U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet FS-012-03

February 2003

University of Utah Prepared for

Olympics Earthquakes

University of Utah seismologists 

were on duty around the clock during 

the 2002 Winter Olympics, armed 

with a new $1.2 million system 

designed to quickly supply public 

safety information if any disruptive earthquakes were to shake 

the Winter Games. The improved 

earthquake-monitoring system of 

sensors, computers, and telecommunications equipment was made 

possible with $965,000 in funds and 

equipment provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and another 

$235,000 in funds and personnel support from the State of Utah. Although 

installation was accelerated to be in 

place for the 2002 Olympic Winter 

Games, the primary motivation is to 

provide for the long-term earthquake 

safety needs in Utahʼs dramatically 

growing Wasatch Front area.

ANSS Comes to Memphis

The ANSS in the Central United 

States was inaugurated with a ribboncutting ceremony on October 29, 

2002, at the USGS office in Memphis, Tenn., in collaboration with the 

Center for Earthquake Research and 

Information. Thirty-two new ANSS 

instruments in the mid-America region 

form part of a nationwide network of 

sophisticated instruments that monitor earthquakes throughout the United 

States and provide near-real-time 

information on earthquake shaking.

Real-Time Earthquake Products

Featured on Redesigned Website

The USGS Earthquake Program 

personnel unveiled a number of 

new real-time earthquake tools and 

a redesigned website to enhance 

information delivery during the times 

when people want it most – immediately after a damaging event. New 

earthquake activity maps, community 

Printed on recycled paper

Year 2000 85 new installations

Year 2001 148 new installations

Year 2002 84 new installations

Current ANSS strong motion stations in the contiguous United States area shown by triangles. Areas 

for which ShakeMap is available, Seattle, Salt 

Lake, and California, are shaded with light red.

ANSS Strong Motion Network

UNDERSTANDING EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS IN URBAN AREAS

ANSS—Advanced National Seismic System

Advancing National Seismic Safety—Accomplishments FY2002

The Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) provides accurate and timely information about seismic events and 

their effects on buildings and 

structures using modern monitoring methods and technologies. 

Continuing the original objective conceived in the 1980’s of a 

National Seismic System, ANSS 

strives to unify seismic monitoring in the United States. It provides a framework to modernize 

instrumentation and revolutionize 

data availability for research, 

engineering, and public safety.
BRIDGEPORT

HARTFORD

RUMFORD

WORCESTER

CONCORD

BINGHAMTON

ITHACA

MONTICELLO

OGDENSBURG

WATERTOWN

WESTHAMPTON

PROVIDENCE

BURLINGTON

MONTPELIER

9578 responses in 2103 ZIP areas. Max intensity: VII

ALBANY

SYRACUSE

km

0 50 100

77 W 76 W 75 W 74 W 73 W 72 W 71 W

INTENSITY

SHAKING

DAMAGE

I

Not felt

none

II-III

Weak

none

IV

Light

none

V

Moderate

Very light

VI

Strong

Light

VII

Very strong

Moderate

VIII

Severe

Moderate/Heavy

IX

Violent

Heavy

X+

Extreme

Very Heavy

Community Internet Intensity Map (27 lm SW of Plattsburgh, New York)

APRIL 20, 2002 Magnitude = 5.1

41 N

42 N

43 N

44 N

45 N

intensity reports, and automated web 

pages linking together historical seismicity, event summaries, ShakeMaps, 

fault displacement, and other technical information are now available 

within minutes of a significant event 

at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/.

Shaking It Up in Alaska

A ShakeMap portraying the variations in shaking intensity from the 

November 3, 2002, magnitude 7.9 

earthquake was produced by USGS 

scientists within 5 days of the temblor. The map is the first ShakeMap 

produced for the State of Alaska and 

is considered a prototype. The map 

focuses on the central and southcentral portions of the State, the area 

most affected by the quake. Most 

notable on the map is a 295-km-long 

and several-kilometer-wide zone of 

extremely violent shaking centered 

around the Denali and branching 

Totschunda faults. Not surprisingly, 

the shaking corresponds to the area 

where heavy highway, pipeline, and 

structural damage was concentrated. 

Response to Noteworthy Earthquakes 

Across the United States

USGS scientists and ANSS university collaborators kept busy in 2002 

responding to a number of noteworthy earthquakes across the country. 

On April 20, 2002, a magnitude 5.1 

earthquake hit near Au Sable Forks in 

the Adirondack Mountains region of 

New York. That earthquake was felt 

throughout New England, and as far 

away as Cleveland, Ohio, Baltimore, 

Md., and Quebec, Canada, a region 

well over 950 km across. Bridges and 

roads were damaged, and some foundations were reported cracked. More 

than 9,500 people provided personal 

accounts of the event through an 

interactive web-based tool known as 

“Did-You-Feel-It?”. After combining 

the account with the contributorʼs ZIP 

Code number, USGS scientists were 

able to integrate the information into 

a community-based shaking intensity 

map of the region – one of the first 

for New England. On May 13, 2002, 

a magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred 

south of Silicon Valley, Calif., near 

the town of Gilroy. Although producing no damage, the earthquake was 

felt strongly across the Bay Area (a 

400 km diameter), and resulted in 

approximately 17,000 contributions 

to the web-based “Did-You-Feel-It?” 

questionnaire as well as a surge in 

web traffic (peaking at 3,000 hits per 

second). Last was the magnitude 

5.0 Darmstad earthquake in southern 

Indiana. This event produced little 

damage but was felt broadly across the 

States of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, 

and Tennessee. The large community 

interest in each of the moderate earthquakes demonstrates the importance 

of satisfying the Nationʼs desire for 

For More Information

Contact:

USGS Geologic Hazards Team

Federal Center PO Box 25046 MS966

Denver, CO 80225

303-273-8582

ANSS Website:

http://www.anss.org/

ShakeMap:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/shakemap/

Did You Feel It?

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/shake/

Earthquake Hazards Program

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

Written by Jill McCarthy

Graphic Design by Lisa Wald

Community Internet Intensity Map for April 20, 2002, magnitude 5.1 earthquake near Plattsburgh, New York. This map 

was created by the response on the Internet from almost 10,000 people. Questionnaire answers in each ZIP Code were 

turned into shaking intensities, creating a map of the shaking distribution. The sparse seismic network in this part of 

the country could not provide the detailed shaking distribution that is seen on this map.

in-depth, timely earthquake information once the ground begins to shake. 

ANSS products are increasingly meeting this need.