Tag: resilience

New! A How-To Guide for Surveying Buildings Prone to Quake Damage

black and white graphic of buildings in silhouette

CREW is pleased to announce the publication of the Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Building Survey Workflow Guidebook.

View or download the guidebook

Cover of Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Building Survey Workflow Guidebook

Creating an inventory of buildings that are prone to serious damage during an earthquake is a first step toward reducing risk. Such an inventory can:

  • Help communities and building owners understand their risk.
  • Show local jurisdictions what to prioritize and where to focus mitigation resources.
  • Provide crucial information for emergency response and recovery planning.

CREW worked with state and local partners to prepare the new guide, which will help local jurisdictions in any state plan and implement surveys of unreinforced masonry buildings in their communities.

The workflow outlined in the guidebook allows the survey to be carried out by trained volunteers, which makes conducting a survey both feasible and affordable for small jurisdictions.

The Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Building Survey Workflow Guidebook was produced by CREW using funds provided by an FY24 grant from FEMA National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

Next Steps After ShakeOut

Insure Against Earthquakes graphic: parents and two small children play on the floor in front of a couch; 3 message bubbles appear on the right of the scene

International ShakeOut Day was October 17 — over 58.2 million participants registered to take part. 

Participating in the ShakeOut Earthquake Drill is an excellent step toward building greater resilience. Keep up the momentum by sharing preparedness information with your network and encouraging everyone to take at least one more resilience-building action this month, such as doing a home hazard hunt, securing their space, developing a business continuity plan, organizing disaster kits, and asking an insurance agent about their earthquake insurance options.

For ideas and information, check out: