Three New Facilitator Guides Released for the HayWired Earthquake Scenario Toolkit
The HayWired Earthquake Scenario Exercise Toolkit continues to grow. We are pleased to announce the release of three new Facilitator Guides, bringing the total number of available guides to 20.
Developed through a joint effort by the California Resiliency Alliance (CRA), Earthquake Country Alliance (ECA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Toolkit supports organizations in exploring complex operational, workforce, and community impacts following a major M7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is designed to help businesses, government agencies, non-profits, and community organizations leverage discussion-based exercises to deepen their earthquake planning and preparedness efforts.
Each Facilitator Guide serves as a companion to the main Toolkit and includes a structured discussion guide with scenario data, questions, and additional consideration + a visual slide deck (available in both PDF and PowerPoint formats).
The three newly released guides focus on:
Economic Impact (Recovery): This guide helps organizations examine how impacts to customers, markets, and regional economic activity could influence financial recovery in the months and years following a significant earthquake.
Discussion Guide and Imagery Slideset (pdf, PowerPoint)
Payroll (Planning & Preparedness): This guide explores how a major earthquake could disrupt payroll processing, timekeeping, and compliance with pay and leave requirements—and what steps organizations can take to reduce those risks.
Discussion Guide and Imagery Slideset (pdf, PowerPoint)
Food Access & Insecurity (Planning & Preparedness): This guide focuses on how earthquakes can affect employees’, volunteers’, and customers’ ability to access food, and identifies ways organizations can help mitigate food insecurity during response and recovery.
Discussion Guide and Imagery Slideset (pdf, PowerPoint)
Although the HayWired scenario is based on a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault in the San Francisco Bay Area, many of the discussion questions and planning considerations are applicable to earthquake scenarios in other regions.
The Facilitator Guides are intended to be flexible, allowing organizations to tailor discussions to their size, sector, and operating environment while strengthening preparedness and resilience.
Posted: December 18, 2025
