100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AS A FORUM FOR EDUCATING THE PUBLIC

April 18, 2006 will be the 100th anniversary of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. This event has provided a unique opportunity to bring the hazards of living on fault lines to the attention of the public. The focus of this campaign is the commemoration of the earthquake that helped usher in a new and deeper understanding of dynamic earth processes. This paper will review some of the resources that have been developed for the anniversary.

Educational materials have been created or updated to explain to people how to cope with a disaster and what precautions they need to take. New primary school level curriculum materials in a variety of formats are now available and even more are in production. Booklets and web sites targeting adults are coming on line. Besides materials from government agencies, fraternal organizations, museums, scientific societies and commercial companies have created materials in a variety of formats by. The participants are varied but the goal is the same: to learn the lessons from previous earthquakes and be prepared for the next.