The top single risk that is likely to adversely impact on the Hot Site organization is an earthquake, which will result from the movements of seismic waves below the region’s surface leading to surface faulting and tremors among other related cases of landslides. I selected the risk because the region, Sunnyvale, California, where Hot Site is located is prone to earthquake due to its subduction around the ocean, and having a complex belt that has stretched miles away to the American belt. Hot Site risks an earthquake, a phenomenon that may result from the regions slippage along the extensively stretching fault.
On the same note, the occurrence of an earthquake in the region, which is highly probable, will actual result in a greater loss in the entire departments in the organization alongside disruption of their operations. The phenomena may further lead to the death of the staff members within the organization, from the intensive trauma and asphyxia among other related cases of acute respiratory distress and hypothermia. It is, therefore, important that the organization establish some of the mitigation strategies with respect to their operation within an earthquake-prone area.
Section Two
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This is based on the analysis drawn from the cost incurred in managing that particular risk and the actual loss that it will pose to the organization once it occurs. Therefore, in this case, when the cost incurred during mitigation is higher than the possible loss from the event, then it is considered appropriate not to manage the event (Oettle & Bray, 2013). In the case of Hot Site organization, this strategy is not recommended in any way basing on the fact that it will not reduce the effects and also, the loss that will be realized after earthquake occurrence in the firm will be higher than the mitigation
The Long Point Fault is located in Harris County, which covers 83,450 square miles located with in Houston, Teaxas City Limits. Research specifies that there are three sections of the Long Point fault that appear to be active; some sections of the Long Point fault have averaged more than 2 cm per year of vertical offset over the last 20 years. Evidence of the faults concludes it is a natural fault. The reason for activity is not caused by man, even though man’s activities are not helping the issues, but clearly humans are not the initial cause, biological activity can be in fact an adiitional cause for its movement. A brief description of the type of fault and its relationship with the strata and the faults beneath the Houston area, are at depths of 1,000 to 4,000 m. They have been well-defined through the study of well logs and seismic lines. Studies have resuted in assumuptions that some of these subsurface faults penetrate younger sediments at shallower depths, and contain faults that have of set the present land surface to produce recognizable scarps. (Gabrysh)
The scenario mentioned above was based on the rupture located along the Cascadia fault line. This fault system runs from Northern California to Vancouver Island about 700 miles off the shore (FOX5). Scientists use to believe that the San Andreas Fault was where a large earthquake tsunami would originate, but recently their attention has shifted to the Cascadia subduction zone which is now said to be much more dangerous than previously thought (FOX5). Recent earthquake events have added even more tension and possibility for a large-scale tsunami. On March 10, 2014, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California, which put a lot of stress on the Mendocino Triple Junction (Davidson). The Mendocino Triple Junction is where three tectonic plates collide, and is very unstable (Davidson). This junction has all this built up pressure and is about ready to explode. Scientists believe that this junction will be the origin of a tear along the 680-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone. (Davidson). The disaster that follows will be considered the United State’s largest modern-day earthquake.
With the recent earthquakes in California, many are worried about the next earthquake that could be the potential “big” one that many geologists have been predicting for many years. The Cascadia subduction zone is also known as the CSZ megathrust fault. It is roughly 1000km long, a dipping fault that stretches from the Northern Vancouver Islands to Cape Mendocino, California. The zone passes through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and into California. The Cascadia region has experienced several types of earthquakes and it is very likely to experience similar quakes in the near future.
Earthquakes in California are certainly not a surprise. What is a surprise is their unpredictability and randomness. Geologists say there is roughly a 50 percent chance that a magnitude 8 or more quake will hit the Los Angeles area sometime over the next 30 years. And, over the past twenty years, the Los Angeles area has witnessed several earthquakes, and in particular, two that were quite devastating; the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the January 17, 1994, Northridge Earthquake. Given the certainty that earthquakes will occur, they still seem to come as a surprise, and leave many communities unprepared to deal with their aftermath.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “we learn geology the morning after the earthquake.” Fortunately for those living along the San Andreas Fault line in California, there are people behind the scenes, from geologists to city and emergency planners, who have no intention of waiting that long.
