Volunteers in the earthquake hazard reduction program

One of the specific objectives of the Earthquake Hazard Reduction Act of 1977 is to educate the public, including State and local officials, about earthquakes. Although the Federal Government is significantly increasing its research efforts in earthquake studies, the ultimate benefits of this program will depend on whether the individual citizen living in an earthquake zone can accurately understand what is meant by an earthquake hazard.

With this in mind, I organized a small workshop for approximately 30 people on February 2 and 3, 1978, in Menlo Park, Calif. the purpose of the meeting was to discuss methods of involving volunteers in a meaningful way in earthquake research and in educating the public about earthquake hazards. The emphasis was on earthquake prediction research, but the discussions covered the whole earthquake hazard reduction program. Representatives attended from the earthquake research community, from groups doing socioeconomic research on earthquake matters, and from a wide variety of organizations who might sponsor volunteers.