Living on Shaky Ground: How To Survive Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Northern California

The new booklet addresses one of the main reasons for the high casualties in the south Asia disaster—simple ignorance of the dangers. It is based on the latest scientific, engineering and sociological research, is written in easy-to-read prose and thoroughly illustrated to make its points clear. The full title is Living on Shaky Ground: How to Survive Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Northern California. It contains tips and information on how to get ready, what to do when disaster strikes and the steps to take to hasten recovery.

The updated version will be distributed as an insert in 38 newspapers in 14 counties, beginning Dec. 6. It also will be given to all students in Humboldt and Del Norte County public schools and made available by many county offices of emergency services, tribes and rancherias, Redwood National and State Parks and the American Red Cross. The Trinity and Colusa County Offices of Education also will have copies.

CEO Glenn Pomeroy of the California Earthquake Authority, which funded the handbook’s development, said his agency is committed to helping California residents recover from damaging earthquakes. “Residents throughout northern California will benefit from this important resource that local members of the California Earthquake Country Alliance worked together to produce,” he said.

Added Jim Goltz, Director of the Earthquake and Tsunami Program for the California Emergency Management Agency, another organization that financed the booklet, “Surviving earthquakes and tsunamis, reducing damage, and quickly restoring the economy are not matters of chance; they depend on personal and community readiness.”

“One of the most important aspects of this publication is the opportunity it provides to generate discussion, culminating in action,” said HSU Geology Chair Lori Dengler, who led the handbook’s preparation. “One of the main things to come out of sociological research is that, before people act, they need to talk things through. It’s a process sociologists call ‘milling,’” Dengler explained. “People are more likely to store food and water, secure their bookshelves, recognize natural warnings of a tsunami and write up a family preparedness plan if they have talked about it with others. So ‘Living on Shaky Ground’ is intended not just to instruct, but to engender discussion and stimulate action. When you’re ready ahead of time, you greatly increase your chances of saving yourself and your family, reducing your losses and helping your community recover faster.”

The booklet zeroes in on basics, including seven easily-remembered tips first introduced in the Southern California and Bay Area publications, “Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country.” The first four sum up how to get ready: identify household (or workplace) hazards in advance (objects likely to topple or fall), learn if you live in a tsunami hazard zone, draw up a preparedness plan and discuss it with family members (say, a shared list of important phone numbers), organize disaster kits (food, water, emergency backpacks) and pinpoint weaknesses (shore up brick chimneys, anchor wood stoves).

Tip five spells out actions to take during an earthquake: indoors, drop, cover, hold (drop to the floor, take cover under a study piece of furniture, hold on to it, slide with it and maintain position until the shaking stops). Outdoors, move to the clearest area and avoid trees, power lines, buildings and vehicles.

The final two steps concern what to do after the shaking stops, including evacuating and staying away from the coast until officials give the all clear. The handbook explains how to recognize the natural warning signs of a tsunami and how to evacuate tsunami hazard zones. It lists insurance options such as earthquake and flood coverage.

Dengler underscores that reliance on the government is not enough when an earthquake or a tsunami hits. “The government is there to assist afterwards, but the definition of a disaster is that normal emergency services are completely overwhelmed,” she said. “The only way you’re going to get immediate help is to be prepared yourself. This is a personal, a neighborhood and a community responsibility.”

Northern California has a long earthquake history. All areas of the region are at risk of large earthquakes that have the capacity to damage buildings, upend roads and utilities and disrupt business. Since 1900, 24 earthquakes have caused damage in the region, an average recurrence of less than five years. Coastal Northern California is also vulnerable to tsunamis generated by large earthquakes both nearby and elsewhere in the Pacific basin.

Additional copies of the booklet may be requested through the Humboldt Earthquake Education Center at Humboldt State University at 707/826-6019 or rctwg@shakyground.edu. The electronic version and supplemental material can be downloaded at http://www.humboldt.edu/shakyground.

HSU’s Humboldt Earthquake Education Center, which distributes educational materials like “Living on Shaky Ground” to schools, the press and the public, is a non-profit unit established in 1985 within HSU’s Department of Geology. The center operates the Humboldt Earthquake Hotline (707/826-6020), a recorded message updated daily about local, regional and worldwide earthquake activity. The center also coordinates regional and state-wide earthquake and tsunami preparedness efforts through its participation with the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group and the Earthquake Country Alliance, which sponsored the recent “Great California ShakeOut,” the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history.

