Circular 1242
The plan addresses coordination during three time frames or phases after the
earthquake:
• Phase I—Post-earthquake reconnaissance during the first few days.
• Phase II—Intensive gathering and archiving of perishable data during
the first few weeks.
• Phase III—Research and investigations, including additional data
gathering and archiving, conducted during the subsequent months and years.
The response of NEHRP to domestic and foreign earthquakes is sufficiently
different in scope that earthquakes occurring in the United States and abroad
are treated separately. Domestic earthquakes provide NEHRP with its best opportunity
to evaluate seismic hazards and the performance of the built and socioeconomic
environments in the United States. Furthermore, NEHRP is directed to conduct
investigations of domestic events by the 1977 Earthquake Hazards Reduction
Act. Consequently, domestic earthquakes typically receive greater scrutiny by
NEHRP than do foreign earthquakes. Foreign earthquakes, however, usually provide
insight into crustal failure processes, seismic radiation fields, and some construction
practices that contribute to earthquake risk mitigation in the United States,
as well as opportunities for model validation. For example, about $1.5 million
in NEHRP funds was used to support U.S. research investigations of the 1999
Kocaeli, Turkey, and Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquakes. In some cases, such as the
1988 Spitak, Armenia, and the 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey, earthquakes, the affected
countries request specific technical assistance from the U.S. Government, and
these requests are usually fulfilled by NEHRP agencies.
| Abbreviations | Domestic Earthquakes | Foreign Earthquakes |
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