The California Earthquake Clearinghouse: Establishing protocols for Data Collection and Sharing after the Next Damaging California Earthquake

The California Clearinghouse is a consortium that facilitates coordination of post-earthquake field investigations and shares observations and knowledge among the scientific, engineering and emergency response communities after a damaging California earthquake. The Clearinghouse is managed by representatives from five core groups: the California Geological Survey (CGS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA; Formerly Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES)) and the California Seismic Safety Commission. Since the Clearinghouse was established in 1972, there have been more than 10 Clearinghouse activations. The last major clearinghouse activation was after the Northridge earthquake in 1994. Since that time, technology has advanced greatly. The static map and pins has been upgraded to a dynamic GIS map with markers, geospatial overlays, and zoom capabilities. The large datasets associated with these maps require a new way of thinking about data after a disaster. Having protocols for collecting and sharing data, before the next earthquake, is essential. As the contact point for researchers and scientists after a California earthquake, the California Clearinghouse is taking the lead in California to develop these protocols through a series of technological demonstration exercises. Using the California Golden Guardian and Shakeout exercises over three years as the backdrop for the Clearinghouse exercises has given the Clearinghouse the opportunity to explore what does and doesn’t work for data collection and sharing. For collecting data, participants have had the opportunity to test a suite of field tools to submit observations to the Clearinghouse. These tools export data in a variety of formats—all of which must be accommodated by the Clearinghouse. Once the data is collected, the information is shared through the Unified Incident Command and Decision Support (UICDS) middleware developed by the U.S. Dept. Of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, and displayed on the Clearinghouse website through SpotOnResponse, the Clearinghouse’s situational awareness tool. During the May 2013 Golden Guardian Exercise, data submitted included Bay Area liquefaction, fault and landslide zones from the California Geological Survey, permitted hazardous materials facilities from the Department of Toxic Substance Control, Licensed Healthcare Facilities from the California Department of Public Health, and hundreds of simulated field observations. This type of data from researchers and scientists is not only important for learning from earthquakes, but with hundreds of people in the field, it is also a valuable resource that can be used to update emergency responders. During the exercise, all of the collected data was visible to the public on the Clearinghouse website and after an actual earthquake, the Clearinghouse liaison in the State Operations Center (SOC) would be monitoring this map and relaying relevant information to Cal EMA. By establishing dynamic protocols for data collection and sharing that can be adapted as technology continues to evolve, the California Clearinghouse is setting the stage for researchers and scientists to contribute to the response and recovery of the state after the next major California earthquake.