Updates & Announcements

New! Oregon Earthquake Guide for Insurance Agents

Cover of Oregon Earthquake Guide for Insurance Agents, by CREW.org

CREW is pleased to announce the release of the Oregon Earthquake Guide for Insurance Agents!

The guide presents Oregon-specific earthquake information and tools to help insurance agents discuss the hazard and earthquake insurance with their policyholders and insurance shoppers.

The Oregon publication is the first of two pilot guides; the second, for Nevada, will be released this fall. CREW’s goal is to create similar guides for states across the western US that have a high- to very-high earthquake hazard.

This project was prompted by the results of CREW’s survey of insurance agents: most survey respondents indicated that they’re willing to educate consumers about the earthquake hazard and earthquake insurance, but they need locality-specific information about the hazard, presented in a way that is suited to helping individuals make insurance decisions for a particular property. The Oregon guide was designed to help meet that need.

Funding for this project was provided by an FY24 grant from FEMA National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

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.