AIR Worldwide updates US earthquake model

A landslide blocks Santa Susana Pass Road in Los Angeles.

AIR Worldwide has released an updated earthquake model for the United States that incorporates tsunami and landslide risks. 

The updates include enhanced event generation, local intensity calculation and damage estimation modules, the Boston-based catastrophe risk modeler said Monday in a statement. 

The updated model also offers an induced seismicity module to capture the effects of human activity on earthquake occurrence, especially wastewater injection associated with practices in the oil and natural gas industries, and on seismicity rates in regions of the central and eastern United States, according to the company. 
 
The tsunami model covers the West Coast of the contiguous United States, comprising California, Oregon, and Washington, and includes sources from the West Coast and Cascadia subduction zone to the Aleutian Trench off the shore of Alaska. 

Damage caused by earthquake-triggered landslides is also modeled countrywide for the first time. The model calculates landslide probability and ground displacement, combining data on slope, soil strength, water saturation and ground-shaking intensity.
 
“The enhanced model provides a more granular and differentiated view of risk for underwriting purposes,” Jayanta Guin, chief research officer at AIR Worldwide, said in the statement.