In California, they come in ‘swarms,’ a series of dozens of smaller earthquakes within a span of a couple days up to several weeks. Recently, California has seen its fair share of swarms. In May, for instance, at least four earthquakes reaching up to 4.9 magnitude rattled the Gulf of California near Baja California, reported the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), contributing to the 10,000 earthquakes experienced annually in the state.
While it comes as no surprise when an earthquake occurs in California, when it happens in Ohio or Virginia or Texas, it is unexpected. Such was the case on struck around Mineral, Virginia, rocking not just the immediate area but causing tremors to be felt in western Ohio and Tennessee, northern Ontario, and Georgia.
What seem like rare events often thought to strike in western regions, earthquake activity is actually commonplace across the US and indeed the world. From May 1 to May 30, the ranging from 2.1 to 5.5 magnitude. While a substantial number of earthquakes are of minor magnitude, damage can occur in areas where building materials and codes do not account for earthquake activity. alone had 24 earthquake events in the same month.
This kind of earthquake activity is not new. The National Earthquake Information Center estimates 55 earthquakes daily around the world, an estimate based on an . Of those, roughly 16 would be rated as major – 7.0 or greater magnitude.
"...where the USGS does not have a large concentration of sensors in the area, property owners, with their own on-site sensors, can have near-real-time, specific information on their building. "
Rattling damage
According to an updated estimate from the USGS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), earthquakes cause $14.7 billion in damages and related losses on an annualized basis in the U.S. This updated figure is twice that of the previous annual estimate. According to the USGS, the revised estimate reflects increasing property values and the inclusion of the latest hazards and improvements to building inventories in the report.
California, Oregon, and Washington account for 78% of the national annualized earthquake losses, with California alone accounting for approximately 65% of the losses.
Earthquake damage could remain unknown and unseen until another earthquake or tremor occurs. Structural issues could well be creating loss exposures unwittingly.
Even a small earthquake (or distant large earthquake) raises questions: Do we evacuate people? Do the building and grounds need to be evaluated? Is there damage that an inspection will not uncover? Is the building still safe to occupy? Could the next shake, big or small, cause the building to fail?
Those questions can now be addressed with data instead of speculation. Thanks to earthquake sensor technology, building owners can be alerted to an earthquake or strong tremor and put remediation in motion. Having the data in hand and the near real-time awareness of how the quake has impacted a particular location gives risk management the tools for better decision-making and recovery.
The technology is not new. What is new – the size, complexity and cost of earthquake sensors have decreased.
Sensing movement
Earthquake sensors have become a must-have mitigation and response vehicle for businesses. Sensors measure the shaking at the site and feed the information back to the user, giving them the data to help support safety and business operational decisions.
Yet many earthquake sensor technologies, particularly earlier systems, were not easy to install. Sensors had to be hardwired into buildings, and the price could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, making it out of reach for many mid-sized businesses.
Relying on the traditional methods of determining magnitude does not often give enough information for individual buildings. In places such as San Francisco where earthquakes are a more common occurrence, the USGS has a higher concentration of sensors from which they can gather data and decide as to the magnitude of the quake and the epicenter. However, in places that do not have a USGS sensor, understanding the impact of an earthquake is dependent on data that may not pertain to that region.
Scaling down to scale up protection
Bringing a more detailed view of the impact of a quake on a business’s portfolio, therefore, is essential to loss control and safety planning. For that reason, 色多多视频has partnered with to bring earthquake sensor technology to businesses and establishments of all sizes. The Global Risk Platform is based on a smartphone-sized sensor that provides near real-time building-specific information on damage following an earthquake event. Sensors are attached to walls and plugged in. The sensors give users situational awareness of a building’s potential damage.
According to Evan Reis, Director of Science and Analytics,” The benefit is that in a situation where the USGS does not have a large concentration of sensors in the area, property owners, with their own on-site sensors, can have near-real-time, specific information on their building. It reduces uncertainty and gives the owner a near-real-time readout of the severity of the event as it pertains to a particular building.”
Such information can give management a glimpse of what, if any, damage may have occurred, which speeds up response and recovery processes and reduces further, more costly damage and lowers business interruption.
Building better earthquake mitigation
Having a technology that can tackle such costly losses and keep operations running smoothly is now much more affordable. The data brings much-needed insight into how your building and operations can be impacted by earthquakes of any size. It can also help you build out your risk management strategy to include better responses and more accurate decision-making.
When an earthquake strikes, no matter how small, calculating the loss is essential to keeping your business and facilities operational. Earthquake sensor technology that’s affordable brings that efficiency to businesses of all sizes.
About the Authors
Based in San Francisco, Andy Starnes is AXA XL’s Northwest Regional Property Leader. He can be reached at andy.starnes@axaxl.com.
Based in Austin, Texas, Willian Volz is AXA XL’s Southwest Regional Property Leader. He can be reached at william.volz@axaxl.com.
