report for 1998, to be presented to the Council at its meeting in February.

Wayne Carlson noted from a recent article in the magazine "Business Insurance" that the Institute for Business and Home Safety has an initiative to support disaster recovery business alliances.

ACTION ITEM: Wayne Carlson and Jim Goodfellow volunteered to investigate getting a representative from the Institute for Business and Home Safety to make a presentation to the Council.

Wayne Carlson also noted that FEMA is considering denying flood insurance for properties that repeatedly get flooded but refuse to move or elevate the property.

The Nominating Committee (John Anderson, Jim Goodfellow, and Jon Price) presented the following slates of members of the Board of Directors of the Council and of members of the Executive Committee. Both were approved unanimously approved by the Council. The Nominating Committee will try to present recommendations for filling vacant seats on the Board of Directors by the February 19 meeting.

Members of the Board of Directors, effective January 1, 1999

Project Impact - City of Sparks

Mike Steele described efforts of Project Impact in Sparks. The estimated cost of the New Year's Flood of 1997 was $685 million (including lost income, businesses, etc.). Of this, $400 million was lost in Sparks. Although nationally approximately 60% of businesses do not recover after a disaster, the loss in Sparks was only about 20%. Mike talked about some of the projects that are being undertaken with Project Impact.

The City of Sparks is working closely with the American Red Cross, who is preparing emergency response kits and information about disasters. Nevada Mental Health Institute (NMHI) is moving toward an emergency exercise. Sierra Pacific is working on lifeline utilities. Much of the emphasis on the tabletop exercise on February 24, 1999 will be on recovery (not just the first 72 hours but the following two years). The University of Nevada, Reno (Diane dePolo) and the Washoe County School District will help distribute materials to help build disaster resistance; they will work with special-needs populations (such as senior centers and day-care centers) to mitigate non-structural hazards and to train custodians to be able to assess damage after an event. Supply One will provide educational materials and tools to loan for mitigation work. The Association of General Contractors will provide lists of contractors available after an earthquake.

Sparks will use some of the FEMA Project Impact Funds to support a Reverse 911 system (delivery of messages to a pre-determined bank of numbers in a specific area highlighted on a map on a computer), to purchase about 1,000 NOAA weather radios, and to purchase a decontamination tent. The Humane Society will acquire an emergency tent.

Mike Steele announced that Sean Carey will be taking over Project Impact in January when Mike moves to Michigan.

ACTION ITEM: Ron Lynn will send Mike Steele a letter of appreciation from the Council thanking him for his efforts with Project Impact.

Jim Reagan noted that Carson City is applying to be a Project Impact disaster-resistant community next year.

Bob Cullins reported on Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). These teams were started by the Los Angeles City Fire Department after the 1986 Mexico City Earthquake. The concept was later adopted by FEMA. Year-end FEMA funds to the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council (through the Division of Emergency Management) are being used to help pay for establishing CERTs in the Reno area. Bob showed a video about how such teams operate after a disaster; the example on the video was an earthquake. Chief Rod Buchanan with the Reno Fire Department, who is also helping with the ATC 20 course, discussed the pilot program that will teach people how to form CERTs. He stressed some of the better aspects of the CERT program, including the need to prepare 72-hour packs for each person, training people in basic first aid, being prepared for disasters, and training on when to and when not to turn off the gas. Some of the FEMA funds will be used to pay for equipment needed for the first CERT.

Bob Cullins noted that another CERT pilot project will be started soon in Summerlin. He is a CERT-certified trainer, as is Rod Buchanan.

Jim Reagan suggested that local businesses may wish to help. He also mentioned that he has a group of Sierra Pacific employees who are first responders and who may be willing to become CERT trainers.

Rod Buchanan mentioned that he will look to see if any of the neighborhood advisory boards in Reno want to volunteer. If anyone is interested in helping out, please contact Rod at 334-2377. He can train others in how to instruct people on establishing CERTs. The basic class is covered in seven weeks.

