California’s Post-Earthquake Clearinghouse: A Place for Collaboration

Kate Thomas, & Brian Olson

Submitted August 30, 2026, SCEC Contribution #15644, 2026 SCEC Annual Meeting Poster #186

Did you know California establishes a Clearinghouse where scientists, engineers, and emergency managers coordinate after a major natural hazard event, and that you can be part of it? The California Geological Survey is mandated to stand up a Clearinghouse after a damaging earthquake, tsunami, destructive slope movement, or volcanic eruption. The purpose of the Post-Earthquake Clearinghouse is to facilitate the exchange of information between field investigators and communicate observations from scientists and engineers in the field to the State Operations Center (SOC) at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). Participation in the Clearinghouse is voluntary; however, understanding how your fieldwork contributes to this effort helps make California's disaster response more effective. The Clearinghouse coordinates field teams to ensure the affected area is thoroughly surveyed, assists in gaining access to restricted areas if appropriate, hosts nightly calls to disseminate vital information to Clearinghouse partners and the SOC, and provides the space and resources needed for in-person and online collaboration and communication. Field observations of earthquake effects can also be shared with the Clearinghouse by submitting data into a publicly accessible, vetted database that is eventually released by the USGS and CGS. To be notified when the Clearinghouse activates, sign up on the Learning From Earthquakes website. Your contributions to a more effective response today helps make California safer tomorrow.

Key Words
Post-Earthquake Clearinghouse, Learning From Earthquakes, Earthquake Reconnaissance, Scientific Collaboration, Disaster Response

Citation
Thomas, K., & Olson, B. (2026, 08). California’s Post-Earthquake Clearinghouse: A Place for Collaboration. Poster Presentation at 2026 SCEC Annual Meeting.

Related Projects & Working Groups
Community Capability Building (CCB)