In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Strong Motion Project (NSMP; http://nsmp.wr.usgs.gov/) of the U.S. Geological Survey has been installing sophisticated seismic systems that will monitor the structural integrity of 28 VA hospital buildings located in seismically active regions of the conterminous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico during earthquake shaking. These advanced monitoring systems, which combine the use of sensitive accelerometers and real-time computer calculations, are designed to determine the structural health of each hospital building rapidly after an event, helping the VA to ensure the safety of patients and staff. This report presents the instrumentation component of this project by providing details of each hospital building, including a summary of its structural, geotechnical, and seismic hazard information, as well as instrumentation objectives and design. The structural-health monitoring component of the project, including data retrieval and processing, damage detection and localization, automated alerting system, and finally data dissemination, will be presented in a separate report.

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seismic monitoring. Installation of seismic monitoring systems in structures is part of the research program conducted under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) to improve understanding of the seismic loads that structures are likely to experience and help engineers design earthquake-resistant structures. The NSMP works closely with VA to monitor earthquake shaking in more than 70 VA medical centers across the country. This effort not only helps the VA safeguard its building inventory from future earthquake losses but also ensures timely response to damaging earthquakes. Earthquake Risk in the New Madrid Seismic Zone The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), which lies mainly in southeastern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, is the most active seismic zone in the eastern United States. Today, the The 1971 San Fernando, California, earthquake (magnitude 6.7) collapsed four buildings at the San Fernando VA Hospital, killing 49 people. The buildings had been built in 1925, before building codes were in effect. Real-time seismic monitoring of such buildings can provide critical information about their structural integrity and help save lives in future earthquakes. Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs Map showing earthquakes greater than magnitude 2.5 in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and its surroundings. Red dots are earthquakes that occurred after 1972, blue dots are earthquakes before 1972. Magnitudes of earthquakes are proportional to size of dots-largest dots are magnitude 7-8.

Helping Safeguard Veterans Affairs' Hospital Buildings by Advanced Earthquake Monitoring The integrity of the Nation's hospitals is vital for the survival and functioning of the society in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake. I n collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Strong Motion Project of the U.S. Geological Survey has recently installed sophisticated seismic systems that will monitor the structural integrity of hospital buildings during earthquake shaking. The new systems have been installed at more than 20 VA medical campuses across the country. These monitoring systems, which combine sensitive accelerometers and real-time computer calculations, are capable of determining the structural health of each structure rapidly after an event, helping to ensure the safety of patients and staff. Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs Following the 1971 magnitude 6.6 San Fernando earthquake in Southern California, which resulted in the collapse of several hospital buildings, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) established its Seismic Vulnerability Assessment Program to identify and strengthen VA hospital buildings that needed to be brought up to acceptable seismic safety standards. An important component of this program is monitoring earthquake shaking in hospital buildings. Shortly after the 1971 earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborated with the VA on installing analog accelerographs in 60 VA hospital buildings across the country. These accelerographs were mostly