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flay" tOL 'iiL Plan. This is considered to be "classified" information by the Hays County Mitigation Planning Committee however, "Critical Facilities" within Hays County are located on Figures 2.1 to 2.4. 2.17 Mass Casualty Incident I The Hays County Mitigation Planning Committee discuss a mass casualty incident that may result from a tornado, HAZMA T incident, transportation accident, extreme heat, terrorism event or other major hazard event. The possibility of a mass casualty incident increases as the Hays County population increases along the IH-35 conidor. The potential for a mass casualty event is present any time a number of individuals are gathered. Therefore mass casualty events may occur at schools, colleges, industrial sites, retail centers, special events, or entertainment venues. Numerous festivals and events occur within Hays County, the City of San Marcos, Texas State University (TSU) and Aquarena Springs, which is a major tourist and vacation site. The Hays County Mitigation Planning Committee recognizes the potential for such mass casualty events to occur. Contained in the Hays County Emergency Management Plan is a Health and Medical Services Annex, (Annex H). Annex H identifies the mechanism for health and medical response to and recovery from disaster events. Restoration of health and medical services following disaster is also addressed in Annex H. II An earthquake is a sudden motion or trembling caused by an abrupt release of accumulated strain on the tectonic plates that comprise the Earth's crust. The theory of plate tectonics holds that the Earth's crust is broken into several major plates. These rigid, 50- to 60-mile thick plates move slowly and continuously over the interior of the earth, meeting in some areas and separating in others. As the tectonic plates move together they bump, slide, catch, and hold. Eventually, faults along or near plate boundaries slip abruptly when the stress exceeds the elastic limit of the rock, and an earthquake occurs. The ensuring seismic activity and ground motion provoke secondary hazards: surface faulting, ground failure, and tsunamis. The vibration or shaking of the ground during an earthquake is referred to as ground motion. In general, the severity of ground motion increases with the amount of energy released and decreases with distance from the causative fau][ or epicenter. When a fault ruptures, seismic waves are propagated in all directions, causing the ground to vibrate at frequencies ranging from 0.] to 30 Hz. Seismic waves are referred to as P waves, S waves, and surface waves. Seismic activity is desClibed in terms of magnitude and intensity. Magnitude (M) characterizes the [Otal energy released, and Intensity (I) subjectively describes effects at a particular place. While an earthquake has only one magnitude, its intensity varies throughout the affected regJOn. I Ha~'s counl~', Texas Mitigalion Plan 89