REID OUR BLOG

Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings

Identifying potentially hazardous buildings before earthquakes occur saves lives and allows owners of critical infrastructure and commerce to prepare for and mitigate loss. FEMA’s Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) of Buildings for Potential Seismic Hazards is a methodology that enables personnel to rapidly identify, inventory, and rank buildings according to their expected safety and usability during and after earthquakes. The information gathered can then be used to plan and prioritize further engineering and vulnerability analysis and to identify emergency-response needs and mitigation opportunities.

Reid Middleton’s Director of Structural Engineering, Dave Swanson, is conducting an RVS training class at the Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference in Tacoma, Wash., this week. In light of Dave’s class, it seemed like a good time to highlight some past Reid Our Blog posts on seismic safety.

An Engineer’s Observation of the City of Seattle URM Program
An Engineer’s Observation of the City of Seattle URM Program
Urban Search & Rescue Engineering
Urban Search & Rescue Engineering

Here’s a look at some posts about Reid Middleton led post-disaster reconnaissance teams, assembled to learn how to better design buildings, bridges and infrastructure.

Series on the SEAW Tohoku (Japan) earthquake reconnaissance
Series on the SEAW Tohoku (Japan) earthquake reconnaissance
Christchurch URM Collapse
Christchurch URM Collapse

About the Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference: It is the largest regional emergency preparedness conference in the Pacific Northwest and annually hosts nearly 700 people representing business, schools, government, the nonprofit sector, emergency management professionals, and volunteer organizations. 

 

You can find out more about Reid Middleton’s earthquake preparedness, response, and recovery services here.