Decades of earthquake innovations have made California as “mega-city” prepared as can be

California has been hit by nearly 100 earthquakes over the past month, especially in the San Ramon area near Oakland. This has led some to wonder whether a “big earthquake” is near and how prepared the state is for a major earthquake.

Earthquake swarms

Since November 9, at least 80 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or greater have occurred in the San Ramon area. This number of smaller earthquakes is referred to as a swarm.

“It's just a period of increased activity that's going on,” Christine Goulet, director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center, told Straight Arrow News. “And of course, it makes people anxious to ask, ‘Well, is there a big event coming up?'”

While swarms may raise this question, they do not necessarily predict greater seismic activity.

“Swarms tend to happen at different times, and they rarely announce something larger, but they can,” Goulet said.

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The big one

If you haven't spent time on the West Coast, you may not be aware of the concerns about the “big event.” In essence, this term refers to the potential for a massive earthquake along a fault line that runs up and down the Pacific Coast.

The cost in lives and property can be enormous, with the potential to level cities, create massive tsunamis, and much more. These major earthquakes occur approximately every 300 years, according to the Red Cross.

While Californians wait for the big earthquake, major earthquakes are no stranger to the Golden State.

Some of the most famous in recent memory include the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, which was broadcast live because it occurred during a World Series game in San Francisco.

Then there was the 1994 Northridge earthquake in SoCal, a 6.7-magnitude quake that killed dozens and caused $20 billion in damage.

“Among the biggest impacts we've seen are collapsed bridges, the most famous being the collapse of the Cypress structure in Oakland,” Jonathan Stewart, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA, told SAN. “Then in the Northridge earthquake, we had a number of highways and freeway interchanges that collapsed, which caused a lot of deaths in both earthquakes.”

Preparing buildings for large

There is a common saying in the earthquake industry that “earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do.”

Experts SAN spoke to said major earthquakes in the past helped prepare the country for the “big one.”

“I think we're better prepared now than we were then,” Stewart said.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) focuses on residential property readiness.

“We are making strides in preparedness, but we can certainly be more prepared,” CEA Chief Information Officer Ben Dicey told SAN.

Deci pointed to two main ways in which residents try to protect themselves from a major earthquake.

The first is insurance.

“There are nearly a million people in our state who are choosing to make that commitment to protect their nest egg in the event of an earthquake, to get insurance that will help them recover, help them rebuild after something of a catastrophic nature happens, and that's great, but it can and should be higher,” Deci said.

Earthquake insurance is not mandatory for homeowners in the state.

“Earthquake insurance is discretionary,” Deci said. “And these little swarms sometimes remind people that we live in earthquake country.”

Another way people can protect themselves from a major earthquake is through mitigation, Deci said.

“Preparations are being made to mitigate earthquakes, especially some homes, older homes, homes built before the 1980s, and homes with certain building styles,” Deci said.

The state continues to update its building codes to make buildings more prepared for major shaking.

“When we build new buildings, they are designed according to the building code of that time,” Stewart said. “Buildings are designed and approved by the jurisdiction, and the building code guarantees life safety. This basically means that in the event of an earthquake at the design level, the building should not collapse, which is kind of a minimum standard.”

Since 2013, California has also provided grants to help retrofit older homes that are ill-equipped to handle a larger earthquake.

“If they were built before 1978, they had known vulnerabilities, so we started retrofitting them at an increasing rate,” Stewart said.

The Brace and Bolt program helped people prepare their homes for the “big disaster.” Contractors will go under the house and physically attach the house to the foundation.

“What we're seeing is that these homes will actually be shaken off their foundations, and that could be catastrophic,” Deci said.

When it comes to lawmakers, Deci said reducing any tax burdens would go a long way in helping people.

“Sometimes there can be tax implications, and that's somewhat confusing and overwhelming, but I will say that we are very supportive of reducing or eliminating taxes on mitigation grants and mitigation efforts that may occur beforehand,” Deci said. “We believe it is so important and that it creates mutual benefit for all Californians that providing these types of grants and these tax-exempt efforts is a smart and beneficial move.”

Preparing people for the big one

While making sure buildings stay standing is crucial, experts say making sure people are prepared is just as important.

Every October since 2008, Californians have participated in the Great Tremor. This is an emergency preparedness drill to teach people what to do when the ground starts moving beneath them.

“Then, especially the city of Los Angeles, they did a big study, and a lot of scientists worked on, what would we do if there was a big earthquake?” Goulet said. “This has led to a lot of different changes in how we respond to and plan for emergencies.”

This preparedness includes not only preparing buildings and people, but also what happens in the aftermath of an earthquake.

“Power outages are common, loss of gas, more fires, access to water is likely to be limited after a major earthquake, and all of these different things are what constitute earthquake preparedness,” Goulet said.

Earthquakes are not like hurricanes. You can't see them coming from hundreds of miles away with days to prepare.

However, starting in 2019, the ShakeAlert early warning system was introduced.

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“What this does is it detects very very quickly the first waves that are coming from the breaking crust in the Earth, detects that quickly and then sends alerts to people,” Goulet said.

It is now active in California, Oregon and Washington, giving people a few seconds of warning before a major shaking occurs. A few seconds may not seem like a lot, but they can be crucial.

“For people, we recommend getting down, taking cover and staying still,” Goulet said. “Go under a strong object and protect yourself. Hold on, for example, to a sturdy table and wait until the shaking ends.”

Desi echoed those sentiments.

“Drop, dive, hold,” Desi said. “We always repeat that when we can. People should know what to do when the ground starts shaking, because it will.”

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