4 responses to “Disaster Preparedness – Practice, Practice”

1. Joe

   October 14, 2018

   NBCNews was in town yesterday to report on the drills. View it here:
   https://www.nbcbayarea.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Changes-Coming-to-the-U_S_-Supreme-Court_Bay-Area-497525931

2. Joe

   October 18, 2018

   This exercise was news to me and I did not drop-and-cover:
   The annual Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill was Thursday, encouraging people in the Southland and around the globe to drop, cover and hold to test their level of preparedness for a major temblor.
   The 10th annual drill was at 10:18 a.m. At that time, millions of people across California were to “drop” to the ground, take “cover” under a desk, table or other sturdy surface and “hold on” for 60 seconds, as if a major earthquake were occurring.
   More than 10 million people in California registered at http://www.shakeout.org to participate in the drill, including nearly 3.3 million in Los Angeles County and 875,000 in Orange County.
   https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Drop-Cover-and-Hold-Millions-Expected-to-Take-Part-in-Great-ShakeOut-Drill-497899881

3. Joe

   March 17, 2022

   I was remiss in not noting that Suzanne Tateosian has passed. John Horgan’s piece in yesterday’s DJ reminded me:
   Family, friends, neighbors and professional colleagues have been mourning the late February passing of Suzanne Tateosian, 66, a longtime Burlingame resident who dedicated much of her life to keeping her community resilient, safe and secure.
   She died unexpectedly in Nevada due to a stroke late in February. She was the former proprietor of a local firm that provided earthquake survival kits to private companies, schools, government entities, foundations and individuals.
   She was a selfless and key participant in the work of the Burlingame Neighborhood Network which aims to assist residents in the event of a natural disaster, among other laudable goals.
   A recent statement from the network board lamented the loss of one of its most valued members, noting, “We miss her enormously.” The Tateosian family intends to have a celebration of Suzanne’s life in the near future.
   ————————-
   Those of us who are active in BNN know that Suzanne was a genuinely nice person and will be greatly missed. My condolences to Jeff and the family….

4. Joe

   April 29, 2026

   Here’s another reminder to keep that quake kit up to date:

   Researchers have found that one of the US’ most dangerous fault lines (the Hayward fault) is overdue for an earthquake, potentially threatening millions of people across California, per an alarming study in the journal Seismological Research Letters.

   This terrifying tremor could “cause extensive damage to such a dense population zone,” wrote the team from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in a statement.

   This fault is of particular concern as it regularly generates magnitude 7 earthquakes — more powerful than the 1989 Loma Prieta quake that killed 63 people and injured 3,757 in the Bay Area.

   While the last event to occur was in 1868, scientists have calculated that Hayward ruptures every 95 to 183 years, meaning we’re overdue for a seismic event.

   According to the Geological Survey, Hayward has a 14.3% chance of a 6.7 magnitude or larger seismic event by 2034 and a 33% chance before 2043, making Hayward one of the most hazardous fault lines in the region.

   These models revealed that the shaking generated during these simulated tremors could be up to 50% more powerful than prior forecasts for nearby population centers. Affected hubs included Livermore, Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, San Leandro, Emeryville and Alameda.

   The team plans to use the same simulations to analyze the neighboring San Andreas Fault, the epicenter for some of California’s most devastating earthquakes, such as the 1906 San Francisco event that killed more than 3,000 people.