L.A. City Council celebrates the earthquake lady on ‘Dr. Lucy Jones Day’

Happy Lucy Jones Day!

In recognition of her last day at the U.S. Geological Survey, the Los Angeles City Council is honoring the “earthquake lady” for a lifetime of service devoted to Southern California and earthquake preparedness.

USGS Director Suzette Kimball and Deputy Director David Applegate will also be attending Wednesday’s ceremony at City Hall. Angelenos are encouraged to join in recognizing the work Jones has done for the region, officials said.

Colleagues have been celebrating her all week. On Tuesday, her USGS colleague Dale Cox tweeted a photo of her retirement cake.

In her 33 years with the USGS, Jones has dramatically changed the way the Southland prepares for earthquakes. Buildings are safer, first-responders are better equipped and millions of residents have learned that the worst thing to do in an earthquake is to run outside.

READ MORE: Meet Lucy Jones, the Beyoncé of earthquakes

Upon retirement from federal service, Jones plans to create a center that bridges science and policy. She hopes to leverage her earthquake credentials to help policymakers prepare for other natural disasters such as climate change and tsunamis.

A fourth-generation Southern Californian, Jones’ research as a seismologist includes the ShakeOut scenario, which laid out the myriad ways a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault would devastate Southern California. Among them: six months without water, explosions at the Cajon Pass where natural gas and petroleum pipelines meet, devastating landslides and more than 1,600 fires.

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Lucy Jones, shown at Caltech, is worried about an earthquake hitting the San Andreas fault. After her last day at the USGS on March 30, she can start raising money to create a center that bridges science and public policy.  (Beatrice de Gea / Los Angeles Times)

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LucyJones joins then-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Paul Schulz of the American Red Cross and Richard Katz of the Metropolitan Transit Authoriity for a ‘drop, cover and hold on’ drill at Union Station in2012.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Dr. Lucy Jonesdiscusses California’s earthquake early-warning system in April. Sheis recognized across Southern California for her ability to explain earthquakes to the general public.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Seismologist Lucy Jones explains an earthquake early warning system at Caltech.  (Tim Berger / Los Angeles Times)

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Lucy Jones, a USGS seismologist, speaksduring a news conference at Caltech after apre-dawn earthquake rolled across the Los Angeles Basinin 2014.  (Nick Ut / Associated Press)

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, CouncilmenTom LaBonge and Mitchell Englander and U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones at a 2014 news conference announce an aggressive new plan to tackle earthquake safety, including how to better protect vulnerable buildings.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Eagle Rock High School students listen as seismologist Lucy Jones, center, speaks about a collaboration in 2015 between the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the United States Geological Survey for a pilot program that will install early warning earthquake software in all science classrooms at the school.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Egill Hauksson,Lucy Jones’ husband, met her at a1980 conference on earthquake prediction. She gave a talk about her research in China while a fellow graduate student ran the audiovisual equipment behind the scenes. It was Egill.  (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Lucy Jones, former U.S. Geological Survey seismologist.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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Lucy Jones standsnext to a projected image of seismic waves inside the media room at Caltech. Much of what Jones does today centers on this: What good is scientific knowledge if people don’t use it?  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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Lucy Jones is photographed outside Caltech. Authoritative yet nurturing, the ‘earthquake lady’ has a knack for making a complicated point so simple it seems obvious.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The report persuaded officials to invest in earthquake-resilient infrastructure. It also gave birth to the annual ShakeOut drill; more than 43 million people around the world last year practiced “drop, cover and hold on.”

Her early research on foreshock series — identifying certain smaller earthquakes as possible harbingers of a bigger one — enabled officials to start issuing earthquake advisories in California.

In 2014, she served as Mayor Eric Garcetti’s science advisor for seismic safety and helped shepherd his landmark proposal to strengthen the city’s buildings and telecommunication and water infrastructure most at risk of failing in a massive earthquake. With her help, the city last year passed the most sweeping retrofitting laws in California history.

Her work earned her a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America medal, often referred to as the Oscars of government service. The American Geophysical Union, the Southern California Earthquake Center and many others also praised her achievements in translating science into policy.

“When the big one hits, people will be living because of the work that she has done,” Garcetti said.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the John Ferraro Council Chamber in Los Angeles City Hall.

Follow @RosannaXia for more news about seismic safety.