The booklet was overseen by an advisory board representing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Humboldt and Del Norte Counties, California Geological Survey (CGS), Department of the Interior United States Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service, Redwood National and State Parks, the California Department of Water Resources, American Red Cross, Yurok tribe, Trinidad Rancheria, with contributions from many members of the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group. The publication is one part of California’s earthquake and tsunami readiness effort. On December 14, the California Emergency Management Agency and California Geological Survey will unveil new tsunami hazard maps for the state.

Readiness exercises include the annual “Great California ShakeOut” drill and the March “Live Code” tsunami warning drill.

Humboldt State University’s friends, family and alumni gave $3.5 million in the last fiscal year. / Humboldt State University

“It was gratifying to see our alumni and friends continue to support HSU, given the state of the economy and trends in higher education,” said Rob Gunsalus, Humboldt State’s Vice President of Advancement, who oversees the University’s fundraising and marketing efforts.

HSU students and programs received $3,538,430 last year. The increase in parental giving can be attributed to a number of factors, including a successful phone-a-thon and expanded communication with parents through an online network and Humboldt magazine. “We are so pleased that parents responded when we reached out to them,” said Gunsalus. “It shows that they appreciate the important work Humboldt State does at a crucial time in their students’ lives.”

In addition to the $3.5 million received, last year the HSU Advancement Foundation distributed more than $640,000 to the campus from its endowment, which was valued at $15.7 million as of June 30, 2009. Those funds went to academic programs across campus including Oceanography and Fisheries, the Schatz Energy Research Center, the performing arts, athletics and scholarships awarded directly to students.

HSU also saw a substantial rise in the amount of grant money received from corporations and foundations, which jumped 40 percent. Gunsalus said the increase is a testament to the quality of HSU’s academic programs and the innovative and important research carried out by faculty every day.

The biggest state funding cuts in Humboldt State’s history are putting unprecedented pressure on its current operations, and donations have a real impact. Last year, gifts supported the new Library Café, new Smart Classroom technology, equipment for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building and student scholarships, among many other items. “These gifts truly enrich students’ experience here at HSU,” said Laura Jackson, Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations.

Donors last year included:
• The Po and Helen Chung Foundation, which gave $50,000 for the George Allen Fish Collection Trust. Po Chung graduated from HSU in 1969 with a degree in fisheries management and went on to co-found the Asia Pacific division of DHL Express.
• Steve Brown, who pledged $53,000 for football scholarships. Brown came to HSU to play football and graduated in 1969. He is now President and CEO of Nexgen Pharma.
• Gifts to the Smullin Scholarship Endowment, which exceeded $1 million. William B. Smullin, pioneer of radio, television, and cable television, established the foundation with the mission to help educate the citizens of northern California and Oregon.
• James Jennings, who gave $25,000 for the Greg Jennings Endowed Scholarship in memory of his son Greg Jennings, a graduate of HSU (‘99 B.S. Botany, and ’03 M.A. Biological Sciences).

“Our donors show real leadership in supporting our mission of providing access to an affordable, high-quality education,” said Jackson. “Gifts like these will have an impact at the University for many years to come.”

The amount of donations received reflects a 1 percent slip from the previous year, but is a solid result compared to the nearly 4 percent average decline projected at colleges and universities nationwide. In fact, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education projects that colleges and universities will see an average decline in giving of 3.9 percent for the 2008-2009 academic year. In that light, HSU’s results are particularly strong.

The alumni giving participation rate, 8.8 percent, fell from a record 10 percent the previous year, but it remains a high point in the University’s fundraising. It is almost double the peer group average and is one of the highest in the California State University system.

Jackson said that this year’s fundraising effort is already showing great promise. Alumni and parent giving are ahead of where they were last year at this time and employee giving has tripled over last year, to $30,000 so far. Humboldt State has also launched a planned giving program, which will help continue the momentum.

For more information about giving at HSU and the Advancement Foundation, visit: http://www.humboldt.edu/giving

New or gently used CLEAN coats, hats, gloves, scarves and ponchos are sought for community members and agencies in need. Items can be placed in marked SBS bins.

All securely packaged, not-previously-expired food collected here on campus will be donated to Food for People for distribution to 10,000 low income children, families, people with disabilities, and seniors … our neighbors here in Humboldt County.

The foods that families and children need most are:

• Canned Tuna and Chicken
• Beans and Rice
• Canned Soups and Stews
• Canned Fruit
• Boxed and Canned Juices
• Peanut Butter
• Breakfast Cereals
• Pasta
• Canned Vegetable
• Nutritional Supplements/Instant Breakfast Drinks

An interesting wrinkle in the Holiday Food Drive is the HSU Hunger Fighter Challenge. The club, department, or organization that donates the most food will have the opportunity to sit down to a delicious meal with President Richmond next semester. There is no limit to the number of people in a contributing organization, but for financial and logistical reasons, 10 is the maximum number the center will be able to host at the meal.

