2. Emergency Management
Emergency Management has four phases:
mitigating against hazards
pre-disaster planning
disaster response
holistic recovery
3. Disaster Response
Emergency Management is designed to adjust
to any size of disaster.
Begins at the local level: city or county
emergency response and emergency
management departments
When local resources are overwhelmed they
reach out to the state.
If a disaster is large enough for a presidential
declaration the federal government steps in:
FEMA and the National Guard
4. Cascadia Subduction Zone
The Cascadia
Subduction Zone is an
active fault where the
Juan de Fuca plate
and the North
American plate meet.
It runs from Northern
Vancouver, Canada, to
Cape Mendocino,
California.
Image Retrieved From
http://www.sustainablewestseattle.
org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/05/Cascade
M9_PeakGroundAccelerations.jpg
5. Cascadia Impact Zone
Image Retrieved From http://mil.wa.gov/uploads/pdf/HAZ-MIT-
PLAN/Earthquake_Hazard_Profile.pdf
6. San Andreas vs. Cascadia
Every fault has an upper limit potential, for the
San Andreas it is 8.2.
The Richter Scale is logarithmic, so an 8.2 is
only 6% as strong as the 9.0 in Japan in 2011.
If only half the Cascadia Subduction Zone
were to rupture the quake would be
approximately 8.0-8.6
If the entire fault went it could register as high
as 8.7 to a 9.2, and the effects will be
catastrophic!
7. The Nisqually Earthquake
On February 28th, 2001 in the late morning a 6.8
earthquake struck the Puget Sound near the
capital city of Olympia.
Centered 35 miles southwest of Seattle, and 36
miles deep, the strongest shaking lasted a full 40
seconds.
The earthquake was named the “Nisqually” for the
River Delta near by.
According to the USGS, approximately 400
people were injured during the earthquake in the
Puget Sound area, and there was one death
resulting from a heart attack.
8. Structural Damage Assessment
Image Retrieved From http://www.fema.gov/media-
library/assets/images/36722#wcm-survey-target-id
The Nisqually did
not seriously test
the performance of
the buildings or
infrastructure.
Repair costs were
higher than all
previous disasters
in Washington
combined.
The total cost was
over $113 million
dollars.
9. Nisqually Damage
Image Retrieved From
https://www.washington.edu/uwe
m/
King and Kitsap
Counties were hit the
hardest by the
Nisqually. Most
structural damage
was in older masonry
buildings, bridges
needing seismic
retrofit, and in areas
of geological
instability.
10. Kitsap County Department of
Emergency Management
(KCDEM)
KCDEM initiated a damage phone hotline to
coordinate the influx of reports.
KCDEM sent out a public message to explain
Federal Disaster Assistance programs available
from FEMA.
KCDEM released media announcements and
mailed letters to residents noting that chimneys
were the highest risk for damage and encouraging
professional inspection if issues were found.
KCDEM offered volunteers to inspect chimneys if
residents were unable to afford a private
inspector.
11. Earthquake Resiliency
The Resilient Washington State Initiative was
implemented in 2012, with the goal of making
the communities in Washington prepared to
withstand and recover quickly from an
earthquake. It identified the most significant
earthquake vulnerabilities to be:
Critical Services
Transportation
Utilities
Housing & Economic Development
12. Washington State Lifelines
Washington State has
18,500 highway miles and
more than 3,600 highway
bridges.
Western Washington is
broken up by mountains,
steep cliffs, waterways, and
large forests.
Bridges are often the only
way in and out of a city or
neighborhood.
Image Retrieved From
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6DC
18600-429D-480A-A914-
13. Continuing Earthquake Concerns in
Seattle
One of the biggest risks to life and safety is the
Alaskan Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle.
There were three options proposed to replace
the viaduct:
A more earthquake resistant elevated highway
Replace the downtown portion of the highway
with a large tunnel
Build a four-lane surface road that also would
allow for revitalizing the waterfront area
15. Downtown Seattle Tunnel
Project
The viaduct was
scheduled for removal
by 2012, but it still
stands.
As of March 2016 the
project was only 15%
complete
Estimated $3.1 billion
dollars.
