Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality has begun working with Portland’s 13 bulk fuel terminals to assess their seismic vulnerabilities and implement mitigation, according to an opinion piece published today in The Oregonian by NIBS Special Advisor, Lifelines Infrastructure Initiative Yumei Wang, PE, FASCE.

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the US surpassed $1 trillion in losses and 5,000 deaths from 122 separate billion-dollar disasters over the past seven years. These eyewatering losses demonstrate the need to redouble our collective efforts to reduce disaster impacts.

We want to take this moment to thank you for following and supporting the National Institute of Building Sciences.

The greater built environment is critical to our work to ensure the nation remains healthy, resilient, sustainable, and prepared.

This year, we developed a new three-year strategic plan to guide the organization. Our goals are simple: climate adaptation and mitigation, transformational building sciences and technology, industry development and diversification, and visibility and recognition.

The Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council (MMC) Committee on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (CFIRE) held its Resilience Incentivization Roadmap 2.0 kickoff meeting with project partners this month.

Nearly two dozen industry officials participated in the meeting to discuss collaboration and next steps.

“We’re ready to take this to the next level,” said Daniel Kaniewski, Managing Director, Public Sector with Marsh McLennan and CFIRE Chair.

Mandeville, founded in 1834, sits on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain across from New Orleans, just 26 miles to the south across the lake. The community flood protection consists of a 5-foot sea wall, while across the lake is a full levee protected set of communities. When the lake is stirred up, the water spills out on the north shore. The city participates in the CRS program, recently getting to a Class 7. Mandeville, located in the St. Tammany Parish, has a long history of hurricanes and flooding.

Designing a structure to resist earthquakes requires several considerations. The loading is more severe, the permissible response will usually include damage to the structure, as well as the systems and components supported by the structure, and the levels of uncertainty in loading and response are greater than for ordinary loads.