Are you scared of "Big One" earthquake? (Los Angeles: sales, apartments)

[NiceJohn]

I want to move to LA, my friends been telling me about anticipated "Big One" earthquake. I wonder what people from LA think about this.

[UB50]

I'm scared of it! I don't like earthquakes much.

Only you can decide what to do. I don't think I would like tornadoes much either and we don't get those here. And we don't get hurricanes either.

[cowman809]

Nope, because there will always be a looming "disaster" coming anywhere you live. Might as well be happy with the greatness of LA, every day.

[SandyCo]

It's on my mind, yes. And yet I'm not willing to move out of Southern California to get away from it, so how much does it really bother me? Most people who live here do so in a state of collective denial. How many of us even have an earthquake kit put together with enough food, water, first aid supplies, etc. to last at least a week? (If it's a big enough earthquake and enough people are affected, I'd say we'd have another Hurricane Katrina situation on our hands here, only a lot worse, because there are so many people here!)

People who live next to volcanoes are the same, but they have the benefit of getting some warning signs before the volcano actually blows. At the same time, I probably wouldn't choose to live in Naples, which is in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius.

[Lovehound]

I'm very concerned about the possibility of "the big one," but not worried about injury. Rather, I'm worried about damage to my house. In '94 the damage amounted to about 10% of the value of my house, well over $10,000, and not covered by my 10% deductible earthquake insurance. These days earthquake insurance is prohibitively expensive.

Considering the possibility of another 10%-20% damage loss, combined with depressed housing values for several years, it would crush me financially if the big one affects my house.

As far as injury, if you're in a 1- or 2-story wood frame structure you probably won't get hurt unless something falls on you (furniture) or you get hit by or step on broken glass.

Do not live in 3-story or more apartments, and if you live in a multi-story apartment at least live on the top floor. Most of the apartment fatalities in Northridge were 3-story buildings collapsing and pancaking the first floor. Your 8 foot ceiling could turn into a 6 inch ceiling. Squish!

Run!!!!

[ZenMaster2008]

I'm no more worried about this than I am of being run over by a car. And I live on the bottom story in an apartment but I'm not too worried. I doubt every person who lives on the bottom would be squished. If that was the case a few hundred thousand or more people would lose their lives.

[timelesschild]

Um, no. Not really. I do try to attend to safety precautions, such as the placement of heavy artwork (not over the bed), and such... but as to being scared? Nah. There are so many likelier scenarios to be concerned about, mostly to do with vehicles and traffic; earthquakes and the mystical "big one" don't deserve the attention imho.

[LABornandRaised]

I keep hearing that 2010 is the year being predicted to be the "Big One." I think there are a lot of Californians, who don't own homes, who want the earthquake to be big enough to scare people out of the state, but not so big that it hurts/kills anyone. This state has become so overpopulated that the housing prices are completely unreasonable. Look at the press release yesterday mentioning that LA county housing sales are up over 40% (IN THIS ECONOMY!!! That's insane).

The sad truth is my partner and I would be considered "Upper Class" if we lived in Iowa, but we're considered "Middle Class" to "Lower Middle Class" in Los Angeles.

[Mr. Mysterious]

My son just recently renovated his home and decided to build another second story to create more rooms for the children. However, the expenses was out of cheap labor and cheap materials, I am not even sure if his house is earthquake proof or not. However, there was a series of home inspectors did approve the constructions, and I hope "earthquake proof" was part of their checklists

[dcashley]

There are a few facts that the media fails to communicate, as they attempt to sell air time, and copy by making earthquakes very frightful. Here are some of them:
1) California has the strictest building standards for earthquake preparedness in the world.
2) The absolute safest place to be during an Earthquate (other than in an airplane or sitting in an open field) is inside a California residence. California houses are built in such a manner that they flex, and few will "fall down." In downtown Los Angeles, the sky scrapers are constructed on a type of floating platform which significantly reduces the damage an earthquake can do.
3) Damage from earthquakes is highly localized. For example, during the 1993 (1994?) Northridge earthquake, the parking structure at California State University Northridge fell down. So did some other older buildings on campus. Some damage was done in surrounding residential areas. But there was very little damage outside of those areas.
4) Our freeway overpasses have all been earthquake proofed--that does not eliminate the possibility of one being damaged--but it reduces it significantly.
5) Being in an office building DURING an earthquake is very scary. I was sitting in the third floor of an office building at the epi-center of the 6.1 Whittier quake. I have never been so afraid in my life. I've been shot at--but the earthquate was much scarier. The damage done: very little. The fear factor: very high.
6) The idea that the electrical, phone, or water supply would be disrupted over a large area is incorrect. I used to be an executive manager for a large utility company. Utility services are "hardened" and they are built in "cells." So, some outages may occur--but not over a very large area.
7) The best preparation for an earthquake is to: stay calm. If in bed, pull the covers and pillow over your head--that way no plaster or dust will fall on you and hurt you. If you are at a desk, jump under it--for the same reason. If you are inside--stay inside. If you are in a car, safely slow down and stop. If you are in an elevator--relax--elevators are equipped with automatic emergency brakes that do not need power to stop the elevator. If you are at the beach, wait for a really big wave and enjoy surfing.
8) The media quotes statistics such that "California has a big earthquake ever xxx years...and since there hasn't been one for yyyy years--WE ARE DUE" That is a total misuse of statistics. Earthquakes don't work that way. They happen when they happen. Just because we recently had a big one has no bearing on when the next big one will occur. Just because we have not had a big one recently has no bearing on when the next big one will occur. I think this fear and hype is caused by journalists who have such a poor understanding of statistics that they should never use ANY numbers in their writings. But, alas, they continue with the scary, unfounded, and hysterical stuff anyway.