You may have felt the earthquake on the evening of August 23 (the epicenter was in San Leandro). The earthquake was one of four that hit the greater Bay Area last week, and although it was only a 3.6 in magnitude, it still gave a shake that startled some and incited curiosity about when the next big one will hit.
Skyline geology Professor Mel Zucker says last week’s earthquake was just “one of many like that. Dozens every year take place, and it doesn’t indicate that there will be a bigger quake as a result of that one, rather just a reminder we live in earthquake country. We in Northern California live in a place where there is a major fault system with recurring earthquakes because we have both Pacific and North American plates. They actually help people to prepare for larger magnitude earthquakes. It’s real here.”
The Richter scale is an exponential scale rather than an arithmetic one, which is used to measure magnitude of an earthquake. Using this scale, a 2.0 quake is 10 times more powerful than a 1.0 quake, 3.0 is 10 times more powerful than 2.0, and so on. As an example, compare the epicenter of the earthquake on the East Coast, which was a 5.9, to the earthquake off the coast of Japan, which caused the tsunami this year and was a 9.0. This means that the earthquake in Japan was slightly over 1,000 times more powerful than the one on the East Coast.
In the San Mateo County and closer surrounding counties, we apparently are due for one statistically; according to the United States Geological Survey, there is a 62 percent probability for one or more magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquakes between the years 2003 and 2032. There is a 10 percent chance the quakes will happen on the San Gregorio Fault, a 21 percent chance they will happen on the San Andreas Fault, and a 27 percent chance they will happen on the Hayward Fault.
These statistics aren’t printed here to cause panic but rather to cause awareness.
“You cannot predict an earthquake, but if you prepare you can minimize damage. By preparing for earthquakes, it will significantly decrease the amount of damage done to buildings and lessen rhw amount of injuries too,” Zucker says.
“I think it’s better to have multiple small earthquakes because it helps relieve the pressure to not build into one of a large magnitude,” says Skyline student Nick Popielak. “As far as being prepared, I’m not sure how to prepare for a big one.”
There are many different components in being prepared, including preparing the home itself and knowing where to be inside your home during the earthquake. Making sure heavy furniture such as china cabinets, entertainment systems and such are fastened to the wall will prevent them from causing injury during an earthquake by falling or even flying.
Equally important to preparing your home for an earthquake is preparing for after one as well. Ensure that you have a designated meeting spot for you and your loved ones in case you are not reached by an emergency team, and make sure there is a supply of water and food to sustain you and those in your household for a few days (and in the worst case, weeks). Having a few flashlights (instead of candles) is also important in case a gas line breaks.
“In the event an earthquake hits, it’s best to be away from windows (because of glass) and either under a door or alongside a wall until it is over,” explains Skyline’s Chief Sergeant, Brian Tupper. “If an earthquake were to happen while students were on campus, it’s best to be away from windows and under a desk. We are prepared for an earthquake if one were to happen. As far as buildings being prepared, six and four are most advanced, and thus we would mobilize in building four. From there we have a P.A System to announce information and instructions. In October we will be having an earthquake drill where we go through the evacuation process,”
