Quake Reminder

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal reports on a study in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America that indicates we may be faced with not one but a series of Big Ones.  It says

The study reveals a previously unknown tally of very large quakes occurring close together in the Bay Area going back to the year 1600.  From about 1690 to 1776, six large quakes ranging from magnitude 6.6 to 7.8 on five different faults runbled through the region...

The lead author is quoted as saying

It was along the San Andeas fault that the 1906 quake, the most powerful in Northern California's recorded history, broke.  That quake had the effect of releasing enough pent-up energy tp "relax" other faults around it, according to Mr. Schwartz.  Since then, the region has been "seismically quiet," meaning that stress has been rebuilding on the fault line over time.

The U.S. Geological Survey says there is a 63% chance of one or more magnitude 6.7 or larger quakes striking the Bay Area in the next 30 years.

I don't think I have reminded you to update your quake kits in about three years.  Do the shoes in the kit still fit?  Are the spare eye glasses the right prescription?  Do you still own the same car as the one you put the extra key in the kit for?  When was the last time you changed the water?  Do you have charcoal and lighter fluid handy?  A can opener?  Where is the special wrench to turn off the gas?  Do you have a generator?  Have you started it in the last six months?

Remember:  if we get a Big One or two, you and yours could be On Your Own for two, three, four days or more.  While Moonbeam (and the press echo) frets about global warming causing more droughts over the next 30 years, you have the personal responsibility to take care of yourself after a quake.  If you are prepared enough to help out an elderly neighbor or two that would be good also.

Comments

[Joe]

I seldom post advertisements for events, but this one is both worthwhile and free. From the SMC Alert list we learn:

Just a reminder that the 10th Annual San Mateo County Disaster Preparedness Day will be held at the San Mateo County Fair this Saturday, June 7th, 2014.

The event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. during the first day of the fair, and anyone who arrives BEFORE 11:00 a.m. that day will receive free parking and free admission to the fair!

I hope you will join me and take advantage of the important emergency preparedness information, demonstrations and Friends and Family CPR classes made available to you at the event, and of this fabulous opportunity to bring your friends and family to the San Mateo County Fair.

[Joe]

This morning at 3:20 am, we got a magnitude 6.1 reminder to update our earthquake kits, water, batteries, etc.

[Joe]

Here is another reminder to check up on that earthquake kit:

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — Scientists have discovered an alarming connection underwater: Two of the most dangerous earthquake faults in the Bay Area.

Experts long debated whether the Hayward Fault and the Rodgers Creek Fault connected, but now there’s strong evidence they do.

US Geological geophysicist Janet Watt made the discovery in an underwater survey using an acoustic instrument over the San Pablo Bay. She says the data is clearer than ever.

“We now have direct evidence that the faults come closer together in the bay and may be directly connected,” says Watt. “It would be devastating for an earthquake to rupture at both those faults — it’d be a very strong earthquake.”

Two Bay Area fault lines could potentially trigger a 7.3 magnitude earthquake if they ruptured together. That’s stronger than the 1989 Loma Prieta quake.

“If these two faults are connected then that means it would be easier for an earthquake to rupture from the Hayward to Rodgers or vice versa,” says Watt.

Old maps showed a gap of at least 2.5 miles between the faults. Watt says the 60-mile long Hayward Fault, which runs from San Pablo Bay to Alum Rock, and the 39-mile Rodgers Creek Fault that runs from San Pablo Bay to Healdsburg, are likely linked by a strand.

Watt’s discovery may help determine whether a big quake is ahead of us. After all, the Hayward Fault is the most populated fault in the world. A 7.3 magnitude quake would be devastating.

“People in the Bay Area just need to be prepared that they live in earthquake country,” she said.

Now scientists will work to confirm the new data. Watt’s survey will go from underwater to land to see if there is a connection above ground, as well.