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BACKGROUND:
Recognizing
that natural disasters of all kinds - earthquakes, floods,
fires and hurricanes - face universities across the county,
FEMA saw the need for universities to initiate efforts
to safeguard their research capacity (federal agencies
alone fund $15 billion annually in university research)
as well as the human capital associated with the academic
environment.
UC
Berkeley became a partner in this Disaster Resistant Universities
Initiative following the establishment of its SAFER seismic
rehabilitation program in 1997. The SAFER program is a
20-year, $1 billion program to improve the life safety
of buildings across campus. This latest study shows that
while protecting life safety is paramount, major research
universities also must prepare their campuses so that
they can sustain teaching and research operations immediately
following a natural disaster.
VISUALS:
* The news conference will be held near the Hayward Fault
and across from the Hearst Memorial Mining Building, the
most historically significant building on the campus.
It is undergoing a full-scale seismic strengthening including
the use of state-of-the art base isolation stabilizers,
which are some two stories high.
* Professor
Comerio will lead a brief tour to show key buildings on
campus following the news conference.
* Video
b-roll showing classes, labs, the computer center and
other locations often inaccessible to the media will be
available.
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NOTE:
Media parking is limited. Call (510) 642-3734 by Friday,
April 28, to reserve a space.
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