FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/11/2013
Councilmember Richard Conlin
National Earthquake Engineering conference coming to Seattle
Councilmember Conlin to present draft earthquake legislation
The City of Seattle is excited to welcome the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) to Seattle this year for their annual meeting, Feb. 12 through 15.
EERI’s annual meeting will highlight earthquake policy issues while providing a venue for collaboration for researchers and practitioners from around the country. This year’s meeting will focus on increasing community resilience following an earthquake.
“The 2013 EERI conference is especially relevant for the City of Seattle,” said Councilmember Richard Conlin, chair of the Council’s Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee. “Under the Council’s direction, the Department of Planning and Development is developing an ordinance that will require earthquake safety upgrades to the most vulnerable buildings in our City, along with an incentive program to help building owners afford the improvements. As we are reminded regularly, we will have a major earthquake in our region, the only question is when. We must all work hard to be prepared to sustain our City when that happens.”
Councilmember Conlin will present the draft legislation at the conference. This legislation is the first of its kind outside of California. For more information, read Councilmember Conlin’s blog post.
The annual meeting will highlight resilience planning efforts from across the country. Urbanization has increased our community’s vulnerability to earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters, presenting new challenges and opportunities for Office of Emergency Management staff.
“Seattle staff will be listening intently as we continue to enhance our strategies,” added Emergency Management Director Barb Graff. “I applaud the outreach that EERI does to non-engineering communities. Together we all move closer to the goal of an earthquake resilient community.”
For more information on the EERI and the 2013 conference in Seattle, visit https://www.eeri.org/.