a coordinated and structured program to
identify earthquake risks and prepare to lessen or mitigate their
impacts by a variety of means. The coordination of this program, the
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), is the
responsibility of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
which is charged with focusing Federal efforts to respond to
emergencies of all types and lessen their impacts before they occur.
The NEHRP has six high-priority thrusts:

" Overall coordination of Federal departments and agencies'
programs

" Maintenance of a comprehensive program of research and
development for earthquake prediction and hazards
mitigation

" Leadership and support of the Federal Interagency
Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction as it develops
seismic design and construction standards for use in
Federal projects

" Development of response plans and assistance to State and
local governments in the preparation of their plans

" Analysis of the ability of financial institutions to
perform their functions after a creditable prediction of
an earthquake as well as after an event, together with an
exploration of the feasibility of using these institutions
to foster hazard reduction

" An examination of the appropriate role of insurance in
mitigating the impacts of earthquakes.

More recently, a cooperative Federal, State, local, and private-sector
effort was initiated to prepare for responding to a credible
large-magnitude earthquake, or its prediction, in Southern California.

B. SUMMARY

The review provided the overall assessment that the Nation is
essentially unprepared for the catastrophic earthquake (with a
probability greater than 50 percent) that must be expected in
California in the next three decades. While current response plans and
preparedness measures may be adequate for moderate earthquakes,
Federal, State, and local officials agree that preparations are
woefully inadequate to cope with the damage and casualties from a
catastrophic earthquake, and with the disruptions in communications,
social fabric, and governmental structure that may follow. Because of
the large concentration of population and industry, the impacts of
such an earthquake would surpass those of any natural disaster thus
far experienced by the Nation. Indeed, the United States has