Interior Department to upgrade disaster monitoring

The U.S. Geological Survey will spend part of the $140 million it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on new technologies, devices and data systems, the agency announced.

The agency will use the money to modernize the National Volcano Early Warning System and the Advanced National Seismic System earthquake-warning network. The stimulus law will also fund mapping, communications, flood monitoring and other data systems, the agency said April 16.

Among other projects, the agency will spend $29.4 million to modernize the national earthquake-warning network by doubling the number of network stations nationwide to 1,600. The improved networks will deliver faster and more accurate information for earthquake prediction and measurement, agency officials said.

USGS will use another $15.2 million to modernize equipment for federal volcano observatories, $14.6 million to upgrade radio technology used in stream-flow measurements for flood monitoring and $14.6 million to improve elevation and imagery capture for flood mapping, emergency operations and natural resource management.