Whatcom County CERT

03/01/2022

February 28 is the anniversary of the Nisqually Earthquake that struck southern Puget Sound in 2001. This major seismic event, the strongest to strike western Washington in the 21st century so far, is a reminder of the need for awareness and preparedness.

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/twenty-years-after-6-8-nisqually-earthquake-are-we-ready-for-the-next-one
https://www.seattlepi.com/local/seattlenews/amp/20-year-anniversary-nisqually-earthquake-wash-15982846.php
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/ger_ofr2008-1_cascadia_deep_eq.pdf
https://mil.wa.gov/earthquake

An earthquake is the sudden release of stored energy. Most earthquakes occur along a fracture within the earth, called a fault. The shaking caused by this sudden shift is often very small, but occasionally large earthquakes produce very strong ground shaking. It is this strong shaking and its conseq...

01/26/2022

Three hundred and twenty years ago today, life changed irreversibly for an untold number of people whose names we will never know. What were they doing three hundred and twenty years ago today? They were living where we now live, raising families, fishing, farming, and hunting, squabbling over petty matters, adjudicating serious matters, the well and strong tending to the weak and ill, washing clothes, building homes, chatting and singing, making law, making love, making art, fetching water, cooking dinner; mostly doing things familiar to us all. In less than twenty-four hours, all of that changed. But, not as much as it will change for us eventually. Those people didn’t have buried utilities, battery-powered light and information, brittle buildings and bridges, distant relations and healthcare. Those peoples’ descendants are still here, three hundred and twenty-two years later, living different lives to be sure, but probably no more different than our lives are from our ancestors’ if separated by over three centuries. Will our descendants still be here in three hundred years and will they have the same resilience? Will they behave differently and be better prepared because they have knowledge that our ancestors lacked?

It's the 316th anniversary of the 1700 Cascadia megathrust earthquake and tsunami! 

01/18/2022

Flooding remains the most common type of disaster in the U.S. and is a seasonal hazard across the country. Near-record rainfall commenced in the upper Midwest in the first weeks of January 1937, leading to flooding in the Ohio River basin starting on January 18. Flooding was the cause of 350 deaths and nearly one million people made homeless, with major impacts in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

https://www.weather.gov/iln/1937OhioRiverFlood
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/history/2016/01/26/date-1937-flood-crests-799-feet/79301880
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_River_flood_of_1937

The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, 385 people died, one million people were left homeless and property losses reached $500 million ($8.723 billion when adjusted for inflation as of January 2019). Feder...

01/14/2022

On the morning of January 13, 1915, the central Italian town of Avezzano was struck by a M6.7 earthquake. Structures throughout the town were devastated and approximately 30,000 fatalities occurred in a community whose population did again rise past 30,000 until the mid-1970s.

https://seismo.berkeley.edu/blog/2009/04/06/tragedy-in-the-heart-of-italy.html
https://worldhistoryproject.org/1915/1/13/avezzano-earthquake-of-1915
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_Avezzano_earthquake

The 1915 Avezzano earthquake or 1915 Fucino earthquake occurred on 13 January in central Italy at 07:52:42 local time. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The epicenter was located in the town of Avezzano (which was destroyed) in the Province of....

01/09/2022

Eureka, California was struck by a M6.5 earthquake on the afternoon of January 9. Shaking from this event was fell at locations as distant as Reno to the east, Eugene, Oregon to the north, and Santa Cruz to the south. This earthquake occurred along the Mendicino Triple Junction, an offshore zone that is seismically active and intensely studied. The USGS overview for this occurrence provides a glimpse into the variety of data generated by and for seismic events.

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc71338066/executive
https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2020/01/09/10-years-later-the-earthquake-of-2010

Ten years ago, at 4:27 p.m., the earth let loose a magnitude-6.5 earthquake — with much of the force directed at the city of Eureka...

01/07/2022

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSFEMA/bulletins/3042d1e

Individual and Community Preparedness Division January 2022 Newsletter: Winter Safety, 10th Anniversary of YPC and More Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent this bulletin at 01/06/2022 12:14 PM EST In This Issue: Ready Tips CERT & Communities Children and Disasters Financial Preparedness....

