Comments on: Stonewall Road View

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:09:30 +0000

Sure, but only minor evidence. For instance, the rocks may differ across a fault, so the soils will differ too. And where a fault changes the groundwater flow, you can get lines of springs along the fault, like this example in Hayward.

By: Margaret Hanzimanolis

Margaret Hanzimanolis — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:12:46 +0000

Hi Andrew, do plant growth patterns contribute any evidence of fault activity or location?

By: cbdawson

cbdawson — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:06:44 +0000

With any real understanding of Bay area earthquake hazards, it’s hard not to go down this path once you start. It’s the reality of living in the area, although we often try to pretend it’s not.

I took my city’s disaster preparedness classes: the experience was very useful & eye opening — and highly motivational. There are also lots of online preparedness resources for residents. Two of my favorites are:

Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country – Your Handbook for the San Francisco Bay Region
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/

And parts of the ABAG site
http://quake.abag.ca.gov/

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:28:36 +0000

It is a realistic post. It didn't make me happy to write it, in fact I didn't set out to write it. The spot is beautiful and geologically interesting, not just a calamity with a "Before" sign on it. But I'm describing well-understood phenomena that are easy to translate into counteractions: reinforce homes and infrastructure; install backup and redundant systems; maintain a defensible landscape; rehearse and coordinate emergency response; plan to survive, keep your wits about you, and help in the aftermath and recovery. The city is doing a good job, as these things go. Oakland emergency responders are well served by higher agencies (like FEMA, whose district headquarters is here) and private entities (like EERI, also in Oakland) and the world-class researchers of the Bay area. And Oakland's CORE program is ready to train citizens across the city.

By: Daniel Schulman (das88)

Daniel Schulman (das88) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:33:09 +0000

This is not a very happy post. What should landowners, the city, anyone do to reduce the scope of the upcoming damage?