Getting Through It

Disaster hazards being faced by societies around the globe are monumental. The work each nation has undertaken has been notable, but it's especially apparent in New Zealand, with just five million people and a third smaller than the state of California. After spending the week in New Zealand as part of a science advisory board, Dr. Jones discusses how the same science within a different framework can have dramatic outcomes.

One of the most common beliefs about earthquake prediction is that animals know before the earthquake comes. In this episode, telling the story of her experience researching this question, Dr. Jones cuts to the chase: we want it to be true, but there is no evidence animals can predict earthquakes. 

Whenever there is a significant geological event along the Pacific Rim, people take to social and conventional media to conjure the mythical impacts of the “Ring of Fire”! Once again, people look for a pattern when one doesn't exist. With plate tectonics, subduction zones, and volcanoes, Dr. Jones explains in this episode how the “Ring of Fire” has no geologic significance and naming the complexity of the region with one simple term is a dangerous approach to manage the geological risk.

From normalizing risk to making patterns, people have dealt with the uncertainty of the pandemic in many ways. In this final episode of our three part series on randomness, Dr. Jones discusses our current relationship with randomness as we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the early humans to the modern humans of today, we are wired to enjoy theorizing and finding patterns. In this second episode of our three part series on randomness, we go back in time to these early civilizations to explore the multi-thousand year relationship humans of all cultures have had with what will happen… and why!

Earthquakes are currently not predictable…and may never be! This episode is the first in a three part series on randomness, starting first with earthquakes. Dr. Jones builds the foundation for what randomness is and explains why we might have to accept the fact that earthquake distribution is random.

We have spent every week since the beginning of the podcast talking remotely at home about how to get through earthquakes, risks, natural disasters through the perspective of science. In this special episode celebrating 100 episodes of Getting Through It, join John and Dr. Jones in the field as they visit a fault and see this feature through the eyes of a geologist.

Plate tectonics controls things you didn't know about! It impacts the formation of our atmosphere, our oceans, our continents, and our local geology. So natural hazards, including tornadoes and earthquakes, are connected to plate tectonics. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains why plate tectonics matters to you.

As we experience increased intensity, frequency, and geographic occurrence of natural disasters, the climate crisis can feel overwhelming, with dire headlines leading to further despair and inaction. While the answers aren't black and white, Dr. Jones reacts to the latest calls for action, UN reports, and what it means to each of us.  

Thirty years ago, April 22, 1992, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurred under Joshua Tree National Park. It was also the closest we have ever gotten to a short-term earthquake prediction in California! Dr. Jones sets the scene for how this prediction was issued and what could have followed the Joshua Tree earthquake. 

This week marks the 116th anniversary of the great San Francisco Earthquake on April 18, 1906. It inspired many classic, yet inaccurate, Hollywood movies and many fears about earthquakes in California! In this episode, Dr. Jones explores how this quake from over a century ago is impacting us today as we plan for another big earthquake.

In this special episode, Dr. Jones and John answer questions from community and business leaders in a live webinar, hosted in collaboration with Together for LA. From lessons learned during the pandemic to recommended resources, Dr. Jones and John discuss how this information can actually be used in communities to prepare for the next disaster. 

Seismology has seen major technical developments in the last few decades! And those technologies allow for some pretty innovative and impressive applications, from building health to human health to revealing if you washed your hands after using the bathroom!

How do we know what just happened after the Earth stops shaking? It's all about the instruments that measure what is happening - sometimes many miles - below the surface! In this episode, we look at the history of earthquake recordings, how that has moved from analog to digital processes, and the vulnerabilities present in those systems.

In celebration of Women's History Month, Dr Jones shares her stories as a woman in science! She offers insights on how things have changed for women in science based on her experience from first gaining interest in science, to college, to getting a job with the USGS, and beyond.

What if you knew what would happen in the next disaster before it did? Scenarios provide a story that can be related to and remembered! Scenarios are pretty powerful tools… if they're actually used. This episode explores what makes a good scientific scenario and how you can use them.

This week, we discuss the history of nuclear weapons and their connection to the science of earthquakes— specifically, the history of the seismic network and how it monitors the Earth's movement. Dr. Jones explains the difference between the waves generated by an earthquake and a bomb.

