Earthquake Experts to Address Southern California Businesses and Organizations at Free Earthquake Workshops

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)® and FEMA will present three QuakeSmart® Preparedness Workshops in Rancho Mirage, CA; Long Beach, CA; and Los Angeles, CA on April 18, May 16, and May 18. The Rancho Mirage Workshop will feature Dr. Dennis Mileti, professor emeritus at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he served as director of the Natural Hazards Center. The center is the United States' clearinghouse for social and behavioral science research related to hazards and disasters.

The two Los Angeles area workshops will feature Deputy Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration Ben Raju and Los Angeles Chief Resiliency Officer Marisa Aho. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also has been invited to welcome attendees.

The Workshops will continue a series of free earthquake damage prevention workshops nationally offered that feature the FEMA QuakeSmart Community Resilience Program. QuakeSmart provides comprehensive earthquake assessments, and engineering and retrofit information designed to keep businesses open after a seismic event. Workshop attendees will complete initial QuakeSmart assessments, and learn how to budget for business retrofit projects. The information is relevant for all personnel, especially business owners and managers, facility managers, maintenance staff, risk managers, and anyone with disaster preparedness responsibilities. The Workshops are free, but registration is required.

Partners for these workshops include FEMA, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), America's Small Business Development Center-California, Business & Industry Council for Emergency Planning & Preparedness (BICEPP), Cal Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), California Resiliency Alliance, CalTech, City of Rancho Mirage, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department, Degenkolb Engineering, DRB Toolkit Workgroup, Earthquake Country Alliance, Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, Los Angeles County Consumer and Business Affairs, Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation, Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce, SAFE-T-PROOF, ShakeOut, FLASH Legacy Partner Simpson Strong-Tie, Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), USGS, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Tuesday April 18, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Rancho Mirage QuakeSmart Preparedness Workshop 
Rancho Mirage Public Library
71100 CA-111
Rancho Mirage, California 92270

Tuesday, May 16, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Long Beach QuakeSmart Preparedness Workshop  
Long Beach City College
4901 E Carson Street
Long Beach, California 90808

Thursday, May 18, 2017, 9:00 a.m. –2:30 p.m.
Los Angeles QuakeSmart Preparedness Workshop  
555 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, California 90012

The Workshops are free, but registration is required, visit quakesmartcommunity.org  to register. Contact Barbara Harrison at [email protected] for more information.

About FLASH
The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) is the country's leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters. The FLASH partnership includes more than 120 innovative and diverse organizations that share a vision of making America a more disaster-resilient nation including: BASF, FEMA, Florida Division of Emergency Management, The Home Depot®, Huber Engineered Woods, International Code Council, Kohler® Generators, National Weather Service, Portland Cement Association, Simpson Strong-Tie®, State Farm®, and USAA®. In 2008, FLASH® and Disney opened the interactive weather experience StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes® in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Learn more about FLASH and access free consumer resources by visiting www.flash.org, calling toll-free (877) 221- SAFE (7233), following @federalalliance on Twitter, Facebook.com/federalalliance, and the FLASH blog – Protect Your Home in a FLASH.

SOURCE Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)

Related Links

http://www.flash.org