Goals Promote efforts to reduce the loss of life and property.
Conduct education efforts to motivate key decision makers to reduce risks associated with earthquakes. Foster productive linkages between scientists, critical infrastructure providers, businesses and governmental agencies in order to improve the viability of communites after an earthquake event. A unique aspect of a great Cascadia earthquake is the strong likelihood that the three greater metropolitan areas of Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver will simultaneously feel the effects of strong and sustained ground shaking. This wide-spread ground shaking combined with accompanying elevation changes and the likely generation of a tsunami along the Pacific coast, will cause loss of life, property damage, and business interruption in vulnerable locations through out southwestern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and northwestern California. The broad geographic distribution of damaging impacts will generate special challenges and severely stress the response and recovery resources of the three Pacific states and British Columbia.