After nearly two years of living with COVID-19, here in California, the mandates for masking are being lifted, and some people are acting as though the pandemic is over. As we move to endemic, Dr. Jones tells us why our risk has not changed and how to manage the next phase of living with this virus in our communities.

Fear is our fundamental response to danger and a driver of action, but it doesn't allow us to truly manage what we are facing in potential (and actual) disasters! Don't be afraid to deal with your natural emotions in this episode!

While Dr. Jones always says that earthquakes can't be predicted, volcanic eruptions, on the other hand, can be. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the Three Sisters volcano in Oregon, its reported “uplift”, and the key to volcano predictions - and why they matter to you even if you don't live anywhere near one of the more than 150 volcanoes in the U.S.!

The San Andreas Fault was described as “locked, loaded, and ready to roll” in 2016. Many people thought, when they heard this, that the big earthquake was imminent. In this episode, considering geologic time, Dr. Jones explains what this really means.

This week marks the anniversary of the Cascadia Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest on January 26, 1700, the largest known earthquake in the continental U.S. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains how we know the exact date (and time!) of this earthquake and how sometimes an earthquake's ramifications can be felt three centuries later as we plan for what might be coming.

What is considered the largest volcanic explosion in three decades, the global impact of the underwater volcanic eruption near the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga on January 15, 2022 raises more questions than answers. To clarify some common questions, Dr. Jones discusses pressure waves, VEI categorization, and tsunami warnings.

As Dr. Jones always says, what has happened, will happen again. How do we know what earthquakes will happen in 2022? In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the likelihood of a big earthquake in 2022 and how we can manage that risk.

In this episode, Dr. Jones looks at the recent Netflix movie, Don't Look Up, and explains what would happen when an asteroid of that size hits the earth. She shares how it has happened in the past, and how we're likely to survive (or not).

In this episode, Dr. Jones breaks down how COVID-19 variants form, how Omicron might play out, and her approach to managing an increase risk of getting infected.

In the central part of the U.S., there are about ten times as many tornadoes as anywhere else in the world. But even if you don't live in this “tornado alley”, a tornado can still form — even in Los Angeles! This week, with the reminder of how devastating tornadoes can be, Dr. Jones explains how tornadoes form and the impact of climate change on tornado "outbreaks".

We tend to think of risk as an objective quantity, but actually risk is a human construct. It can help us make decisions and manage any danger we face. In this episode, Dr. Jones assesses risk as emotions, risk as analysis, and risk as politics— and we need all three to take action!

“Earthquake weather” is one of the oldest and most pervasive earthquake myths. Even though surface weather and earthquakes are not related, they are constantly put in the same mental category. In this episode, we travel back in time to explore the origins of this misconception, from Aristotle's theory about the Earth's structure, to The Great Lisbon Earthquake and more.

This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we take a look at what we can be thankful for in the face of calamity and uncertainty in the last year. And some of it might surprise you!

We have lost the collective memory of what major floods can do to California and so flood risk is always underestimated. In this final episode of our four part series on the impacts of rain, flooding, and cascading disasters that come from it, Dr. Jones explains our normalization bias and how we should be thinking about upcoming storm events influenced by climate change.

In the third episode of our four part series about the impacts of rain, flooding, and cascading disasters that come from it, and what it means for California, Dr. Jones discusses what a repeat of California's worst flood in written history could look like today. Using a model, ARkStorm, to create synthetic storm conditions based on California's past flooding events, we can anticipate the staggering impacts of this other “Big One.”

The “Big Ones" are not just big disasters; they fundamentally change society. This episode is the second in our four part series about the impacts of rain, flooding, and cascading disasters that come from it, and what it means for California. In this second episode, Dr. Jones explains what happened in the flood of 1861-62, the worst flood in California's written history, and how it changed the state's main industry and more. 

Rain is something we don't fear in California, but we should. This episode is the first in a four part series about the impacts of rain, flooding, and cascading disasters that come from it, and what it means for California. This first episode reveals the true reality of floods, atmospheric rivers, and storms in California. 

