WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en-US

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Thanks for the opportunity to
participate in this workshop.

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I get to be on a great panel,
and I’m looking forward to the

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other presentations and discussion.
And happy Groundhog Day.

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This talk is an overview of some of the
ways that the U.S. Geological Survey

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is currently working to deliver its
science to those who need it most.

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I’m going to use some examples that
may or may not be familiar to

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a Bay Area crowd, but in doing so,
I’m well aware of the many

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great examples of community
engagement that have been generated

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here for multiple hazards, ranging
from earthquakes to wildfires

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to coastal storms
and atmospheric rivers.

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Indeed, this workshop is a wonderful
showcase of the commitment that exists

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here to sharing USGS science
and learning from our partners.

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As shown on the slide, I want to
thank Dale Cox, Lindsay Davis,

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Jonathan Godt, Kris Ludwig,
Alice Pennaz, Dave Ramsey,

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and Anne Wein for lending slides
and material and reviews for this.

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You know, I was preparing this talk
on the morning of the presidential

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inauguration, which was taking place
five blocks north of where I sit, which

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is where I live and where, for the
past 10 months, I have also worked.

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Events of the past three weeks
have certainly made me think about

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the resilience in my own
neighborhood and city

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as well as the role that
information plays in a crisis.

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Likewise, the pandemic has made us
consider what makes a community,

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what connects us when we’re apart, and
the nature of compounding disasters.

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And finally, the events of this past
summer have made us confront

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what sort of communities and
what sort of nation we want to be.

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As a science agency, our role at the
USGS has never been so important.

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But, to realize our potential,
we need to ensure that we’re

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providing science to those who
are most impacted by disasters.

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The USGS provides science to
support mitigation, response,

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recovery for a wide
range of natural hazards.

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For some, we have the direct
responsibility to deliver information,

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alerts, and warnings to
the public and decision-makers.

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For others, our data
and analysis support

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the information delivery
of partners like NOAA.

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In all hazards, the actions that are taken
to change outcomes are done by others.

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We’re there to
inform and support.

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Working across so many different
hazards, the tools and methodologies

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for monitoring and assessment may
vary, but what ultimately determines

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the utility of the information
is impact – conveying,

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how do these hazards matter
to those who must face them.

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In providing examples of how we work
with communities, I should note that,

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in this presentation, “community”
can refer to communities of practice –

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for example, scientists,
emergency managers,

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utility managers, businesses –
or communities of those living in

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a specific geographic area or even
[inaudible] with shared experience.

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But, in all of these, we are talking
about communities of people.

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And, because of this, we value the
input and engagement from the

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social science community
in informing the development

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and the delivery of our
hazards information.

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In 2018, we put out a science strategy
for our work in the risk arena.

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The purpose was to capture what was
already being done in this space across

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the survey, much of it dispersed across
a number of different science centers.

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We wanted to build a community of
practice in USGS to connect and

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nurture those efforts. Hats off to
Kris Ludwig for leading that charge.

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We also wanted to build off existing
efforts and the many partnerships

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that have been developed to
set a future course and

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seek good ideas through
an internal request for proposals.

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Recent examples of funded projects
that relate to community-focused

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science include efforts that focus
on evaluation and usability testing.

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Beyond the risk community of practice
and the RFP, the risk plan was also

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a roadmap to guide fundamental
changes in the way of doing business.

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That is, using risk reduction, and
not just hazard reduction or scientific

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interest, as a means to set data
collection and research priorities.

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Central to the plan is improved risk
communication and co-development

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of our science and the tools we seek to
deliver with those we hope will use it.

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These efforts are very much
an outgrowth and extension of the

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work of the SAFRR project – Science
Application for Risk Reduction.

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It was originated by Lucy Jones and
to which so many have contributed.

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Beginning with the ShakeOut scenario,
and more recently here in the Bay Area,

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the HayWired scenario, these were
experiments in large-scale engagement.

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Engagement with partners to
develop the scenarios as a means

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to make catastrophic hazards real
to people and engagement

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through those partners
with a wide array of stakeholders.

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These scenarios are a means for
communities to seek to change

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outcomes before disaster strikes.
They also provide a lens

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through which we can
look at disparate impacts.

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Being a part of the Department
of the Interior, the USGS has

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a special responsibility to make
our science useful for

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public land management
and for tribal communities.

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Nate Wood, Alice Pennaz,
and a number of others have

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worked closely with the Department’s
Office of Emergency Management

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to develop a tool known as SHIRA –
Strategic Hazard Identification and

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Risk Assessment – that can be used
to look across a broad swath of hazards

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that could disrupt a park or refuge
or tribal community to help them

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better understand
what it is that they’re facing.

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A key element of the project has
been to directly engage with

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DOI land managers and tribal
emergency managers to understand

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how planning is done at the
local level and what barriers exist

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to better planning, reflected
in the quotes that you see here.

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This project is also an opportunity
for us to explore what DOI’s special

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responsibility to tribal nations means.
From the risk perspective, it may mean

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broadening our thinking to include
Native perspectives and understanding

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how policy decisions created unique
vulnerabilities in those communities.

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Risk communication is at the heart
of getting our science put to use.

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We have a great example from
Puerto Rico of how this can be done

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in a collaborative fashion
to increase the impact

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of the resulting
information products.

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The USGS sent a team of geologists
to Puerto Rico in 2017 to assist

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the federal response to Hurricane Maria
by identifying any ongoing landslide

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threats and by providing
recommendations to response

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and recovery efforts.
The USGS conducted field work

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across the island and had conversations
with local emergency response

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and planning officials who requested
a landslide guide that local stakeholders

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could use to help educate
residents about these hazards.

