Earthquakes & Upgrades to the OH Web Site

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To many around the world, it seems that the number of destructive earthquakes has increased dramatically.  Yet most of the destruction is due to the recent exponential increases in human populations along major fault zones. 

Having just seen the destruction of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 12 by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault, we have now witnessed a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Chile on February 27, 2010, just to the northwest of Chile’s second-largest city, Concepcion.  The Chile earthquake follows closely a magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, on February 26, 2010. 

These major earthquakes dramatically bring home the risk that earthquakes pose to human society.  Most of the destruction and damage will not be covered by insurance.  Rather, it will be the responsibility of individuals to make themselves whole and to resume their lives. 

The public needs information on their exposure to risk from natural hazards such as earthquakes, together with tools for mitigation and planning.  Like most sources of information in the 21st century, the World Wide Web is increasingly playing the leading role.  It is for this reason that the open access, Open Hazards website was conceived and built. 

The recent earthquakes have accelerated our planning at Open Hazards in regard to the introduction of upgrades and new technology.   Within a few weeks, we plan to introduce a variety of new features and new content to provide more and better information, and to make the website more user-friendly.  Many of these new features are in response to suggestions and comments made by you, the public.  It is our hope that you will find these new features valuable, and that you will continue to use the information and tools from Open Hazards in your planning and mitigation activities.

Risk Alert