The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (MBMG) organized the 2023 Montana Geohazards Workshop held by the Disaster and Emergency Services office in Fort Harrison on April 26-27, 2023. In addition, FEMA training courses were provided following the workshop in Fort Harrison on April 27-28, 2023.
| 9:00 a.m.– 9:05 a.m. | Welcoming Remarks, Roundtable Introduction – John Metesh, MBMG’s Director and State Geologist; Mike Stickney, Geologist, Professor, Director of Earthquake Studies Office (MBMG); Yann Gavillot, Research Geologist, Associate Professor, Geohazards Program (MBMG); Colleen Elliott, Geologist, Professor (MBMG); Amanda Rossi, Geologist, Professional Scientist (MBMG). |
| Geohazards research and monitoring in Montana (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) | |
| 10:05 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. | Fault and landslide investigations in southwest and western Montana, Yann Gavillot (MBMG) |
| 10:20 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. | GIS modeling approaches to estimate landslide potential and Wed Map, John Sanford (MBMG) |
| 10:40 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Montana Regional Seismic Network and recent seismicity, Mike Stickney (MBMG) |
| 11:00 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. | University of Montana seismic network and current investigations in western Montana using GPS data and micro-earthquakes, Hilary Martens (UofM) |
| 11:20 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. | Discussion: 30 min, Moderators: Colleen Elliott and Amanda Rossi (MBMG) |
| 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| Presentations and updates from agencies across Montana (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) | |
| 1:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m. | Andrew Long and Jake Ganieany (MT-DES) |
| 1:20 p.m – 1:25 p.m. | Jeff Jackson (Montana Department of Transportation) |
| 1:25 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Michele Lemieux (MT DRNC) |
| 1:30 p.m. – 1:35 p.m. | Troy Blandford (Montana State Library) |
| 1:35 p.m. – 1:40 p.m. | Jeff Blend and Meranda Bass (MT-DEQ) |
| 1:40 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Anna Lang (Zylient, Inc) |
| 2:00 p.m. – 2.20 p.m. | Sean McGowan (FEMA) |
| 2:20 a.m. – 3:00 a.m. | Discussion: 30 min, Moderators: Colleen Elliott and Amanda Rossi (MBMG) |
| 3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| Earthquake Hazards for the Helena metropolitan area (Past, Present, Future), (3:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m) | |
| 3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Review of the 1935 Helena Earthquake, Mike Stickney (MBMG) |
| 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | Sean McGowan (FEMA) Seismic Hazards and Earthquake HAZUS Model for Helena, Mike Stickney (MBMG) |
| 3:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Mitigation and Disaster Planning Strategies for the city of Helena, Andrew Long/Sara Hartley (MT-DES) |
| 4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Discussion: 30 min, Moderators: Colleen Elliott and Amanda Rossi (MBMG) |
| 9:30 a.m.– 11:30 a.m. | Panel Discussion on Post-Disaster Response – What would a repeat of the Helena Earthquake look like? - Surface deformation - Damage to the city of Helena and infrastructure - State and Federal post-disaster response and coordination efforts - Long-term recovery and mitigation - Unknowns and shortcomings |
| 11:20 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. | Discussion: 30 min, Moderators: Colleen Elliott and Amanda Rossi (MBMG) |
| 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| Presentations and updates from agencies across Montana (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) | |
| 11:30 p.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Panel Discussion on Future Plans and Concluding Remarks - Table-top earthquake exercise - Earthquake Clearinghouse Plan - Montana Seismic Safety Commission - Building an inventory of sensitive/URM buildings - 2024 Montana Geohazards Workshop |
| 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch and Adjourn day 2 (except for people attending the FEMA trainings) |
| ***See information in the next section on the FEMA training courses offered on April 27-28, 2023*** |
To register for the FEMA Training courses (see flyers), send email request to Yann Gavillot or Andrew Long
Training covers methods and processes that enable personnel to rapidly identify, inventory, and screen local buildings according to their expected safety and usability during and after earthquakes. Local officials can use these data to plan and prioritize further engineering and vulnerability analysis, emergency-response needs, and mitigation projects.
Numerous school buildings located in multiple states and U.S. territories are vulnerable
to earthquake damage that threatens safety and continued operations. In this training,
participants learn how to:
(1) assess and analyze seismic risks;
(2) develop actionable
plans for reducing and managing these risks;
(3) secure nonstructural elements of school
facilities; and
(4) use “incremental seismic rehabilitation” as an affordable approach for
protecting existing buildings and ensuring occupant safety