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With disaster supplemental funding,
the USGS was able to partner with the

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University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
and the University of Colorado’s

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Natural Hazards Center to develop
such a guide, shown on the right.

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It was intended to complement
the scientific efforts of the USGS

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and the University of Puerto Rico
and to support a broader campaign

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of landslide risk awareness in
the aftermath of the hurricane.

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In addition to producing the guide
in Spanish and English and print

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and digital formats, this great
collaboration involving UPRM

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undergraduates yielded a diverse
array of information tools

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and activities to support landslide
risk communication efforts.

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These products were developed
with input and collaboration from

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stakeholders and resident across
Puerto Rico, including media figures.

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And it’s worth highlighting that the
landslide guide and derivative products

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were developed first in Spanish
and translated to English

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to bolster the quality and impact
of the science communication.

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I’ve long been a fan of the multilingual
Putting Down Roots in Earthquake

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Country and the Seven Steps to
Earthquake Safety that emerged from

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the collaborations here in California.
And we’ve recently, in order to improve

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our capability to provide information
in other languages, we’ve established

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an agreement with the National
Language Service Corps.

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Closer to home in California,
record-setting wildfire seasons

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introduced increased potential
for post-fire debris flows.

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These events can impact multiple
communities, and for this reason,

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the USGS works closely with the
National Weather Service to anticipate

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post-wildfire debris flows and so that
warnings can be issued in conjunction

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with their flash flood warnings.
The USGS conducts post-fire debris

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flow hazard assessments for select fires
in the western U.S. to support state

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and federal burned area
emergency response teams.

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And, with the recent passage of the
National Landslide Preparedness Act,

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we hope to ramp up our
partnerships in this arena.

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Building community-focused
partnerships takes time and

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intentional effort. In Puerto Rico,
we were able to tap into longstanding

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collaborations with the university
as well as the local presence

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of our Caribbean-Florida
Water Science Center.

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Likewise, built-up trust in relationships
played a huge role in the success of

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risk communication during the
2018 Kilauea eruption response.

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That played out in public meetings,
through media responsiveness across

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multiple platforms, and through
a sustained presence at

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Emergency Operation Centers
at multiple levels of government.

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As we think about what it means to
deliver actionable information,

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we need to consider the right formats
and accessibility for the products

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but also be able to bring the
expertise to answer the questions

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and interpret the results.
Emergency Operation Centers

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operate at the local, state, and
federal level gather the common

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operating picture that enable them
to make decisions and ascertain

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unmet needs to solve problems.
EOCs are self-contained ecosystems.

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We can’t expect people to
wander around and find our data.

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We need to help interpret and translate.
That means being in the room –

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whether virtual or real.
During the Kilauea response under

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a FEMA mission assignment,
USGS subject matter experts

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staffed the county EOC 24/7
for nearly three months and

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the state EOC in Honolulu on 12-hour
day shift for nearly two months.

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As I noted near the outset,
we want to ensure that the science

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we undertake can be useful to
those most impacted by disasters.

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We do this globally through the
longstanding partnership with

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the U.S. Agency for International
Development’s Bureau of

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Humanitarian Affairs. This
partnership has enabled volcano

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disaster assistance program teams
from our volcano observatories

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to respond to over 70 crises at more
than 50 volcanoes, bringing expertise

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and caches of equipment there in
support of host country partners.

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As dramatic and effective as that crisis
response can be, the real power of VDAP

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is in the capacity-building, training,
and relationship development

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that takes place outside the crisis.
And VDAP has used those relationships

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to support preparedness back home,
bringing local officials from

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Washington state to visit
with counterparts

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in Colombia
and vice versa.

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VDAP is rightly viewed as
a good government success story,

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and I’m pleased that we see a strong
ongoing commitment from USAID

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to build on its success and expand
the activities of its counterparts in

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the earthquake and landslide areas.
Their technical assistance work includes

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collaborations with a number of
partners, including Bay Area-based

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GeoHazards International,
working on family preparedness.

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If we likewise want to ensure that we
reach those most impacted by disasters

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in this country, then we must meet
the challenge to produce and deliver

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science in a way that is useful and
usable by diverse communities to

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reduce their risk to natural hazards.
We know that minoritized groups

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are disproportionally
impacted by hazard events.

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And we know that addressing this
challenge is not something we can

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do without looking inward to our
own workforce development

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as well as outward toward improved
information delivery needs.

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A diverse workforce brings adversity
of perspectives and experiences to bear.

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We need to better understand
what the front-line most impacted

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communities need and
how to effectively engage.

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Earlier, I spoke about what it takes
to build trust, to build relationships.

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We have a widely distributed
footprint across the country,

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but we aren’t everywhere,
and we can’t count on having

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a local relationship
that we can sustain.

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Who, then, are the key partners
that already have those relationships

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and can sustain them?
Well, we have to start by learning.

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This fall, our Natural Hazards Mission
Area undertook a speaker series

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on hazards, race, and social justice
to learn from experts who are

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working at the intersection of
these issues – both community

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leaders and academic researchers.
We have several new Mendenhall

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postdoc opportunities that emphasize
hazards and equity-focused science,

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connecting coastal change hazards to
societally important risk assessments.

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Front-line and underserved
communities – multi-hazard research,

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engagement and products
to inform risk reduction.

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And developing socially
equitable USGS earthquake

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risk strategies
and solutions.

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This is all very much a work-in-
progress. But I see a tremendous

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amount of enthusiasm across
many of our science centers.

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If we do this right, we expand
the utility of our science.

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And, in doing so, that also strengthens
our case for the science itself.

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The foundation enables us to
keep pushing ahead to generate

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the next generation
of knowledge.

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In engaging with our users, we also
help target and shape the science we do.

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Thanks again for the opportunity
to be a part of this dialogue,

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however virtual
we may be.