Rod Buchanan also discussed the ATC 20 class to train people in conducting damage assessments that meet FEMA guidelines in evaluating structures. The class will be on December 9 and is open for individuals from Sparks and Washoe County. The Council's $1,500 pays for the instructors, and there will be a $30 fee for individual participants. Alan Bennett (City of Reno Building Department) will be coordinating the ATC class.

Ron Lynn suggested that all jurisdictions use the same placards (red, yellow, green tags for buildings). ICBO representatives in southern Nevada will be printing new placards.

Gene Bunting presented "A Plan for Survival" to involve senior citizens in disaster mitigation and recovery. A copy of his plan is attached. He would like to participate with the Council on implementing his plans to teach classes that will help to develop teams like the CERTs. Ron Lynn referred his proposal to the Awareness and Education and Response and Recovery Committees.

Jim Faulds, research geologist with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, presented an overview of a proposed project to evaluate the natural hazards in the Laughlin area. The area lacks geologic data other than general reconnaissance geologic maps. These data are needed for land-use planning, particularly regarding natural hazards. Kyle House, also a research geologist with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, discussed the primary natural hazard in the area, floods, and how a comprehensive evaluation of flood hazards on alluvial fans can be conducted. Jim Goodfellow indicated that FEMA wants to see the endorsement of this proposal from the Council and, at its meeting in January, from the All Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee. Jim explained that $66,200 in funding from FEMA needs to be allocated by the end of March 1999. Salaries of NBMG staff will be used for the required matching money for this project.

The Council voted unanimously to endorse the All Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee's allocating FEMA 1998 federal fiscal year-end funds to help support this hazard-mapping proposal in the Laughlin area.

John Anderson mentioned additional funding needs in the specific area of earthquake hazards - one being strong motion instruments and another being downhole instruments. He also suggested that placing some strong ground-motion instruments in the Laughlin area would be a good idea to add to the NBMG project.

Burt Slemmons and Craig dePolo mentioned that although the earthquake hazards in far southern Nevada and adjoining areas of California and Arizona appear to be less than in many other parts of Nevada, much is unknown about the earthquake hazard. Larry Johnson noted that as a geotechnical consultant company, his firm relies heavily on the kind of geologic and hazard maps that are being proposed.

John Bell presented revisions to the Guidelines for Evaluation Potential Surface Fault Rupture/Land Subsidence Hazards in Nevada (see attachment). The bibliography will be deleted from the guidelines proper but included on the Web site. Major changes are in the definitions of active faults, critical facility, occupied structure, and competent professional, and in setbacks for critical facilities.

The Council unanimously endorsed the use of these revised guidelines, with the following change - deletion of the word "below" in the second sentence of the first paragraph in Section IV. The guidelines will be posted on the Web along with an appropriate bibliography.

Larry Johnson mentioned that the existing guidelines from the Council have been tremendously useful to the geotechnical consulting community. They have raised the standards of geotechnical consulting in Nevada.

Glenn Biasi, UNR Seismological Laboratory, discussed borehole seismic monitoring in the Truckee Meadows. He helped secure a letter from Chairman Lynn indicating the importance of using two open, inactive geothermal wells for seismic monitoring that will help characterize earthquake hazards in the Truckee Meadows. Glenn indicated that he needs approximately $10,000 to pay for the equipment. Jim Goodfellow suggested that the All Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee may be able to fund this as a mitigation grant, which has no requirement for matching funds.

The Council voted unanimously to support the Seismological Laboratory's work on placing seismic monitoring instruments in boreholes in the Truckee Meadows and to encourage the Seismological Laboratory to submit a proposal to the All Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee for funding.

Rich Schweickert, UNR Department of Geological Sciences, described the regional geology of the Lake Tahoe area, recent geologic mapping, including mapping of young faults, and new bathymetric data recently acquired by the U.S. Geological Survey. The new bathymetric data indicate more faulting of the lake bottom than previously recognized. Rich and his group are proposing that the National Science Foundation fund additional mapping and geophysical surveying of the Lake Tahoe area.