The science of the natural disaster has baffled many, but from studying the San Francisco earthquake, scientists have made a number of important discoveries and they have a better understanding of earthquakes. At 5:12 on a fateful April morning in 1906, the mammoth Pacific and North American plates sheared at an incredible twenty-one feet along the San Andreas fault, surpassing the annual average of two inches (“San Francisco Earthquake of 1906”)(“The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fires”). The shearing caused a loud rumble in the Californian city of San Francisco. A few seconds later, the destructive earthquake occurred. The ground shifted at almost five feet per second, and the shaking could be felt all the way from southern Oregon to southern Los Angeles to central Nevada (“Quick”)(“The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake”). Moreover, the earthquake could be recorded on a seismograph in Capetown, South Africa, an astounding 10,236 miles away from San Francisco (“San Francisco ea...
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
Due to the hazard that earthquakes cause, a hazard consultant becomes a critical part of
The west coast of the islands is on the edge of a continental shelf created by ancient volcanic movement (Broadhead 5) .This volcanic activity is due to plate tectonic movement which also created the numerous amounts of earthquakes on the island. Compared to the rest of British Columbia, Haida Gwaii has the most earthquake activity (Broadhead 5), the last of which being in a magnitude of 7.7 on t...
MILLER, C. D. POTENTIAL HAZARDS FROM FUTURE ERUPTIONS IN THE VICINITY OF MOUNT SHASTAVOLCANO, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. N.p.: US Government Printing Office, 1980. Print.
Education of all personnel is key. Simulations like the Franklin County are great sources. Schools, hospitals, public and private companies to consider preforming drills or simulations in preparation for disasters such as. Many counties have such drills which sometime involve local hospitals, emergency personnel, and local high school students acting like victims with certain issues like head injury, burns, and other injuries which can occur. The television and radios do emergency testing which reminds watchers monthly the sound and the protocol that occurs in an emergency.
The 6.7 magnitude earthquake was felt throughout most of southern California and as far away as Utah and Mexico with a max acceleration of 1.0g in several different areas and the highest at Tarzana with a recorded value of 1.8g. The earthquake also deformed over 1500 square miles of the Earth’s crust, forcing the surface upward in a dome shape. The Susana Mountains sustained the most soil deformation with an uplift of around 15cm causing numerous rockslides, blocking many roadways. Soil liquefaction was observed in the Simi Valley area and other parts of the Los Angeles Basin. After all the term oil ended the preliminary cost estimate of damage was between 15 and 20 billion U.S. dollars. Today, Geologists remain to search for thrust faults throughout the southern California area by using a 3 dimensional modeling system to view folds and upli...
Authorities have attempted to implement codes or regulations, but that has proved to be very difficult tasks becasue there are many variables that effect the dynamic response of buildings. One way to try to avoid disaster is to evaluate seismic risk is to look at a buildings hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and location. Hazards are, for example, landslides ad soil type. Exposure is a building's occupancy and function. Vulnerability is the expected performance of a building's system, and location is how often earthquakes occur in the area. (Lagorio)
Risk mitigation is also the process of controlling actions, which are identified, and selecting the suitable ones to reduce risk according to project objectives (Pa, 2015). Risk mitigation is important in IT organizations in so many ways. According to Ahdieh, Hashemitaba, Ow (2012), mitigation of risk provides a mechanism for managers to handle risk effectively by providing the step wise execution of the risk handling (as cited in Pa, 2015, pg. 49). Some risks, once identified, can readily be eliminated or reduced. However, most risks are much more difficult to mitigate, particularly high-impact, low-probability risks. Therefore, risk mitigation and control need to be long-term efforts by IT project managers throughout the project lifecycle. There are three types of risk mitigation strategies that hold unique to Business Continuity and Disaster
Earthquakes belong to the class of most disastrous natural hazards. They result in unexpected and tremendous earth movements. These movements results from dissemination of an enormous amount of intense energy in form of seismic waves which are detected by use of seismograms. The impact of earthquakes leaves behind several landmarks including: destruction of property, extensive disruption of services like sewer and water lines, loss of life, and causes instability in both economic and social components of the affected nation (Webcache 2).