Question

Think about earthquake preparation. You have probably been bombarded with information from all sorts of government entities

A.    Which scenario should someone in San Diego be more concerned about, a magnitude 8.1 on the stretch of the San Andreas Fault from the Salton Sea to San Bernardino, Wrightwood and Palmdale, or a magnitude 7.1 on the offshore portion of the Rose Canyon / Newport-Inglewood Fault (Dana Point to LaJolla)? Explain your answer.

B.     What steps should you take to lessen the effects of an earthquake to you and your loved ones? Remember, you will be responsible for taking care of yourself for three days with no power, no cell service and streets impassible. Think about your furniture, your food and water supplies, medications, etc.

C.     Just for fun, think about the worst place(s) to be when a big earthquake strikes. (I know that after the Northridge quake in 1994, I neither wanted to be on top of an overpass, nor stopped under one!)

Answer 1

A            8.1 magnitude on San Andreas fault or 7.1 magnitude Offshore of Rose Canyon

Now when speaking of San Andreas Fault, it’s a very common fault within the California region. On an average, the fault extends to cover over 1200 km. and is known to form the main boundary in between the North American plate and Pacific Plate.

The entire plate exhibits right lateral type of plate motion and is further divided into different segments. Now what we are speaking of here is the Entire segment that is a part of the Southern segment of the San Andreas Fault. It is extended till the Salton Sea all the way from Parkfield. It also includes the Mojave segment which stretches all the way from Bombay Beach and covers Box canyon, California till Salton Sea.

The fault also extends till the Gabriel Mountains and Antelope valley freeway. Then it stretches all the way down till Elizabeth Lake. You have to keep in mind that this fault is already capable of creating an earth quake that is of 8.1 magnitude. And if this ever happens in the future, then it could easily take away thousands of life and could result in Billions of dollars worth damage.

7.1 magnitude offshore Rose canyon as is expected could easily cause a much bigger damage. It is expected that a 6.9 magnitude earth quake could in fact result in the damage to over 100,000 residences. It could also result in the major structural damage of bridges and road.

The earth quake of this magnitude could also take away some portions of the Bay area. On much wider scale it could also result in the cut out of water, light and gas services in bigger area for over a period of month. Apart from this, it could also result in the permanent damage and collapse of municipal buildings and residential buildings.

This means that the damages could in fact affect the entire region for more than a month. So I would certainly be more concerned about this type of earth quake as it could affect normal life for many months living people to survive without light, water and gas.

It could leave a number of people homeless and helpless for months. It could also affect hundreds of billions of dollars damage to the economy.

2.            Necessary steps to be taken of an earth quake….

Now you have to keep in mind that there certainly is nothing that we can do to prevent Earth quakes from happening. But there are a few steps that can be taken so the effects and hazards of earthquakes can be reduced to minimal.

But you also need to remember that the damage would also depend on the magnitude of the earth quake. There are certain magnitudes of earth quakes that are efficient ion causing big damages, no matter how well you are actually prepared in advance.

So here to understand things much better, let us try and split up these measures into different categories.

Personal measures

• As far as personal measures are concerned, it is obvious that every man in the family would take similar measures. The moment earth quake happens he would always want to look around for safe spot for his family.
• One should always try and rush his family members to a safe spot like under door frames or table, so they can be safe.
• In case you are outdoors with your family, then you should try and guide them away from tall structures and buildings. It is better to avoid running into crowded place. Outdoors, always take your family to nearby open spot or field.
• It is advisable to stay away from under pass and bridges as well as these structures could easily collapse.
• If you are nearby to landslide prone area then it is advisable to rush your family away from that spot as it could collapse at any time during earth quake.
• If you are indoors, then extra precautions are needed to be observed. Immediately after the earth quake it is your duty to check with the electricity connections, light box, water pipe line and gas pipe line for any possible leakages of damages.
• This is important so you can ensure that secondary accident does not take place after an earth quake.
• As you are responsible for the safety of your loved ones, so it is advisable to immediately try and collect information via radio or TV news channel.
• If you are at your home indoors for three days without light, or cell phones, then you should try and survive till help reaches you.
• Whatever water and food supplies you have, you have to maintain it for as long as you can. Splitting food and water into smaller potions for each member of the family would prove a lot more beneficial for you and your loved ones to survive for three days.
• Important medicine and first aid kit should always be updated with new medicines. If any member of your family is having severe medical history then essential medicines should always be maintained handy in the emergency kit.
• Avoid going outdoors till you are sure of assistance from local authorities. Avoid leaving your family alone till help reaches you. It is also advisable to try and reach to a spot where you and your family can easily be spotted by the rescue team.

C             Certain spots or worst place that you should avoid during earth quake? It is certain that if worst has to happen, then it can happen at any place. But in general, it is always advisable to avoid being nearby to tall structures that look safe, but are not.

It is also advisable to walk away from the power poles and lines during earth quake. You certainly may never want to fall prey or Live power lines during this time. Under bridges and pass ways are also never considered as safe. In most cases, sea shore is also most unsafe places to be at during an earth quake.

A major earth quake can also trigger Tsunami so it is more dangerous. Rest comfort zone is always a matter of personal choice.