California faces more than a lack of rain. The Los Angeles Times declared that California is in an earthquake drought, and the end of the drought will bring destructive results.
When Will the Next Big Earthquake Strike?
In this L.A. Times article Opens a new window, experts paint a clear (and unsettling) picture of a big quake waiting to happen. In fact, California earthquakes are inevitable. We don’t know when or where, but we do know that an earthquake will happen:
While it could be nice to say this drought is good news–who doesn’t like a break from earthquakes, right? –it isn’t. A drought means that there has been more time for tension to build up in the earth’s crust without a way to relieve the tension:
The New Earthquake Era
Can California handle the earthquake threat below the surface?
This drought also means that Californians aren’t necessarily prepared for a large-scale quake. The last California earthquake that was greater than 7 magnitude was in 1857. The 6.7 magnitude Northridge quake was in 1994 and the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta quake was in 1989. There are people alive today who have no personal experience with earthquakes of this size, and there isn’t anyone alive today that would have experienced a California quake as big as the earthquake of 1857.
First-hand experience of a major earthquake tragically brings awareness to the forefront, and few Californians have that experience. Earthquakes almost seem like a myth to some people in California despite the major earthquakes the Loma Prieta Opens a new window and Northridge quakes Opens a new window and other quakes that have struck other countries in recent years. Only 10% of California homeowners have earthquake insurance coverage, and many of those homeowners live within thirty miles of an active fault.
Experts say that it’s important to be prepared. There is, potentially, an entirely new era of earthquakes looming ahead with more frequent (or destructive) events.
What does that new era look like? Are you prepared for the end of the drought? Now is the time to ask yourself these questions and get prepared.
