Disaster and Recovery Planning, Essay Example

All 50 US states are potentially vulnerable to earthquakes.  The areas of California and South Carolina or in high risk zones of severe shaking intensity.  In order to assess the company’s vulnerability to earthquakes it  is necessary to carry out a facility study.  The study identifies non-structural components and a baseline survey to examine the risk of structural hazards.  Help and information can be obtained from the earthquake research engineering Institute.  There have been 12 earthquakes recorded in Minnesota in the last 120 years.  These have been of fairly low magnitude between 4.2 and 4.8 intensity.  This would be classified as a low risk area.  South Carolina is one of the most seismically active regions on the eastern coastline.  There are reported to be more than 20,000 seismic events each year; it is therefore a high risk area.  California is equally a high risk area owing to the San Andreas fault line.  Two major cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco pose a  great threat to human life in this area;  earthquake planning should be a high priority in both California and South Carolina where  a threat to property damage is the greatest.  There are six main items to complete in the high risk zone:  (1) check for hazards in the property; (2) Identify safe shelter places; (3)  educate yourself — awareness of procedures; (4)  have a disaster supplies on hand; (5)  develop an emergency communication plan; (6)  rehearse a disaster scenario.

If you are in a geographically active seismic area then you need emergency level planning.  California, Minnesota and South Carolina are all  seismically active.  Although California and South Carolina are higher risks, this would not negate the importance of having emergency procedures in place.  The major difference is that high risk areas require proper building and construction methods in order to mitigate the amount of damage in the event of an earthquake  (Gustin, 2007)

Works Cited

Gustin, J. E. (2007). Disaster and Recovery Planning: Guide for Facilities Managers. Lilburn, CA: Fairmont Press.