The Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) Disaster Emergency Services (DES) Committee facilitates the organization, education, training, and coordination of SEAOSC members to assist local communities with timely response after major disaster events such as fires, floods, and earthquakes.

Responsibilities

• Provide Safety Assessment Program (SAP) ATC-20 training developed by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to local engineers.

• Connect with government municipalities and professional organizations involved in emergency management (non-profits, city/county agencies, structural engineering chapters like SEAONC).

• Work with CalOES and SAP certified local engineers for possible deployment in case of disasters.

• Provide educational and training seminars to advance the disaster response knowledge base within SEAOSC.

DES Committee Goals for 2025-2026

• Organize Post-Disaster Safety Evaluator (CalOES SAP Evaluator) Training in October 2025.

• Advance the SEAOSC Disaster Response Plan in coordination with SEAONC and SEAOC. Review the SEOAC disaster plan annually.

• Encourage, Promote, and educate stakeholders (i.e., Engineers, Cities, Private Owners) on the Accelerated Building Reoccupancy Program (FEMA P-2055-1).

• Compile and publish a summary report of findings from Altadena and Pacific Palisades wildfire reconnaissance efforts.

• Organize a webinar/seminar on a topic related to disaster response/accelerated reoccupancy/functional recovery.

• Increase membership of the DES committee. DES committee has been recently reestablished in 2022 and aims to recruit new committee members. The goal is to have at least five active members in addition to the co-chairs.

• Strengthen member engagement through consistent and strategic use of social media platforms.

Get In Touch

disaster@seaosc.org

Co-Chairs