Four things we can do as a community to mitigate earthquake risk
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If the Covid-19 pandemic wasn't enough to get us all thinking about emergency preparedness and disaster resilience, the 5.7 earthquake that rocked the Salt Lake City area yesterday sure did the trick. We're lucky that it was a moderate earthquake—we got just a little taste of the damage that can be done to our unreinforced brick buildings.
Fortunately, no one was hurt as brick tumbled to the ground, but it’s unlikely we’d be so lucky in the “Big One" (an earthquake with a magnitude around 7.0). Similar to the way power was lost for thousands of Utahns, the impact on lifeline infrastructure—power, water, sewer, roads, etc.—could be devastating and last for months.
So what can we do? Many of you joined us for our Spring Breakfast last year when BYU professor and disaster law expert Lisa Grow Sun spoke about the risk and perils of a major earthquake along the Wasatch Front. Since then, we’ve been working with Lisa, FEMA, and many local experts and leaders to find a way to become more resilient. Here are four key things we can do:
- Address and retrofit our unreinforced masonry buildings. We still have around 140,000 along the Wasatch Front, including single family homes, apartment buildings, commercial buildings, etc.
- Upgrade the seismic resiliency of our school buildings, some of which still pose significant threat to Utah’s students during a major quake.
- Consider upgrading our building codes to address not just life-and-safety, but also longer term habitability.
- Invest in the resiliency of our lifeline infrastructure, such as a water, power, and sewage systems.
It's a lot to take on—but we feel lucky to live in a state built on the kind of "can do" attitude we'll need to make these changes happen. We'll continue our work with stakeholders to identify key strategies for improving resiliency and mobilize outreach efforts to educate the public. Stay tuned for more updates!
Click here
if you'd like to read a letter from Lisa with more recommendations.
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Envision Utah's 2007 Influenza Pandemic Exercise: 3 takeaways that carry weight today
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In 2007 Envision Utah facilitated an exercise with business, state, and community leaders to respond to an Influenza Pandemic. It was a frightening scenario to consider, but fast forward 13 years and it’s just as frightening as it is familiar.
Click on the link below to read our blog post about three takeaways from the exercise and how they apply to us today as we face the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Envision Utah at the first annual Early Learning Day on the Hill
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This month we partnered with several early childhood organizations and state leaders to organize the first annual Early Learning Day on the Hill. With dozens of organizations and many parents in attendance, we had a valuable opportunity to showcase the important role early learning plays in Utah’s future.
The theme for this year's event was #ItMatters. Our goal was to help attendees understand how critical the first few year's of a child's life are. It's during this time that parents and caregivers help lay a foundation for all of that child's future growth and development.
We were thrilled to see so many community and state leaders in attendance—thank you for making the event such a great success! We're already looking forward to next years Early Learning Day on the Hill.
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A note on the Covid-19 situation
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Due to the recent developments regarding Coronavirus in Utah, we've decided to limit the number of internal/external meetings at Envision Utah. That means we'll be conducting a lot of our project collaboration and other meetings online. In addition, some of our bigger events—like the upcoming Spring Breakfast—are being postponed for now. We appreciate your patience as we work to ensure our staff, stakeholders, and everyone we work with stay healthy and safe.
We feel lucky to live in a state where elected officials, businesses, and the community can come together to face challenges like the Coronavirus. We're ready to work together with you to keep Utah healthy and safe. Thanks for your understanding—don't forget to wash your hands and stay healthy!
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Like all of you, we’re worried about keeping ourselves and our families healthy, and we’re concerned about both the short- and long-term impacts of the current pandemic. But thanks to your generous support, we’re also able to remain focused on other critical long-term issues like air quality, water, land use & transportation, education, disaster resilience, and more. Thank you for your support!
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Increasingly SLC leaders,
rather than boasting about rosy budgets or an influx of new tech capital, are emphasizing the importance
of managing the prosperity. Envision Utah's Jason Brown comments how we kind of have the perfect storm of high demand for housing, soaring construction costs and geographically limited space.
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Research by
Envision Utah
shows Utah County residents know growth means more people packed in tighter spaces, so they want more options for getting around than just their cars, including expanded access to TRAX, Frontrunner and bus routes as well as more choices for walking and biking.
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Envision CEO Ari Bruening said the data collected from the Valley Visioning Survey reflects that Utah County residents share many of the same concerns about the negative impacts of growth and appear ready to support changes to minimize those consequences.
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