Natural Hazards - HAZUS History

For nearly a decade, HAZUS-MH has been used by FEMA, USGS and select state agencies and private HAZUS users assessing the impacts of earthquakes within communities in California, Oregon and Washington.  Among the milestones in the evolution of HAZUS as a decision and support tool for earthquakes and other hazards:

• Preparation of FEMA's HAZUS Operations Plan for Earthquakes (1999), which outlines a concept of operations and procedures for the use of HAZUS to support the Mapping and Analysis Center (MAC) in rapid impact assessments for damaging earthquakes, and the use of this analysis to support decision making on the Emergency Support Team (EST).

• Preparation by FEMA's ESF #5 staff of a series of "situation report templates" for rapid impact assessments for earthquakes.  These templates were used in a tabletop exercise and video conference that involved the EST/MAC and the state of Oregon in July, 2000.

• The use of HAZUS in the MAC in response to the Nisqually earthquake (2000).

• The preparation of the FEMA document, Application of HAZUS-MH in the Disaster Field Office (FEMA Draft, 2002). which guides the deployment of HAZUS in the DFO for hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.

• The deployment of HAZUS-MH to the Raleigh, North Carolina Disaster Field Office (DFO), September 2003.