We are encouraging people to donate either at the Service Learning Center (Nelson Hall West, Room No. 139) or in food barrels placed in several other campus locations:

• Student Business Services Building Lobby
• Clubs Office, University Center’s South Lounge
• Harry Griffith Hall
• Founders Hall
• The Library
• Siemens Hall
• The “J” second floor

To receive credit towards the Hunger Fighter Challenge, please place food donations in a strong bag and attach a note with the name of your organization and contact information.

This Holiday Food Drive ends Dec. 7 so take advantage. It is a great opportunity to support the Humboldt community. You can take direct action to help feed people. Take an active roll in improving the quality of life of the people around you; please find a way to give.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jyl Barnett at 826-4964 or jmb137@humboldt.edu.

The clinics are a collaboration among federal, state, county and HSU authorities and strict eligibility guidelines will be enforced. Recipients must be current HSU students, staff and faculty aged 24 or younger on the day they are vaccinated. They must produce both a current HSU identification card and a government-issued photo I.D. or driver’s license with date of birth. Students 17 and under must also present a consent form signed by a parent or guardian. The form can be downloaded here (PDF).

The following groups are not eligible: spouses, significant others, children, friends and colleagues who are not current HSU students, staff, or faculty aged 24 or younger; alumni, retired and emeritus HSU employees; individuals who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs, had a severe reaction to a past influenza vaccination or developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) within six weeks of a prior influenza vaccination.

Those who do not meet these eligibility criteria are advised to contact their health care practitioners to discuss H1N1 vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta anticipates that eventually there will be enough vaccine distributed for everyone who wishes to be vaccinated, but not everyone will be able to receive it on campus. As supplies become available in coming months, vaccine will be distributed following Public Health guidelines.

Eligible individuals who have recently had the flu may receive the vaccination unless they have a definitive lab test confirming H1N1 flu.

The H1N1 vaccine has been evaluated by many agencies and experts, and has been deemed extremely safe. More information about flu vaccine safety, links to key Web sites and answers to frequently-asked H1N1 vaccination questions are at http://www.humboldt.edu/flu.

Dr. Rebecca Stauffer, director of HSU Student Health and Counseling, said that about 10 days after vaccination, the body begins to produce antibodies providing protection from the H1N1 virus. Accordingly, early vaccination is recommended. “If you are eligible for vaccination, please take advantage of one of the upcoming free vaccination events,” Stauffer said.

HSU students Kylee Singh, left, Amanda Platt and Matthew Baker fill up their water bottles at the campus’s new Hydration Station. / Humboldt State University

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held in the Depot at 3:30 p.m., where a hydration station is currently being installed. The campus’ other station, located in the new Kinesiology building, is on schedule to be running by the time of the event.

“With the hydration stations we are trying to encourage people to drink local tap water and to liberate students, staff and faculty from bottled water,” said Sarah Schneider of HSU Takes Back the Tap. “They give people the option to drink free filtered, drinking water.”

The hydration stations are a hygienic, hands-free filtered drinking fountain operated by sensor where people can fill their reusable containers. The stations are meant to improve the accessibility of tap water to students, staff and faculty while helping to overcome the negative perceptions people have about tap water.

“While the water quality at HSU is known to be very high, often the aesthetic qualities of the water from individual drinking fountains is less than desirable, “ said Natalynne DeLapp, co-founder of HSU Takes Back the Tap.

One hydration station was funded by a grant from the Humboldt State University Energy Independence Fund (HEIF), the other station was donated by manufacturer of the hydration stations.

Humboldt State University is not alone its endeavor. San Diego State University and University of Oregon’s Portland campus are two universities that have already installed hydration stations.

“We’re trying to bring the appeal back to drinking tap water and eliminate some of the negative perceptions,” said Schneider.

In addition to the hydration stations, HSU Takes Back The Tap is in the early stages of planning a Bottle-Free Day to bring awareness to the negative effects of bottled water and enlighten people about the availability of quality drinking water.

The goal of the campaign is to reduce bottled water sales by 20 percent within three years, which is expected to produce a savings of 3,202 kg of carbon dioxide emissions.

“The real issue,” says DeLapp, “are the hidden environmental and social costs of bottled water, which include extracting raw material to make the bottles, bottling and shipping the water, and water privatization. Those factors make tap water the clear choice in my mind.”

