Faculty receive $45K grant to create database of potential earthquake scenarios

Western Washington University assistant professor of Environmental Studies Scott Miles and Research Associate Rebekah Green of Western Washington University’s Resilience Institute have received a $45,000 grant from the Washington Emergency Management Division to create and populate a digital database of 20 earthquake disaster scenarios and their potential impacts.

The database will be used by statewide emergency planners and responders to develop pre-event training exercises, understand the individual vulnerabilities of each of the 20 areas to be analyzed, and to plan for post-event operations in the wake of an event.

“Data is not useful until it is packaged for specific decision needs. Washington will soon have a one-stop location for practitioners and the public to understand physical earthquake hazards and their potential social and economic impacts throughout the entire state,” said Miles. “This type of interactive, user-focused tool will be the first of its kind in the country.”

The grant will be used to build the application database and fund the research efforts of a single Western Washington University graduate student, Ben Kane of Davis, Calif.

The Resilience Institute’s mission is to create and disseminate practical knowledge and tools that promote resilient human and ecological communities in the context of natural hazard risk. The Resilience Institute focuses on research and service in Washington. Past and current projects include studying the business impacts of flooding in Lewis County, analyzing resilience of the state’s farmers, evaluating a public awareness campaign by Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management, and modeling the relationship of infrastructure restoration to Western Washington economies.

Western’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and is a recognized national leader in producing the next generation of environmental stewards. The College’s academic programs reflect a broad view of the physical, biological, social and cultural world. This innovative and interdisciplinary approach makes Huxley unique, and the College continues to earn international recognition for the quality of its programs.

For more information on this project, contact Scott Miles, Western Washington University assistant professor of Environmental Studies, at (360) 650-2440 or scott.miles@wwu.edu.