Carson has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Geology from Western Washington University and the University of Montana. She is now working on her PhD at Boise State University where she studies how to best communicate natural hazard risk information to broad audiences. She writes the content and processes the data for each HazardReady site.
Rebecca Bendick has a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Colorado. Her research on tectonics and earthquake mechanics led to an interest in how human communities are affected by natural disasters, and inspires her ongoing efforts to help people better understand and prepare for them. She writes and lectures on the ethics of science communication as well as on her basic geophysical research.
Grant Kier has a M.Sc. in geology from the University of Colorado. He is broadly interested in community resilience in the context of manmade and natural changes. He also has a background in business practices and currently works on economic development, fostering small and startup companies in western Montana.
This site is a collaboration of HazardReady, the University of Montana, King County, and the City of Seattle.
Seattle and King County Ready is designed to help educate and prepare people for disasters that occur in their area. Disasters don’t strike locations equally so we found it important to give location specific information in order to properly prepare. Seattle and King County Ready organizes current information and packages it in a way that makes it accessible for any King County, Washington resident.
This site uses the most up-to-date hazard risk data available for King County, Washington. The user of this site is responsible for verifying any particular information with the original data sources. Although these data represent the best current assessment of hazards, they are not predictive of future events. The descriptions of risk and how to prepare for those risks are based on best information from the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
How we build Hazard Ready Sites: 1. Gather data. Locate the most relevant and up-to-date data on natural hazards for your region from trusted sources like FEMA, NOAA, and the USGS. 2. Quality Check. Work with local partners (community groups & emergency managers) to ensure the data and infomration are accurate. 3. Process data. Make the data compatible with Hazard Ready software. 4. Build content. Write the webpage text, gather images and videos, locate local resources for each hazard and region. 5. Feedback and focus groups. Discuss content and designs to ensure the information fits each community's needs. 6. Revise, revise, revise and launch site!
Data used for Seattle and King County Ready is available for download here.
Have questions? View the About page or email the Hazard Ready creators for more information.