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6/18/2023

Dear USGS Department Heads,

Good morning, I am contacting you because of some possible solutions to try and prevent
earthquakes from creating so much havoc on the United States each year. After the Turkish
earthquake of 2023 my research focus has been in earthquake prevention and mitigation. To
prevent a disaster like that we need to think about our mitigation efforts and check to see if they
are being implemented correctly. We need to make sure that builders and contractors are
following the building standards we put in place in areas that are at risk by being on fault lines to
receive detrimental damage from earthquakes. We can also mitigate damage by making sure
homeowners are educated on earthquakes and how they can be affected if they do not adhere to
safety protocols.

It is imperative that we continue our research on these natural occurrences. I know we have been
super busy and every department has worked on great projects this year and there isn’t much
staff without assignment, but I need more staff to look at patterns in areas that are frequently hit
by earthquakes like Haiti. By doing research like this we may be able to give a better warning
rather than waiting until they strike. Damage preventative research and predictions are what the
main focus needs to be. Hopefully if we can focus on this, we can have a solution in a few years
and continue to improve on any progess we make for the long term. In the United States we have
about 50 earthquakes a day resulting in billions of dollars in damages a year that FEMA and
other groups could be saving for other natural disasters. If we can manage and predict these
earthquakes, we can mitigate their damage we can help our fellow Americans and world. Our
goals are very close to reality and if there is anyway the department can muster up the funds and
people these goals can be reality.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Nathaniel Jones
USGS
Research Geologist