Nor-Cal Chapter of EERI

Economists warn of major setback in women labor participation and income, including at the highest education levels. "The share of women in the workforce is down to levels not seen since 1988." Engineers take note. What is happening in your firm, and to you and your life partners and colleagues during the pandemic, regarding gender and employment? Where do you have power to speak up and step up? I was amazed to learn in this piece that the pay gap is at its highest in the advanced degree fields, where women earn 26% less than men. https://www.npr.org//stuck-at-home-moms-the-pandemics-deva

Numerous of your EERI-NC colleagues including Yousef Bozorgnia, Kelly Cobeen, Gregory G. Deierlein, Grace S. Kang, Bret Lizundia, Sharyl Rabinovici, Evan Reis, and David P. Welch in cooperation with Henry Burton, Tara Hutchinson, Silvia Mazzoni, Brandon Schiller, and Farid Zareian will be presenting the culmination of the multi-year PEER-coordinated project Quantifying the Performance of Retrofit of Cripple Walls and Sill Plate Anchorage in Single-Family Wood-frame Buildings, next Mon & Tues (Oct 26 & 27) at the CEA-PEER Research Forum, free & online. The study's punch line: Crawlspace brace and bolt retrofits can save California homeowners tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided earthquake damage. For more information including the program agenda & (free) registration, see https://lnkd.in/g4Z2YAh

: The EERI Northern California Regional Chapter is happy to host a webinar series on how the current COVID-19 pandemic can affect the earthquake community. This webinar will feature a panel discussion on the impacts of earthquakes on infection rates and actions immediately following earthquakes in Europe (Portugal and Croatia). Attention will be placed on lessons learned that may be important for the Un...ited States. Two of our panelists will give a brief summary of their recent article in Earthquake Spectra titled, Potential Impact of Earthquakes during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. Another two of our panelists were in Zagreb during the March 2020 earthquake (M5.5) and will provide eye-witness accounts. Register here: https://www.eeri.org//webinar-earthquakes-in-pandemics-ex/

This Thrs @USGS_Quakes and @JointVentureSVN are hosting the first of three seminars on the eagerly awaited Bottom Line findings from the Hayward Fault Scenario, showing how the region could go "Haywired". Information and registration for all three are at: https://jointventure.org/events/haywired-connection

Calling all budding women engineers! Hope there’s some left!

Register Now for a Virtual EERI-NC Event: What changes to earthquake emergency response procedures have been driven by the current or future pandemics? July 16, 12-1... Please join the EERI Northern California chapter as we host our first virtual discussion panel to dive into how various earthquake emergency preparedness professionals have started to rethink how their community would respond to an earthquake event during the current pandemic. Panelists will provide a short overview of how their thinking about their job has changed in the past few months, followed by a Q&A. Panelists include: Anne Rosinski, Earthquake Program Manager, FEMA Region IX Kevin Miller, Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcano Program Manager, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Bijan Karimi, Asst. Deputy Director, Division of Emergency Services, San Francisco Department of Emergency Management Louise Comfort, Professor, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, author of The Dynamics of Risk: Changing Technologies and Collective Action in Seismic Events (2019) Date: Thursday, July 16, 2020 Time: 12 pm - 1 pm Register Now:

A free webinar from EERI colleagues on communicating about risk. Worth a look and listen!

Contribute your experiences & knowledge Today to help our profession evolve.

Dear EERI Colleagues -- We are clearly in a period of multiple, overlapping crises. It can be difficult to focus on work. Here I am writing on Facebook at 11am, after all! But I want to share some thoughts about what earthquake mitigation has to do with social and racial justice. I will indulge here in a personal note writing as Sharyl Rabinovici (former Chapter President) not speaking for EERI itself nor the Chapter, but I think it's relevant to all our members because who i...s or is not receiving adequate help in preparing for earthquakes is a matter of policy and practice deeply related to social justice, and one that we can act upon through what we do. I often bristle when people talk about vulnerable communities as "less disaster resilient." There is so much resilience there, so much credit never given for their own endurance and successes despite external threatening forces! But is there a way to survive with less suffering? Less isolation? Fewer obstacles? With the burden more equitably shared? I believe so. And because disasters come in cycles, we have opportunities now to change the future. A duty to educate ourselves and explore avenues for action using our own strengths and from our own positions of power is paramount. Thank you for listening and being willing to consider and learn. Please share if you know of professional avenues to contribute to disaster justice in your own networks or work. I promise to do the same. Take care! https://www.usnews.com//a-year-after-sandy-research-focuse

Our very own Anne Hulsey!

If you're like me, this surreal period of time includes roller coaster swings between feeling super busy and feeling adrift. Here's an idea to anchor some of your downtime with fundamentals and reflection: catch up on some EERI resources from top contributors to our field. Enjoy!

Many earthquake experts are thinking about how we can respectfully sustain at this time--or even raise--support for preparedness for ALL hazards, not just pandemics. Here's one avenue: May is the ICC's Building Safety Month. #BuildingSafety365 People are more aware than ever of the need for safe places to shelter. If your organization is interested in joining that campaign or using its promotional materials to complement your own community engagement and marketing, refer to their 2020 campaign toolkit: https://www.iccsafe.org//building-s/2020-campaign-toolkit/

Looking to put your expertise and energy into shaping policy on Bay Area resilience? An important new SPUR position opening: https://www.spur.org//sustainability-and-resilience-policy