Who Cares if San Andreas is Fiction? We are Still Screwed!
Top 7 Reasons Why…
…And What You Can Do.
1. A Major Earthquake on the San Andreas Fault is Still Catastrophic
The 2010 Southern California Catastrophic Earthquake Plan is for a “mere” 7.8 earthquake and still assumes such effects as 10,000 -100,000 landslides that will damage roads, railroads, airports, and seaports. Los Angeles will lose 13,000 hospital beds while there will be an estimated 500,000 injuries and 1,800 fatalities. A quarter million households will be displaced and more than 500,000 will require shelters.
Check out the 2010 Southern California Catastrophic Earthquake Plan.>
Attribution: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/induced/
2. Fracking Earthquakes are Everywhere
The New Madrid Seismic Zone is larger than the San Andreas Fault and covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that between 1983 and 2014 the average number of 3.0 magnitude or greater earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S. has jumped from 21 to 659. While the USGS has not yet linked fracking to earthquakes above 6.0 magnitude, it appears that fracking did induce the 5.3 Raton Basin Earthquake in Colorado and the 5.6 Prague Oklahoma quake.
Read the U.S. Geological Survey report on human-induced earthquakes.>
3. There Really Are Massive Aftershocks
The May 25th, 2015, 7.9 earthquake in Nepal has been followed by dozens of 4.0 magnitude or greater; including a 7.3 aftershock on May 12th. The 7.1 Christchurch (Canterbury), New Zealand earthquake on April 4th, 2010, led to more than 13,000 aftershocks. In addition, aftershocks of as high as 7.1 magnitude or greater followed the 8.8 magnitude Maule earthquake in Chile. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that aftershocks of at least 7.0 are possible after a 7.9 San Andreas temblor.
Read the U.S. Geological Survey Circular about a 7.8 San Andreas earthquake.>
See the dynamic Christchurch Quake Map.>
4. Buildings Collapse; but NOT Like You Think
The 2010 Southern California Catastrophic Earthquake Plan assumes 5,000 people will be trapped in collapsed buildings. Another 10,000 will be in red-tagged buildings and 20,000 will be in yellow-tagged buildings. There is good news, however. Although the 8.8 Maule Earthquake would be 20 times greater in magnitude than a 7.8 San Andreas quake (those darn logarithms), only five, “design-engineered” buildings collapsed. The fact is, most buildings will NOT collapse and people can survive in them.
Read the U.S. Geological Survey Report on the Chilean Earthquake and Tsunami.>
Check out Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country to prepare your home.>
5. Most of Us are not Prepared.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 2013 report, Preparedness in America, recorded that only 46% of survey respondents were familiar with their local hazards. The same percentage participated in preparedness training in the last two years. If this can be assumed to be accurate for the 18 million residents in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, that would mean 8.3 million are unfamiliar and/or unpracticed in earthquake response. Don’t panic; the first step for citizen is to know your hazards. Start by checking out the plan and your county office of emergency services web site to see just what you face.
Go ShakeOut site for more information regardless of where you live.>
6. We are Overdue
The U.S. Geological Survey released a report October 14, 2014 updating the probability of earthquakes in the San Andreas Fault system. There is an estimated 70% probability of a 6.7 or greater earthquake before 2030 on the Hayward, Rodgers Creek, northern Calaveras, or Green Valley faults. These faults run through the San Francisco Bay Area, with a population of 7 million.
Read the U.S. Geological Survey report on revised probabilities.
7. The Government May Not Come for a Long Time
The 8.8 magnitude Maule Earthquake was centered near Concepcion, Chile, the country’s second largest city. More than 370,000 homes were destroyed. In addition, the economic loss of $30 Billion (U.S.) was 17% of Gross Domestic Product. Furthermore, 12 million people, accounting for 75% of the country’s population felt strong shaking. The national government and the Red Cross were so overwhelmed, individuals and communities were on their own for six days before resources arrived. The good news was Chileans were relatively well-prepared and individual and community preparedness carried them through until help arrived. Although it is still a terrible number, there were “only” 521 fatalities and 56 missing persons. You too, can prepare yourself and your community. Go to Ready.gov to get started.