12/06/2021

December 6 is the anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, which occurred in 1917. At the time, it was the largest explosion and greatest technological disaster to strike North America and was for many years the standard against which the destructive power of nuclear weapons was measured. This disaster devastated the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia and wiped out the community of the Mi'kmaq First Nation, who were struck by the resulting tsunami. This event also represents the dawn of disaster psychology as studied and written by Samuel Henry Prince, who provided relief during the disaster and later exited his role as an Anglican curate to study sociology and publish his findings.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion
https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/downloads/ijems/articles/disaster's%20little%20known%20pioneer%20canada's%20samuel%20henry%20prince.pdf

The Halifax Explosion was a disaster that occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917. SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford B...

11/05/2021

Both the Pacific coast (Olympic Peninsula and southwestern Washington) and the inner coast (Puget Sound) of Washington face risk of tsunami that originate from a variety of sources. Learn more about tsunami at the resources linked below and practice tsunami awareness whenever you or those you care about are near the shoreline.

https://mil.wa.gov/tsunami
https://www.un.org/en/observances/tsunami-awareness-day

For the 10th year in a row, hundreds of thousands of people in Washington state will participate in the world’s largest earthquake and tsunami drill: The Great ShakeOut.At 10:21 a.m. on Oct. 21, you’re invited to drop, cover and hold on wherever you are – whether it’s at work, home or school...

10/13/2021

Every October 13 International Disaster Risk Reduction Day reminds us of the monumental importance and value of every step taken before the "moment of impact" of a disaster. Preparedness, training, drills, and community building seldom enjoy the recognition, interest, and heroic aspect of response and recovery activities. It's not easy to measure losses of life and property that were prevented. Nevertheless, this is a day to reflect on the tremendous power of resilient, connected, unified communities, and to consider our own next steps that focus on "prevention" and eliminate the need for "treatment."

09/01/2021

September 1 is the anniversary of 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and dawn of modern disaster preparedness in Japan. September 1 is also Disaster Prevention Day in Japan, a country that has faced many severe natural disasters, and is a world leader in seismic research and preparedness policy. In the video linked here, note the commitment to exercising and planning, and participation of the Prime Minister, even during the pandemic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster_Prevention_Day

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210901_16

In Japan, September 1 is Disaster Prevention Day (防災の日, bousai no hi). This day commemorates the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and is a day on which disaster preparations are taken nationwide, especially in the Kantō region.

08/27/2021

On Monday, August 27, 1883 the volcano on the Indonesian island of Krakatau (Krakatoa) erupted with such great violence that the island itself vanished, the sound and shock waves of the event were heard thousands of miles away, and the climate was visibly altered globally for the following three years. Since then, this iconic-volcanic event has been an object of fascination and intense study... and the volcano itself is returning, growing several feet in elevation each year. The story of Krakatoa is a tapestry of geology and volcanology, colonialism and resilience, and even the dawning age of global communications. This historic event is a reminder that our planet is a dynamic entity, home to a wide variety of potent hazards that are not always visible to the eye... lurking beneath earth's surface or in the microscopic realm, until they make their presence known to the world.

https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=262000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa
https://openlibrary.org/subjects/eruption_1883
http://www.simonwinchester.com/krakatoa-further-reading

The renowned volcano Krakatau (frequently misstated as Krakatoa) lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Collapse of the ancestral Krakatau edifice, perhaps in 416 or 535 CE, formed a 7-km-wide caldera. Remnants of this ancestral volcano are preserved in Verlaten and Lang Islands; subsequ...

08/05/2021

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSFEMA/bulletins/2eb86ed

August 2021 Individual and Community Preparedness Newsletter: Back to School, YPC Summit & Community Preparedness Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent this bulletin at 08/05/2021 05:29 PM EDT In This Issue: Ready Tips CERT & Communities Children & Disasters Important Dates Ready Tips A Ne...