Preparing for Earthquakes in the Bay Area: Not a Passive Process
Our recent tremblor reminds us, in case we forgot, that we’re living on multiple fault lines in the Bay Area. I never forget, though admit freely that when I run out of food or first aid stuff or bottled water, I almost always go through my earthquake provisions before I go to the store. Mainly because I hate going to the store. I am well aware this is kind of like driving without a seatbelt, but … less obviously dangerous.
Still, the danger of quakes is real. For evidence, here’s a map, most recently posted on The Front Steps, that shows which areas in the city are built on landfill as opposed to bedrock (the latter being much safer).
The “very high” areas in red refer to areas most subject to liquefaction, a frightening sounding process indeed. (See more on Bay Area seismic dangers here. ) You might note that some of the most expensive property, like the Marina, and the majority of new construction, such as South Beach, is in that red zone.
San Francisco government does not rely on your common sense alone to protect you from the danger of earthquakes. As reported in May, Mayor Newsom has a plan to require homeowners to retrofit unsafe foundations: His new plan would require homeowners, particularly those with “soft-story” buildings, such as first floor garages, to retrofit their buildings with seismic upgrades. This they would do out of their own pockets, which made some owners angry as they seemed to think preparation was a choice.
Homeowner or not, the Bay Area offers much by way of earthquake preparation. One excellent resource is the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, offered in many cities including our local ones. And incidentally, CERT addresses other national disasters as well, including fire and flood, which are both logical side effects of a big quake.
In any case, being prepared is more than having a couple of bandaids and a bottle of water at the ready. These little tremblors remind us all not to be stupid, to buckle our metaphoric seatbelts.
(And maybe, not to buy in the Marina– unless the building has a solid retrofit!)