Spoken by an anonymous Tibet poet centuries ago, these evocative words inspired nine HSU undergraduate students as they explored and documented the geography of western China and Tibet. A presentation highlighting their work will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Gist Hall 218.

HSU Geography students explore Tibet’s Kangri Karpo Mountains. / Submitted Photo

As part of its global outreach, the Geography Department has offered the program since 2000 and over 100 students have participated in exploring China and the Tibetan Plateau.

Central and eastern Tibet are regions graphically defined by deep river canyons, snow capped mountains and expansive grasslands. Days spent exploring such places as the Kangri Karpo Mountains with their massive glaciers, rebuilt temples and dense forests provided a firsthand appreciation of the physical and cultural attributes that define this part of Tibet.

In conjunction with International Education Week, students will showcase their fieldwork in this remote part of the world. Until recently, the region’s isolation offered a measure of protection for its unspoiled landscape and rich biodiversity, yet change is rapidly placing increasing pressure on its natural and cultural resources.

Past field trips have taken students to many of the great rivers of Asia, and this year, sections of the Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween Rivers were re-visited. Identifying the inherent character of these river basins, and especially the upper tributaries of the Tsangpo River and noting the factors affecting the preservation and wise use of their assets was an ongoing theme of this field trip.

Students were also fortunate to assist a local Tibetan community in their temple building project; the hours spent provided a small gesture of repayment for the warm hospitality encountered during the trip.

For more information contact:

Tony Rossi, Program Director
Department of Geography
E-mail: afr2@humboldt.edu

HSU Professor Arne Jacobson (far right) of the Schatz Energy Research Center leads a team of researchers in national energy efficiency. / Humboldt State University

Starting in the spring of 2008, Schatz faculty Arne Jacobson and Charles Chamberlin and graduate students Colin Sheppard and Meg Harper developed a new statistical measure of residential electrical consumption that is a component of the scorecard compiled by a non-profit green watchdog, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The council’s third annual report, which was issued Oct. 21 and listed California as the number one state in energy efficiency, incorporated the Schatz Center’s research for the first time.

Jacobson and his colleagues carried out the milestone project with about $100,000 in financing from the Natural Resources Defense Council, in partnership with the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. “It’s a performance-based metric, using data on different states’ energy consumption,” Jacobson said. “ACEEE’s scorecard is policy-based, our metric is performance-based. They’re different measures, but they’re complementary.”

The Schatz metric is a chapter in the report card and it is slated to become an ongoing contribution. The Natural Resources Defense Council proposed the measurement, HSU researchers did the technical work and now it has passed through the proof-of-concept stage.

The metric is based on total energy consumption in each state’s residential sector. The data are adjusted for weather, which allows researchers to measure trends year-to-year. Each state is evaluated relative to its own baseline and over, say, a five-year period, upward and downward shifts can be plotted. Jacobson and his colleagues started with residential efficiency data because their quality is high and their inconsistencies are few. The ACEEE scorecard ranks states in six efficiency categories, including utilities, transportation and appliances.

Now the Schatz team is working with the Department of Energy to standardize its data collection so that the metric can be applied more broadly. “A lot of our work has centered on establishing that this type of metric is an effective way of tracking [efficiency],” Jacobson explained. “In conjunction with that, we’ve been working with the appropriate data collection agencies in the government to persuade them to invest in collecting data in a standardized way that would allow this to be done across multiple sectors. It’s mainly the utilities in the states that would need to standardize the definitions.”

The Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Department of Energy is strongly interested in the concept, Jacobson said, and data availability-getting the collection right-has been identified as a crucial issue in fine-tuning the performance approach. The Schatz Center and the department are examining strategies to improve collection. “We’re also in the process of doing what we’re calling some ‘ground-truthing’ analyses, where we’re comparing on a state-by-state basis the ACEEE’s policy-based approach with the data-based approach that we’re using. Where do they link up and where are things that are unexpected?” Jacobson added.

If the nation is to meet the targets necessary to address global climate change, he said, energy efficiency is by far the least expensive approach, hence the federal government’s interest in it. The challenge is that energy efficiency is largely a state responsibility and Washington does not have that much influence over it. California has been a leader in the drive for decades and if other states are to follow its model, “then we have to be able to track how well states are doing and then beyond that, create a framework of incentives for states to do well. First we have to figure out how to measure it, then figure out what policies to devise to give rewards to those who do well,” he said.

International Students have fun at last year’s International Education Week. / Humboldt State University

The University invites the general public to take advantage of more than 35 hours of panels, presentations, informational sessions and cultural events from Thursday, Nov. 12, through Thursday, Nov. 19. Most will take place in Goodwin Forum (Nelson Hall East) or the Kate Buchanan Room at University Center. A detailed schedule and directions are available at http://www.humboldt.edu/iew.

