Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 91.djvu/1132

 91 STAT. 1098

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PUBLIC LAW 95-124—OCT. 7, 1977

Public Law 95-124 95th Congress

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An Act Oct. 7, 1977 [S. 126]

To reduce the hazards of earthquakes, and for other purposes.

Earthquake

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives United States of America in Congress assembled,

ReTuctnAct of 1977. 42 USC 7701

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. ^ ^ ^ ^, That this Act may be cited as the Earth q u a k e H a z a r d s Reduction Act of 1977".

4rUSC 7701

of the

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds and declares the following: (1) All 50 States are vulnerable to the hazards of earthquakes, I fill }?; i i V and at least 39 of them are subject to major or moderate seismic risk, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, U t a h, and Washington. A large portion of the population of the United States lives in areas vulnerable to earthquake hazards. (2) Earthquakes have caused, and can cause in the future, enormous loss of life, injury, destruction of property, and economic and social disruption. W i t h respect to future earthquakes, such loss, destruction, and disruption can be substantially reduced through the development and implementation of earthquake hazards reduction measures, including (A) improved design and construction methods and practices, (B) land-use controls and redevelopment, (C) prediction techniques and early-warning systems, (D) coordinated emergency preparedness plans, and (E) public education and involvement programs. (3) An expertly staffed and adequately financed earthquake hazards reduction program, based on Federal, State, local, and private research, planning, decisionmaking, and contributions would reduce the risk of such loss, destruction, and disruption in seismic areas by an amount far greater than the cost of such program. (4) A well-funded seismological research program in earthquake prediction could provide data adequate for the design, of an operational system that could predict accurately the time, place, magnitude, and physical effects of earthquakes in selected areas of the United States. (5) A n operational earthquake prediction system can produce significant social, economic, legal, and political consequences. (6) There is a scientific basis for hypothesizing that major earthquakes may be moderated, in at least some seismic areas, by application of the findings of earthquake control and seismological research. (7) The implementation of earthquake hazards reduction measures would, as an added benefit, also reduce the risk of loss, destruction, and disruption from other natural hazards and manmade hazards, including hurricanes, tornadoes, accidents, explosions, landslides, building and structural cave-ins, and fires. (8) Reduction of loss, destruction, and disruption from earthquakes will depend on the actions of individuals, and organiza-

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