EQ Conference Targets Business Community
Applying Lessons Learned to All-Hazards Preparedness
Release Date: October 31, 2001
Release Number: R10-01-56
Seattle, WA -- The Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (CREW) annual conference, The Business of Earthquakes -- What We Learned From The Nisqually Earthquake, will be held 27-28 November 2001 in the Westin Hotel in Seattle. This year's conference specifically targets businesses, non-profit and government agencies, and according to CREW president and Boeing manager of disaster preparedness Bob Zimmerman, the disaster preparedness and mitigation tools apply to virtually every disaster scenario, including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic hazards to weapons of mass destruction and terrorist strikes.
"Lessons learned from the Nisqually Earthquake are invaluable in enhancing continuity of operations planning and employee safety, as well as ensuring that our host communities 'weather the storm' and bounce back quickly" said Zimmerman. "Of course, hardened infrastructure and survivable transportation corridors, telecommunications redundancy, effective disaster planning and employee notification procedures apply equally well to a wider range of preparedness and mitigation issues, ranging from winter storms and flooding to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and possible terrorist strikes."
FEMA Acting Regional Director and conference presenter Tammy Doherty concurs. "The February 28, 2001 Nisqually Earthquake validated Pacific Northwest communities' commitment to pre-disaster mitigation and pre-disaster planning, and demonstrated the vulnerability of historic buildings and older infrastructures," said Doherty. "This year's CREW conference is an appropriate forum for sharing solutions to this region's ever-present seismic hazards and exploring avenues for reducing exposure to other natural hazards, acts of terrorism and WMD incidents."
Sponsored by CREW, FEMA and the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS), the two-day conference is designed to impart risk-reduction tools, programs and procedures relevant for businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies and geoscientists.
For conference and registration information visit: www.crew.org, or call (206) 328-2533.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 21-Oct-2003 16:08:02