The mission of the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission is to review Missouri's current preparedness for major earthquakes and to make recommendations to mitigate their impact. By creating this Commission, the State of Missouri has taken an initial, but important step, to prepare for and to reduce the effects of this natural disaster. The recent Northridge, California, and Kobe, Japan, earthquake disasters again show the need for taking active steps to reduce earthquake damage, injuries and deaths in our vulnerable modern society.
The key issues identified by MSSC are as follow:
| 1. | The earthquake threat to Missouri is real. Addressing the problem now will yield significant long-term benefits. |
| 2. | The reduction of earthquake risk in Missouri requires the combined efforts of individuals, businesses, industry, professional and volunteer organizations and all levels of government. |
| 3. | Most of the strategies identified in this report for reducing earthquake risk can be implemented through proactive, voluntary community participation. Others will require legislation or significant funding. |
| 4. | The Missouri Seismic Safety Commission accepts its responsibilities to advance earthquake planning and mitigation in the State as outlined in A Strategic Plan for Earthquake Safety in Missouri |
The earthquake problem is multifaceted. This is acknowledged in the legislation establishing this Commission which requires the participation of many different disciplines from basic earth science, engineering, planning and emergency response, to many levels of government. Thus, a plan to address the earthquake problem in Missouri is necessarily detailed.
To organize the Commission's presentation, one can respond to the questions: "What is the threat?", "How do we prepare for the threat?" and "How do we respond to the threat?" These basic questions are organized into five major objectives, within which specific strategies are recommended to address different aspects of the earthquake problem.
| Objective 1: Increase Earthquake Awareness and Education. | |
|---|---|
| Knowledge is a crucial component of the program to minimize risk to our citizens. | |
| Objective 2: Reduce Earthquake Hazard Through Mitigation. | |
| Casualties and economic losses can only be avoided by taking positive steps to ensure that structures and systems survive earthquake shaking with minimal damage. | |
| Objective 3: Improve Emergency Response. | |
| Response efforts need to be well coordinated, fast and efficient to reduce injury, additional loss of life, and further property destruction. | |
| Objective 4. Improve Recovery. | |
| The recovery process helps people resume their normal lives by reducing the emotional and economic impact of the disaster over the long term. | |
| Objective 5. Assess Earthquake Hazard. | |
| Readiness for an earthquake requires basic knowledge of expected earthquake locations and the effects of local site conditions on shaking, as well as rapid notification of their occurrence. |
This report contains 37 strategies to meet these five objectives. The strategies, actions and results are presented together at the beginning of each objective of this report, followed by detailed discussion of individual strategies. Recognizing that the strategies have different degrees of urgency, levels of effort, time tables and cost, this Commission has chosen one strategy within each objective for the immediate focus of its efforts. The Commission will endeavor to make significant progress in these areas during the next twelve months. To meet this goal, the Commission requires increased support from and commitment of from the General Assembly.