Nature unleashes its most destructive wrath in the form of a powerful earthquake, emergency planners warn. Should such a serious quake occur within Missouri or within the Central United States in the near future, scores of businesses may find themselves thrust into a struggle for survival amid the mass of ruin and destruction. This is… Continue reading Can Central United States Survive An Earthquake

Minor earthquakes occur frequently in the New Madrid Zone, and it is only a matter of time before a damaging earthquake occurs. Interest and awareness has increased in St. Louis and the Southeastern Missouri area since Iben Browning announced the possible occurrence of a damaging earthquake in the New Madrid Zone during the early part… Continue reading Earthquake Preparedness Planning

Over a year has passed since the Loma Prieta earthquake struck, and repercussions can still be felt and observed in northern California. In the Midwest, Iben Browning, who predicted a quake of 7.0 or greater on the Richter scale to strike along the New Madrid fault in December, is practically a household name. The reports… Continue reading The Earthquake Threat–How Great Is Your Risk?

On July 16, 1990 at 4:26 p.m. local time, a severe earthquake registering 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the northern Philippines. The earthquake caused damage over a region of about 7700 square miles, extending northwest from Manila through the densely populated Central Plains of Luzon and into the mountains of the Cordillera Central. Over… Continue reading Earthquake Devastates Philippines

A successful disaster plan is not merely a three-ring binder with lists of phone numbers and resources. Rather, it is a result of the combined planning efforts of many departments and people. Persons involved in the planning need to look at what should be done in the areas of staff training, determining “vital records,” and… Continue reading Disaster Lessons Businesses Learned from the Loma Prieta Quake

At Bank of America, we believe that disaster planning is crucial to our success, and we have designated a full-time staff to contingency operations since 1983. We are committed to quality service and plan to be available to our customers in emergency situations. Our dedication paid off on October 17, 1989, when the Loma Prieta… Continue reading Contingency Planning at Bank of America: The Loma Prieta Experience

At 5:04 p.m. on October 17, 1989, a large-magnitude earthquake rocked the San Francisco Bay Area. Initial reports indicated that fires were burning in several areas of San Francisco, many people were trapped under collapsed freeway spans, and one of the spans of the Bay Bridge had fallen. It appeared that the “Big One” had… Continue reading The Loma Prieta Earthquake: Impact on Lifeline Systems

Last January, DRJ published a product profile on VELCRO (R)’s new specialty fastener, tagged Quake/Grip TM, which was rapidly becoming visible in corporate and government offices. Developed in prototype by Pacific Bell, Quake/Grip is a high-strength, flexible restraint system for securing office, hospital, and lab equipment. On October 17, 1989, Pacific Bell had an unwelcome,… Continue reading Velcro Given High Marks in San Francisco

Two weeks after the Bay Area earthquake, employees who work at Hewlett Packard’s Corporate Headquarters building still had plenty of reminders of what happened at 5:04 on Tuesday, October 17. They could stare at the ceiling and see that at least half of the acoustical tiles were missing. While climbing the stairs in their building,… Continue reading HP’s Investments in Seismic Protection Minimize Losses and Damage

SAN FRANCISCO—Still basking in the success of his firm’s complete recovery from the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, Jeffery Lyons, Disaster Recovery Planner for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., recently agreed to an interview with DISASTER RECOVERY JOURNAL. The following pages reveal some important aspects of the contingency plan they developed, some examples of how that… Continue reading Schwabs Success Story