Post-fire debris flows are lesser known, but are just as dangerous as other more commonly known disasters. In this episode, Dr Jones defines what debris flows are and talks about her experience studying their impacts in Southern California.

What does oil cost? This includes costs that are not only monetary, but also concern health and quality of life. With a recent oil spill impacting beaches across southern California, this episode looks at what the cost and impact oil has on the planet.

A study found that younger people will be facing more disasters than the generations preceding them. To understand this study, Dr. Jones defines risk as the consequence of the disaster to human beings and our constructs. It is calculated by multiplying hazard by exposure by fragility. This equation shows us that to decrease our risk, we have to decrease our fragility by building our society to handle what is coming. 

What is the disaster cycle and how do we get out of it? This episode breaks it down and gives insights on how each of us should approach a disaster so we can work to minimize its impact on us.

Unlike earthquakes, volcanoes have some key precursors to let you know what is imminent. Unfortunately, assumptions based on simple models reported by the media and lack of reporting on the change in the science can lead to misconceptions of what is possible in an eruption event. As Dr. Jones reminds us in this episode: the scientific process is more than one, peer-reviewed paper.

Earthquakes can happen almost anywhere, but they have to happen on a fault. To explain when it is important to note on which fault an earthquake occurred, Dr Jones defines what a fault is, the difference between active and inactive faults, and how Paleoseismology can reveal the history of a fault. 

Science is a process, not a result, to discern reality. And while there are accepted theories that few people argue, there are new models and datasets that may challenge what we know based on this process. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains the process and how she approaches new scientific information.

In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the basics of hurricanes, how they get categorized, and their impacts on communities around the country. She explains the fundamentals of where and how they form, as well as what we can expect in the future from these potentially devastating events.

Human activity has changed wildfire ecology across the globe. Wildfires are natural processes that are fundamental to many ecosystems, but their rate, intensity, and impact are being altered by human-caused climate change. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses fire suppression, ignition sources, and what you can do to slow the rate we are damaging our forests.

The large earthquake in Haiti on August 14th, 2021 reminds us how much we really know about the next disaster. And the answer is: a lot.  Why are disasters such a shock, then? Science gives us the tools and the knowledge for better response, improving survival and recovery time.

We cannot stop natural processes like earthquakes from occurring, but we can plan to manage them and protect our communities. Having insurance is a form of this community protection: you build funds by withstanding the smaller, more likely events and share the risk for the rarer, worse events. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the flaws in our current disaster insurance system and how a federal natural hazards insurance program could protect us from the natural disasters we all face.

The foundation for building resilience is understanding and applying the science to natural hazards with and for your community. The culture of “rugged individualism” in the US has contributed to its citizens limiting their actions in service of the community good. In a pandemic, earthquakes, and other disasters, we all can be safer from individual action done for the community as a whole. 

Nearly all the people getting infected now with COVID-19 are not vaccinated, but there are still fully vaccinated people getting infected. This episode explores why, statistically, this is happening and why we shouldn't see being vaccinated as perfect, but as our chance to decrease our risk. As Dr. Jones says, in response to earthquakes, wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is both with and for the community that we need to take resilience-building actions.

Floods used to be one of the biggest risks people would face. While there have been major engineering improvements to dams and drainage to prevent the impacts of flooding, there is always a flood that will overwhelm the flood controls. Further, climate change is driving disasters like flooding to increase in both intensity and quantity. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses flood perception and prediction, and how our disaster planning can be improved. 

In this episode, Dr. Jones defines what foreshocks are, describes their variability, and explains how to manage "what comes next." She tells the story of her first papers characterizing what foreshocks are, and what we need to know about the likelihood something bigger will follow. This primer includes all the basics you need to understand foreshocks.

Transportation can be a big issue after an earthquake, even when the infrastructure itself has not been damaged. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains how transit infrastructure will fare during an earthquake, from trains, to cars, to even airplanes.  But is it safer to be in a tunnel or on a bridge during an earthquake? The answer may not be what you expect.

What keeps buildings from falling down -- and why do they? This episode looks that the governmental and technical solutions to the challenges of tall buildings. From codes to engineers to builders to inspectors -- buildings have many people who are the ones responsible for its safety.