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Association of CUSEC Geologists
Welcome
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 The
Central U. S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) held its first meeting in 1985.
Members recognized that earthquakes are potentially the greatest single
event natural hazard in the nation and in the seven-state CUSEC region.
The lack of attention given to geologic factors such as soil liquefaction
and soil amplification of earthquake forces have always been of concern
to CUSEC.
In 1992, the State Geologists from the seven CUSEC states organized through
a Memorandum of Understanding to address these and similar issues.
In cooperation
with the USGS, CUSEC State Geologists began coordinating efforts to map
the region and to prepare databases and educational information to assist
Federal and State emergency management agency programs with earthquake
mitigation, planning and with the design of emergency preparedness programs.
Although
some data was available, without coordination, standardization, and
cooperation
among the CUSEC states, the task of understanding and using this information
by the others would be very difficult. Meetings of the CUSEC State
Geologists
with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and State Emergency Management
Agency (SEMA) representatives were used to guide the preparation of
seismic
hazard maps of the Midwest. A 1:2,000,000-scale (or 1 inch equals about
32 miles) seismic hazards map for the CUSEC seven-state region was
completed
in 1995 through the efforts of the CUSEC Organization of State Geologists.
A coordinator
for these geological activities was appointed to oversee the CUSEC State
Geologist program and to interface with SEMA and FEMA. CUSEC also drafted
a charter to establish a CUSEC Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council
for the Midwest. This council is in place to review any earthquake prediction
that is brought forward in the Midwest. The CUSEC State Geologists, with
input from USGS, have designed a bibliography to assist SEMA, FEMA, and
CUSEC researchers. The bibliography is maintained by the CUSEC State Geologists
and contains articles relevant to and work being performed in the Midwest.
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