Getting Through It

The large earthquake in Haiti on August 14th, 2021 reminds us how much we really know about the next disaster. And the answer is: a lot.  Why are disasters such a shock, then? Science gives us the tools and the knowledge for better response, improving survival and recovery time.

We cannot stop natural processes like earthquakes from occurring, but we can plan to manage them and protect our communities. Having insurance is a form of this community protection: you build funds by withstanding the smaller, more likely events and share the risk for the rarer, worse events. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the flaws in our current disaster insurance system and how a federal natural hazards insurance program could protect us from the natural disasters we all face.

The foundation for building resilience is understanding and applying the science to natural hazards with and for your community. The culture of “rugged individualism” in the US has contributed to its citizens limiting their actions in service of the community good. In a pandemic, earthquakes, and other disasters, we all can be safer from individual action done for the community as a whole. 

Nearly all the people getting infected now with COVID-19 are not vaccinated, but there are still fully vaccinated people getting infected. This episode explores why, statistically, this is happening and why we shouldn’t see being vaccinated as perfect, but as our chance to decrease our risk. As Dr. Jones says, in response to earthquakes, wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is both with and for the community that we need to take resilience-building actions.

Floods used to be one of the biggest risks people would face. While there have been major engineering improvements to dams and drainage to prevent the impacts of flooding, there is always a flood that will overwhelm the flood controls. Further, climate change is driving disasters like flooding to increase in both intensity and quantity. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses flood perception and prediction, and how our disaster planning can be improved. 

In this episode, Dr. Jones defines what foreshocks are, describes their variability, and explains how to manage "what comes next." She tells the story of her first papers characterizing what foreshocks are, and what we need to know about the likelihood something bigger will follow. This primer includes all the basics you need to understand foreshocks.

Transportation can be a big issue after an earthquake, even when the infrastructure itself has not been damaged. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains how transit infrastructure will fare during an earthquake, from trains, to cars, to even airplanes.  But is it safer to be in a tunnel or on a bridge during an earthquake? The answer may not be what you expect.

What keeps buildings from falling down -- and why do they? This episode looks that the governmental and technical solutions to the challenges of tall buildings. From codes to engineers to builders to inspectors -- buildings have many people who are the ones responsible for its safety.

California is young and hot compared to the East Coast which is old and cold... as it relates to the rocks, at least. And the age of the rocks is one of reasons that determines how waves from an earthquake travel from the fault - farther on the East Coast and less so on the West Coast. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains why that is, and why a similar sized earthquake has different impacts based on the ground beneath you.

You likely use more water than you realize -- until it's not there. When a large earthquake happens, water will be in short supply for many reason, and as Dr. Jones always says: "How long are you willing to stick around with out a shower?" This episode looks at our water, our pipes, and why it matters more than just staying hydrated.