The Earthquake Country Alliance
Know what it takes when the earth shakes!

To coordinate activities for the 10-year anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake in January 2004 (and beyond), this new alliance has been organized to present common messages, to share or promote existing resources, and to develop new activities and products. The group includes earthquake scientists and engineers, preparedness experts, response and recovery officials, news media representatives, community leaders, and education specialists.

Planning by the Alliance and individual organizations resulted in a set of activities commencing in January and continuing throughout the year. Highlights included an event for the public at Caltech with speakers and exhibits, a seminar for private and public decision makers, special sessions at meetings of EERI and SSA, and a City of Los Angeles emergency response exercise simulating a repeat of the Northridge earthquake.

In addition to these activities, several products were developed:

• A web portal, www.earthquakecountry.info, was established with answers to frequently asked questions and descriptions of resources and services that Earthquake Country Alliance members provide.
• Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country was extensively updated. Over 200,000 copies were printed for the Northridge earthquake anniversary. An online version is available at www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/roots.html  (web and PDF).
• A new documentary video, Written in Stone: Earthquake Country- Los Angeles was produced by Pat Abbott, SDSU. The video tells the story of how earthquakes shaped the landscape of the Los Angeles area.

The Earthquake Country Alliance will continue to coordinate public awareness efforts in southern California. In 2006, the centennial anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake will be commemorated and the Alliance will participate in activities with partners in the Bay Area who have formed the 1906 Earthquake Centennial Alliance.

A list of all members of the Alliance is available. More information about the activities of the Alliance can be found on the Earthquake Country Calendar.  For products of the Alliance, see www.earthquakecountry.info/catalog.html.