Sponsored by HSU’s Office of International Programs, the International Advisory Committee, the President’s Office and the Diversity Program Funding Committee, International Education Week showcases the involvement of faculty, staff, students and community members in a wide variety of international initiatives. Paul Blank, chair of the International Advisory Committee and the presenter of the ever-popular ‘Walk on the World,” said, “A university is not really a university unless it is globally connected. IEW celebrates and reinforces that fact.”

Starting off the week’s events on Sunday, Nov. 15, will be a keynote address by Annette Makino, Senior Vice-President for Communications and External Affairs at Internews of Arcata, titled, “When Information Saves Lives: Engaging Local Media in Global Conflicts and Crises.” She will speak at 7 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room. Makino will focus on Internews’s experience in engaging local media in humanitarian disasters, from Kenya’s post-election violence to the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza to the Darfur refugee crisis. She will also discuss her organization’s work teaching reporters in conflict zones how to “report for peace.”

Drumming from West Africa will call the campus community to the Opening Ceremony on the Quad (in the Goodwin Forum in case of rain) on Monday, Nov. 16, at noon.

On Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room, the week’s second keynote speaker, Kamran Pasha, will address “Islam and Hollywood: Past, Present and Future.” Pasha holds a JD and MFA and is a published novelist, screenwriter and director. His talk will center on the historical representation of Islam and Muslims in cinema and how it has evolved in the post-9/11 world. He will talk about his own experience as a Muslim in the film industry, and how Hollywood is changing its relationship with the Islamic world in the Obama era.

Among the week’s many other events will be scholarly presentations about China’s rise, this year’s coup in Honduras, traveling to New Zealand, working and studying abroad and language and politics in South India. Combined faculty, staff and student panels will examine globalization and development, AFS programs and the experience of being an international student at HSU. Volunteer and study abroad opportunities will be surveyed and an International Fashion Show, a multi-ethnic Noodle Tasting and the “Walk on the World” interactive experience are scheduled. In the latter, participants literally globetrot with the aid of oversized maps covering the floor of the Kate Buchanan Room.

The Arcata Post office will be on campus to help with passport applications on Friday, Nov. 13, from 10 to 3 p.m. in the South Lounge.

The week is a unique academic experience, said Sam Sonntag, Professor of Politics, Fulbright Scholar and past chair of HSU’s International Advisory Committee. Almost 50 students earn academic credit as part of a colloquium jointly sponsored by a half-dozen departments across the University, from Anthropology to World Languages & Cultures. But the events are directed ultimately at the campus and the community at large, Sonntag emphasized. “What people see and hear during IEW broadens horizons. We are helping to fulfill HSU’s commitment to internationalization of the campus while offering the community the opportunity to participate in these attention-grabbing events. ”

Students from abroad are among the presenters. “These international students are very excited to participate in IEW,” said Marci Fradkin, International Programs Coordinator. “They are great friends, not only with each other but with American students as well. These are people who would never normally meet under any circumstances except at Humboldt State. This event allows them to showcase the rich diversity of the 32 countries represented at HSU.” A growing number of international students, approximately 140 this year, are now attending HSU.

Reciprocally, more than 150 HSU students went abroad during 2008-09 and are studying in 28 different countries from Ghana to Taiwan. “HSU students are very adventurous,” said Penelope Shaw, Study Abroad Advisor. “Even though there is an economic downturn, HSU students are attending informational meetings in record numbers. They realize the importance of an education with a global focus and International Education Week gives them a chance to share their international experiences with their peers.”

The State Department emphasizes that international education readies U.S. citizens to live and work in an increasingly “globalized” world. It is also a vital service industry, bringing more than $14.5 billion into the U.S. annually.

IEW was first held in 2000 and is now marked by communities and universities in more than 100 countries worldwide.

HSU economist Dan Ihara will examine U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s assertion that “what the U.S. and China do during the next decade will determine the fate of the world.” A milestone global climate change conference is scheduled for December in Copenhagen.

Ihara earned his doctorate in 1991 on how international conflict and cooperation variously affect global warming policy. Last March, he presented a paper on the “Harmonization of Greenhouse Gas Emission Markets” at an annual workshop in Wittenberg, Germany.

Environmental Resources Engineering Professor Emeritus Robert Gearheart, returning from China and Bangladesh November 7, will discuss projects he is part of in China’s capital, Beijing. He was a key person in the creation of the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary and also was involved with bio-remediation at Superfund sites.