Category: Meetings

How often do you get to write that headline?

The speaker at our June 6 meeting was scheduled to be Veronica Verde, External Affairs Officer for FEMA Region 9. Ms. Verde travelled to Hawai’i to deal with a record-breaking flooding event in April. And now, thanks to the eruption of Kilauea, her assignment has been extended. We look forward to talking with Ms. Verde at some future point after the wrath of Madam Pele has subsided.

In the meantime, we will use our June meeting to discuss Field Day (June 23-24) and other upcoming activities. We will return to our traditional meeting location at the SPFD Emergency Operations Center, 817 Mound Avenue, at 7:30pm. See you there.

Lava photo by George F. Lee for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Veronica Verde photo by Wayne Yoshioka for Hawai’i Public Radio.

Just under seventy people attended our monthly meeting on May 2 and heard a presentation by Dr. John Vidale, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center. Dr. Vidale explained the science of earthquake detection and the mechanics of ShakeAlert, the west coast’s early-warning system. ShakeAlert is a network of thousands of sensors constantly monitoring ground motion. It is already operational although its organizers would like to see it expanded as soon as funding is available. The system was in the news six days after our meeting thanks to a quake in the Gorgonio Knot area north of Cabazon. Rong-Gong Lin II reported in the LA Times that USGS scientists in Pasadena — about 80 miles from the epicenter — received twenty-six seconds of warning before the shaking arrived. (For more on the Gorgonio Knot earthquake, click here.)

SPARC extends its thanks to Dr. Vidale for his time and to all the guests who asked such interesting and engaging questions!

Please join us on Wednesday, May 2 at 7:30pm for a special presentation by John Vidale, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center at USC. He will discuss the capabilities of the Earthquake Early Warning System, what it can and cannot do. Anticipating a larger-than-usual crowd, our meeting will be in the South Pasadena Library Community Room at 1115 El Centro St. rather than our normal location at the fire department.

We hope to see you at the library for this exciting opportunity to hear from one of our region’s top seismic experts. (Community Room photo via SouthPasadenan.com)