2017: Fitzpatrick Voted To Create A Plan To Purchase And Install
Earthquake Early Warning Systems For The Cascadia Subduction Zone. In
March 2017, Fitzpatrick voted for legislation that would have, according
to Congressional Quarterly, "require[d] the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to develop a plan for the purchase and installation of
an earthquake early warning system for the 'Cascadia Subduction Zone,'
which includes parts of Washington, Oregon and California. It would also
[have] require[d] the president to establish a task force that would
recommend what national preparations should be made to plan for, respond
to and recover from an earthquake or tsunami event in the Cascadia
Subduction Zone." The vote was on a motion to suspend the rules and pass
the bill. The House agreed to the motion, thereby passing the bill, by a
vote of 395 to 11. The Senate took no substantive action on the
legislation. [House Vote 196,
3/27/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 3/27/17; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
654]
The Cascadia Subduction Zone Is 700 Miles Off The Pacific Coast
Where The Juan De Fuca Tectonic Plate Is Sliding Under The North
America Tectonic Plate. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The
Cascadia subduction zone runs for 700 miles just off the Pacific
coast of the United States from Cape Mendocino, Calif., to Northern
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and is the area where
the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate is sliding under the North America
tectonic plate, causing the North America plate to bulge upward.
Scientists say that the plate will eventually rebound and that if
the entire zone rebounds at once it would cause a mega-earthquake
that triggers an enormous tsunami, with one wave headed toward Japan
and the other hitting the U.S. coast about 15 minutes after the
earthquake ends." [Congressional Quarterly,
3/24/17]
The Earthquake/Tsunami Caused By This Event, Which Has A 1 And 10
Chance For A Mega-Event In 50 Years, Would Kill 13,000 People And
Leave 1 Million Homeless. According to Congressional Quarterly,
"FEMA estimates that a Cascadia earthquake/tsunami event would kill
13,000 people, injure an additional 27,000, leave 1 million people
homeless and leave 2.5 million in need of food and water. According
to leading seismologists, the odds of a major earthquake/tsunami
event in the next 50 years are roughly 1 in 3, while the odds of a
mega-earthquake/tsunami event are roughly 1 in 10." [Congressional
Quarterly, 3/24/17]