2024 EERI Annual Meeting (2024AM)

Climate, Multi-hazard Modeling, and Earthquake Resilience

Fire and earthquakes have been linked for decades in the discussion of post-earthquake fires. While this research continues to progress, new discussions within the western US are arising. These discussions surround holistic mitigation for earthquakes and wildfires. Many of the high seismic regions throughout the western US (California, Oregon, and Washington) are also vulnerable to wildfires. More recent post-earthquake fire research examines city-wide risk and vulnerability. Cascading fires following an earthquake can precipitate a full evacuation of an inordinate number of individuals with unfortunate casualties. This research will provide a decision-making tool to emergency responders and rescue teams to re-consider their response times, allocate proper firefighting capabilities and improve transportation abilities for fire suppression, as well as utility access. The results of this research can be highly applicable to the scenario planning exercises in many of the major western US cities, such as Seattle and Portland.

In addition to this cascading disaster, wildfires are ravaging the western US, most of which has high seismicity. Many of these places are not wildland urban intermix communities, but rather suburban or urban communities bordering wildland areas such as Santa Rosa or Oakland Hills. Therefore, when these communities are ignited, the fire spread through the community is an urban conflagration. Recent research on wildfires has opened up a discussion about how mitigation for earthquakes can benefit wildifres and/or how mitigation for earthquakes can have unintended consequences that increase vulnerabilities to wildfires. This group of international researchers and practitioners will present on a combination of topics at the intersection of fire and earthquakes, which will bring a unique topic to the EERI Annual Meeting that is not normally highlighted and can prompt discussions about more holistic and comprehensive hazard mitigation.