John Anderson and Gene Ichinose described the October 30 earthquake 7 km north-northwest of Incline Village, just inside Nevada near the California state line. The earthquake was a strike-slip, moment-magnitude 4.9 event that was widely felt in the Reno-Carson City-Lake Tahoe region. Aftershocks were aligned in a northeast direction. There were few aftershocks, and they decayed more rapidly than had been initially predicted by the U.S. Geological Survey. The aftershock sequence was typical of other historical earthquakes in the Lake Tahoe-Carson Range area. Focal mechanisms indicated a depth of 8 km, whereas the initial earthquake location had a depth of 10.5 km. The fault plane slipped about 60 cm in an area about 2 x 4 km. Rich Schweickert noted that a thesis by Lewis had mapped possible active faults with the appropriate northeast strike in the epicentral area.

John Anderson mentioned that State Farm Insurance was particularly interested in the magnitude of the earthquake, which had been initially reported by the U.S. Geological Survey as 5.3 (using an initial computerized guess) and later 5.2 (using a body wave technique). State Farm places a moratorium on selling earthquake insurance in areas affected by earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater. John Anderson noted that there are different ways of measuring magnitude, much as there are different ways of measuring human body temperature. He feels that the Seismological Laboratory's estimated magnitude of 4.9 is more accurate than the USGS figures. John stated that had the earthquake been about three times larger, it would have caused some damage in Reno.

John Anderson briefly discussed deployment of a strong motion instrument network in the Reno area, with funds from the Keck Foundation and the USGS. A USGS instrument is being placed in the Sierra Pacific building in the southern part of Reno.

ACTION ITEM: - John Anderson offered to arrange a tour of the base isolation system in the Mackay School of Mines building on the UNR campus for the May meeting of the Council.

OLD BUSINESS

The Council unanimously passed a motion that the Division of Emergency Management issue identification-course completion cards to individuals who pass the ATC courses.

ACTION ITEM: Jim Goodfellow should see that this motion is implemented.

NEW BUSINESS

Ron Lynn announced that State Farm Insurance has a mobile mitigation house, which can be transported around the country. In addition, Clark County has budgeted ($10,000 per year over two years) to build a similar mitigation house.

A discussion of projects for possible 1999 federal fiscal year-end funding will be placed on the agenda for the February 19, 1999 Council meeting, and a discussion to set priorities for such funding will be placed on the agenda for the May 21, 1999 Council meeting.

The Council should discuss FEMA's national earthquake risk assessment at a future meeting, as soon as the information is released. (NOTE made after the meeting: Jon Price has requested that Stewart Nishenko, who leads FEMA's assessment, present the results at the next Council meeting.)

There should be an opportunity for a press conference regarding Earthquake Awareness and Preparedness Week during the next Council meeting.

Wayne Carlson and Jim Goodfellow volunteered to investigate getting a representative from the Institute for Business and Home Safety to make a presentation to the Council.

Terri Garside should contact Channel 4 (NBC) in Reno to request a copy of the footage produced by Channel 3 in Las Vegas during the November 14 Search and Rescue Exercise in Stead.

Ron Lynn will send Mike Steele a letter of appreciation from the Council thanking him for his efforts with Project Impact.

John Anderson will arrange a tour of the base isolation system in the Mackay School of Mines building on the UNR campus for the May meeting of the Council.

Jim Goodfellow will see that the Division of Emergency Management issues identification-course completion cards to individuals who pass the ATC courses.

Written report of the Education and Awareness Committee

Written report of the Strategic Planning Committee

"A Plan for Survival"

Guidelines for Evaluation Potential Surface Fault Rupture/Land Subsidence Hazards in Nevada

respectfully submitted by Jon Price, 30 November 1998