Outreach In The Community

Objective

To educate the general public regarding the earthquake hazards and risks in Southern Nevada and what they can do to improve their chances of survival during and after an earthquake.

What can you expect from outreach?

Our team develops event-specific presentations and workshops to suit the venue and the audience. With the cooperation of faculty and students from UNLV's Civil & Environmental Engineering and Geoscience Departments, we provide information on:

• Earthquakes and their associated hazards, such as ground shaking, surface rupture, and liquefaction.
  
  
• How structures behave during earthquakes.
  
  
• How to protect your home and your community against earthquake related damage.
  
  
• Earthquake facts Nevada and the Las Vegas Valley.
  
  
• What you should do before, during, and after an earthquake.

With our computerized "shake table", we reproduce the movement of the ground during actual earthquakes, using various models to demonstrate what happens to buildings and their contents. We display samples of preparedness kits and demonstrate home retrofitting techniques, and provide valuable printer information for our visitors to take away.

Our interactive, hands-on activities and displays have been very well received at all age levels. Recently, we have been seeing even greater interest as the public becomes aware of the need for emergency preparedness.

Recent Events

• March 10, 2009: Stacey Fish and Ahmad Saad were interviewed by UNLV journalism major, Jordan Gartner, for a paper he is writing on earthquake preparedness in Las Vegas
• March 9, 2009: Barbara Luke was interviewed by Channel 8 regarding the Las Vegas Earthquake Map, and discussed risks in the Las Vegas Valley
• February 21, 2009: Jonathan Carter and Stacey Fish set up an earthquake preparedness booth and taught a class on an overview of earthquakes, faults that exist in Las Vegas, and earthquake preparedness
• February 18, 2009: Dr. Said addressed Cox Communications' employees on the Earthquakes in Southern Nevada project, and specifically, "Earthquake Vulnerable Structures"
• November 9-14, 2008: Primary investigator, Barbara Luke, participates in the SEG conference here in Las Vegas
• September 19, 2008: Primary investigator, Barbara Luke, is interviewed on KLAV 720am regarding the possibility of an earthquake in Las Vegas
• July 29, 2008: Interview with Las Vegas news stations (channels 3, 5, 8, 13, & 15) regarding the Chino Hills, California earthquake
• July 29, 2008: Primary investigator, Aly Said, is interviewd on KDWN 720am regarding the 5.4 magnitude earthquake in Chino Hills, California
• July 7, 2008: The Rising 10th graders visited the EGL for a tour and shake table demonstration

Past Outreach Activities

• May 29, 2008: Participation in the Institute for Security Studies Symposium demonstrating the shake table and the importance of earthquake safety; primary investigator, Aly Said, spoke on the panel about structure safety in Las Vegas
  
  
• May 5, 2007: Red Rock Expo
  • Pictures From the Event
    
    
• April 14, 2007: Lowes-Earthquake Awareness
  
  
• March 31, 2007: Sun City Anthem-Safety Expo
  
  
• February 27, 2007: UNLV Engineering Week
  
  
• February 26-March 4, 2007: Earthquake Awareness Week
  
  
• Permanent display at the Red Rock Visitors Center

For local businesses:

• Willis Pooling Loss Control Services - March 2005

For neighborhood associations and health & safety expos:

• Nevada Earthquake Safety Council - November 2005
  
  
• Henderson Safety Expo/Henderson Fire Department - October 2005
  
  
• Sun City Anthem Emergency Preparedness Expo - September 2005
  
  
• AEG Teachers Workshop - Las Vegas Hilton, September 2005
  
  
• Henderson Home Alone Teens & Parents - December 2004
  
  
• Henderson Safety Expo/Henderson Fire Department - October 2004
  
  

For More Information

To bring the ESN outreach team to your event or if you have any other questions, please contact:

Stacey Fish Outreach Director and Project Administrator Earthquakes in Southern Nevada Project UNLV Engineering Geophysics Laboratory Phone: (702) 774-1411 EMail: stacey.fish@unlv.edu

* Photos courtesy of ESN Outreach Team