The digging may have
caused structural
damage in the
Pioneer Square
historic district.
Image Retrieved From
http://www.traylor.com/university-link-light-rail-
u220-tunnel-seattle-wa/
16. Earthquake Concerns in Kitsap
County
The Agate Pass
Bridge connects
Bainbridge Island to
the Kitsap Peninsula
and is a major
commuter route.
It is not part of the
Lifeline Retrofit
Program.
Built in 1950 the
bridge is functionally
obsolete and
seismically deficient.
Image Retrieved From
http://washingtonlandscape.blogspot.c
om/2012_05_01_archive.html
17. Agate Pass Bridge Proposals
2 options were
proposed both
would take 10
years to complete.
The first option
would be to retrofit
the existing bridge
at an estimated
cost of $2 million.
The second option
would be to replace
the bridge entirely
for an estimated
cost of $164
million.
Image Retrieved From
http://mapio.net/s/1812910/
18. Conclusion
It is my recommendation that to best uphold
the principles of emergency management and
protect the safety of Washington citizens:
The downtown Seattle tunnel project should be
shut down in favor of the surface street option.
A new bridge should be built in Kitsap County to
replace outdated Agate Pass Bridge.
19. Recommendation for the Alaska Way
Viaduct
Only 15% of the tunnel project completed in over
6 years
Financial losses
the cost of the surface street is so much less than tunnel
that the revised budget would still be less than the total to
complete the tunnel
Tear down the viaduct immediately
immediate life safety priority
Adding a surface street would open up the waterfront
leaves room for beautification and environmental mitigation
projects that are in-line with public opinion and would
increase tourism
20. Recommendation for the Agate Pass
Bridge
Replacing the bridge is much more expensive,
but a retrofit is only delaying the inevitable.
The bridge lasted longer than it was intended to
Both options are estimated to take 10 years
The choice should be for the long-term solution
not a quick-fix – the bridge should be replaced.
The City of Bainbridge Island will need voter
approval to pass this vital project and that will
require public outreach and education.
21. Citations
Washington State Emergency Management Division, (2014). Enhanced
Hazard Mitigation Plan. Retrieved From http://mil.wa.gov/other-
links/enhanced-hazard-mitigation-plan
Canton, L. 2007. Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies
for Effective Programs. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Schulz, K., (July 20, 2015). The Really Big One. Retrieved From
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one
Doughton, S., (February 28, 2011). Dangerous ground: Hard lessons
learned since the 2001 Nisqually quake. Retrieved From
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/dangerous-ground-hard-
lessons-learned-since-the-2001-nisqually-quake/
Federal Emergency Management Agency, (July 5, 2001). Nisqually
Earthquake Recovery Tops $114 Million in Disaster Assistance.
Retrieved From http://www.fema.gov/news-
release/2001/07/05/nisqually-earthquake-recovery-tops-113-million-
disaster-assistance
US Geological Survey, (October 30, 2012). Historic Earthquakes. Retrieved
From
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/2001/2001_02_28.php
22. Citations (cont.)
Booth, D. B., Givler, R. W., and Wells, R. E., (June 2004). Chimney
Damage in the Greater Seattle Area from the Nisqually Earthquake
of 28 February 2001. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of
America, Vol. 94, No. 3, pp. 1143–1158. Retrieved From
http://faculty.washington.edu/dbooth/BSSA_2004_Chimneys.pdf
Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management, (n.d.).
Emergency Management. Retrieved From
http://www.kitsapgov.com/das/buddem.pdf
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, (n.d.). Cascadia Subduction
Zone. Retrieved From
https://pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/csz
URS Corporation & Washington State Department of Natural
Resources, (June 6, 2011). HAZUS-MH: Earthquake Event Report.
Retrieved From
http://file.dnr.wa.gov/publications/ger_hazus_seismic_scenario_seat
tle.pdf
Washington State Seismic Safety Committee Emergency
Management Council, (November 2012). Resilient Washington
State. Retrieved From http://mil.wa.gov/uploads/pdf/seismic-safety-
committee/RWS%20final%20report.pdf
