42 U.S.C. § 7705e — Post-earthquake investigations program

This section establishes, within the United States^* Geological Survey, a post-earthquake investigations program^*. Its purpose is to investigate major earthquakes, so lessons learned can be applied to reduce the loss of lives and property in future earthquakes. The Geological Survey, working with each Program agency, must organize investigations to study how the earthquake affected each agency's area of responsibility. The investigations must begin as quickly as possible, and may be carried out by grantees and contractors. The Program agencies^* must make sure investigation results are widely shared. The Director^* of the Survey may use earthquake expertise from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, other federal agencies, and private contractors, on a reimbursable basis, to conduct these investigations.

At a minimum, investigations under this section must include: (1) analysis by the National Science Foundation and the United States Geological Survey of the earthquake's causes and the nature of the ground motion it produced; (2) analysis by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology of how structures and lifeline infrastructure^* behaved, both those damaged and those undamaged; and (3) analysis by each Program agency of how effective its earthquake hazards mitigation programs and actions were, in its area of responsibility, and how those programs and actions could be strengthened.