Disaster Preparedness

ASCE Orange County Branch's Disaster Preparedness Committee connects civil engineers with local, state, and federal entities that provide training and relevant certifications to address the community's needs.

"From site assessments to recovery work, civil engineers play a crucial role in disaster response, ensuring that communities build back safer and more resilient." -ASCE National Disaster Response Page

The Great California ShakeOut

Located in the state of California, ASCE Orange County has participated in The Great California ShakeOut to promote and provide educational resources to prepare for earthquakes that may occur. Make sure you and your families, workplace, and organization participate every third Thursday of October each year! Don't miss the next one scheduled for October 20, 2022!

Below is an excerpt from the program:

"While some areas of California are more likely to have earthquakes than others, all of California is at higher risk compared to the rest of the country. You could be anywhere when an earthquake strikes: at home, at work, at school, or even on vacation.

What we do now will determine our quality of life after our next big earthquake. Are you prepared to survive and recover quickly?

The Great California ShakeOut is an annual opportunity to practice how to be safer during big earthquakes: "Drop, Cover and Hold On." The ShakeOut has also been organized to encourage you, your community, your school, or your organization to review and update emergency preparedness plans and supplies, and to secure your space in order to prevent damage and injuries. ShakeOut is also a reminder for Californians to be prepared financially, such as by exploring earthquake insurance. The not-for-profit California Earthquake Authority offers earthquake insurance throughout California for homeowners, renters, mobile homeowners, and condo-unit owners."

Learn more by clicking the banner below.

To learn more about this committee, please read the attached policies and procedures in the committee files section of this page. If you are interested in participating in this committee, please contact [email protected].

Contacts

Sudi Shoja, PE
Disaster Preparedness Chair
Engineering Solutions Services
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Committee Files

Disaster Preparedness Policies & Procedures

Inflation and Shortage Supply Impacts

We have all been witnessing price inflation, whether it is at the gas station or at the grocery store. Both inflation and material shortage have become part of our design considerations when we select and specify materials for our projects. The approach has been further emphasized over the last couple of years: the Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) community should initiate design and construction projects with a thorough understanding of material availability, fabrication, delivery lead time, projected construction index price, and an evaluation of equivalent alternatives.

Sudamericana Water Conservation

Last month, I traveled to Chile for my brother’s wedding and took the opportunity to wander in Patagonia, the Colchagua Valley (wine country), Santiago, and a few other places. I don’t know if the pattern is common across my peers, but as for myself, travels are generally punctuated by a constant evaluation of the local infrastructure, design details, construction means and methods, and an assessment of the infrastructure challenges that each region faces.

Connecting the Dots in 2022 and Beyond?

As we enter 2022, I wish our members a very happy and prosperous new year. It would be a shame not to recognize the accomplishments of the past year. Our hyperactive Orange County Branch committees did not stop interacting and implementing activities: I counted over 60 events held during the past year. I could not be prouder to belong to such a resilient and proactive organization. I thank my predecessor, Clint Isa, P.E., for spearheading the efforts, and all of our volunteers for your contributions over the past couple of years.

So It Goes…

With the new fiscal year having begun in October, we felt this month’s President’s Column would be a good forum for our new presidents (Remi Candaele, ASCE OC Branch President; Ashlyn Alexander, ASCE OC YMF President) to introduce themselves and for me and YMF counterpart (Melissa Hilsabeck) to reflect on our respective terms as president of the OC Branch and OC YMF. I hope that the Q&A that follows helps you get to know more about each of us.

Legacies

Firmly entrenched in the midst of my career and fast approaching my 40th birthday, I have found myself thinking about legacies quite a lot lately. One of the unique things about being president of the ASCE Orange County Branch is that the position affords the ability to see legacies at various stages of development: ones that have been cemented, ones whose seeds have just been planted, and everything in between. In the ASCE Orange County Branch, I have noted some excellent examples of each over the past few months.

Finding the Words

I presume that if you’re reading this article, you probably became an engineer because your affinity for the language arts was not as strong as for math and sciences (assuming you even liked language arts at all). While I personally enjoy writing and have been told that I am not terrible at it, I still find writing articles like the ones for this column to be challenging. Newsletter articles offer a blank canvas to express your thoughts on a variety of topics, which can be overwhelming.