Many earthquakes have been rocking California, especially near the Bay Area. On the third week of October, there were more than 7 earthquakes above a 2.0 magnitude, with two nearly reaching 5.0. Cities such as Cupertino, Dublin, Pleasant Hill, and San Francisco have been affected, and San Jose is bound to get rocked with an earthquake anytime soon. While there have been no serious repercussions, people should take precautions.
Recently, the original Richter scale used to measure earthquakes' intensity was replaced with the Mercalli scale, better describing the effects of earthquakes. This scale was created by Giuseppe Mercalli in the early 1900s, for people to understand how strong an earthquake is. Earthquakes are ranked on the Mercalli scale by their damage to buildings, humans, and the earth’s surface.
For scale:
Magnitude
Description
1.0 - 3.0
3.0 - 3.9
4.0 - 4.9
5.0 -5.9
6.0 - 6.9
7.0+
If the recent earthquakes haven’t been dangerous, why should people worry? In July 2019, Southern California was consecutively struck with the two Ridgecrest earthquakes both above 6.0 magnitude. These earthquakes caused thousands of injuries and several deaths as well as 49 billion dollars worth in damage. Guess what? This was after a 25 year long period of no major earthquakes, similar to the Bay Area’s current situation. According to USGS (United States Geological Survey), there is a 62% probability that there will be an earthquake ranked at least 6.7 from now until 2033 specifically in the Bay Area.
Numerous websites give a complete list of necessities for survival kits for your home, work or even your car. Don’t delay making an earthquake kit for family members and yourself; who knows when a catastrophic earthquake will hit? Don’t worry either, it’s not as hard as some may think.
You can use www.ready.gov/kit for a solid list of supplies, and if you want to see what areas are most in danger use http://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/fam/.
Recently, the original Richter scale used to measure earthquakes' intensity was replaced with the Mercalli scale, better describing the effects of earthquakes. This scale was created by Giuseppe Mercalli in the early 1900s, for people to understand how strong an earthquake is. Earthquakes are ranked on the Mercalli scale by their damage to buildings, humans, and the earth’s surface.
For scale:
Magnitude
Description
1.0 - 3.0
- Not felt by most people
3.0 - 3.9
- Felt by some who aren’t moving or located in the tops of tall buildings
- Feels like a large truck driving by
4.0 - 4.9
- Commonly felt
- Can shake people awake due to rattling house items
- Possible that dishes and windows are broken
5.0 -5.9
- Heavy furniture moved
- Poorly structured buildings damaged
- Felt by everyone in the area
6.0 - 6.9
- Most structures affected
- Some parts caved in
- Heavy couches and tables flipped
7.0+
- Buildings shifted off their foundation, partially collapsed
- Railroad tracks bent
- Little to no stone structures standing
- People’s views are distorted (think of the San Francisco Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, many people say the ground moved as if it was water)
If the recent earthquakes haven’t been dangerous, why should people worry? In July 2019, Southern California was consecutively struck with the two Ridgecrest earthquakes both above 6.0 magnitude. These earthquakes caused thousands of injuries and several deaths as well as 49 billion dollars worth in damage. Guess what? This was after a 25 year long period of no major earthquakes, similar to the Bay Area’s current situation. According to USGS (United States Geological Survey), there is a 62% probability that there will be an earthquake ranked at least 6.7 from now until 2033 specifically in the Bay Area.
Numerous websites give a complete list of necessities for survival kits for your home, work or even your car. Don’t delay making an earthquake kit for family members and yourself; who knows when a catastrophic earthquake will hit? Don’t worry either, it’s not as hard as some may think.
You can use www.ready.gov/kit for a solid list of supplies, and if you want to see what areas are most in danger use http://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/fam/.