9.0 Earthquake (Seattle, Spokane, Sammamish: apartment, insurance, house)

[jackrulesz]

Hello. I lived in Seattle most of my life. I had to move out of state for a while for work. Now I would like to move back. I am a little nervous for lack of better word as a result of the 9.0 earthquake that is overdue.
I would like to move back up and just hope for the best and be as prepared as possible, but at the same time I am balancing that with this cautionary voice that is in my head telling me I should really weigh things out. It was nice living in ignorance of this whole thing all those years! Obviously no one can decide for me, but I'd really like to hear what people in the region think about it.

I've only really read articles and whatnot, I've never heard much feedback from locals. How valid are my concerns? Is there a projected idea of how bad this will be? What areas are going to be affected/prone to the most devastation? What do you think it will be like the days/weeks/months that follow? What are areas that are best/worst to live in? How likely is it to be killed? How bad is the damage going to be to the city/region? How about the tsunami/aftershocks? What does this potential threat mean to you? Do you prefer not worrying too much about it? How have you prepared? I'd imagine you'd ideally prefer not to live in older types of buildings.

My ideal location would probably be an apartment somewhere in Ballard or near the zoo.

I'd love to blissfully be back in Seattle again, but since I'd be planning to live here possibly 50-75 years but it is scary to imagine myself in the position that so many people in Japan were in a few years back. Provided I even survive.
I'd love to hear any insight or opinion, etc anyone has on the matter and see some discussion, even if it doesn't address my story at all.

I apologize for the rambling. I'm just trying to get my thoughts out. I know I'm probably overthinking things a bit, but would like to have some sort of peace of mind if you know what I mean.


I sincerely appreciate your time!

[509]

Here is the wilkipedia article on the 9.2 earthquake in Anchorage Alaska that occurred in 1964.

1964 Alaska earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You really should go up and look at some of the damage that is still visible today.

Anyway, the same magnitude earthquake in the Puget Sound region would probably kill in the neighborhood of 12,000 people based on the death/population ratio. I suspect that the death rate would be slightly higher in Seattle than Anchorage in 1964.

So lets round up the numbers to 20,000 people. That is really a small number given a population level of 4.1 million in the Puget Sound region.

You brought up the issue of post-earthquake. THAT I would be very concerned about. City of Seattle cannot even cope with a snowfall let alone a major natural disaster. It is a minimum of THREE days before ANY emergency services can be provided in a major disaster. That is what FEMA recommends for MINIMUM preparation.

My guess is in Seattle you should be prepared for at least TWO weeks before food, water and other basic services can be provided to a population of 4.1 million. Even at that it will be a nightmare.

The other issue is rebuilding since insurance do not cover earthquakes unless specifically added and it is expensive.

I would, however, look at getting a earthquake safe house. That might take some research to find out how to determine whether the house will fall down or not!!!

An eruption of Glacier Peak or Mt. Rainier would probably have a greater impact on the Puget Sound area.

Probability is that it will not happen in your lifetime. So are you feeling LUCKY??

[jackrulesz]

Thanks for the reply and the link. For some reason I wasn't even aware of that event.

[Hemlock140]

We have had earthquake insurance since we moved here in 1993, and live high atop the plateau east of Lake Sammamish, on a large, flat area built on bedrock where there is little chance of landslides and no chance for liquefaction that will probably happen in Seattle, especially in the downtown areas built on fill. I would expect the biggest issue for most people being unable to get anywhere with all of the bridges, elevated freeways and overpasses. Much like the first few days of the Loma Prieta Bay Area quake in 1989 (we were there then) there will be a lot of closures for inspection and in many cases repairs required after such an event. I'm most concerned about being at work if such a major quake happens, since my office is on the waterfront in Seattle.

[509]

If a magnitude 9.0 hits Seattle during working hours it will be much, much worse than a nighttime or weekend quake.

Most people will be unable to get home since many roads will be impassable. AND most peoples commutes are past walking distance. Couple that with the lack of experience dealing with emergencies in western Washington and you really have chaos.

We felt the Nisqually quake in Wenatchee so much so that people ran out of the office. It was ONLY a 6.8 and well over 150 miles away!! A magnitude 9.0 quake will have an effect east of the Cascades. That will hamper the arrival of rescue crews and personnel to help from eastern Washington since we will be dealing with our issues for a couple of days.

A good portion of the death toll in the Anchorage quake was from the tsumani, not sure how a Puget Sound quake would affect the sound itself.

Hemlock, what did you think about the OFFICIAL emergency response during Loma Prieta?? My parents were in the Bay Area at the time and I knew that KNBR was the official emergency broadcast station, but KGO refused to go off the air and kept "reporting". So I kept switching between the two stations. I don't remember the government taking over KNBR for official notices and information. Fortunately, I could listen to the reports and quickly came to the conclusion that they were all right. There was no phone service into the Bay Area that night!

Spokane went through the same chaos during Mt. St. Helens. Their EBS system works now and their emergency response is very well coordinated having gone through FireStorm on one of the response teams.

Seattle and western Washngton need to use those infrequent snowstorms to implement and practice emergency response. It will pay dividends in the future.

[spotlesseden]

worry 9.0 earthquake ? i think the chance dying in traffic accident is much higher.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by 509

Hemlock, what did you think about the OFFICIAL emergency response during Loma Prieta?? My parents were in the Bay Area at the time and I knew that KNBR was the official emergency broadcast station, but KGO refused to go off the air and kept "reporting". So I kept switching between the two stations. I don't remember the government taking over KNBR for official notices and information. Fortunately, I could listen to the reports and quickly came to the conclusion that they were all right. There was no phone service into the Bay Area that night!

Spokane went through the same chaos during Mt. St. Helens. Their EBS system works now and their emergency response is very well coordinated having gone through FireStorm on one of the response teams.

Seattle and western Washngton need to use those infrequent snowstorms to implement and practice emergency response. It will pay dividends in the future.

I had the TV on to watch the World Series, and it went blank as the tremor started. I turned to the radio and the A's station (can't remember which) seemed to have good coverage so I stayed with it. My next door neighbor's wife worked in SF and was 7 months pregnant, and on the bus on the bridge when it hit. He about went crazy with worry, turned out she had to walk off the bridge and eventually got a bus to her aunt's home in Millbrae, but was unable to reach him by phone until 11:30pm. My office was in Oakland at W Grand and Adeline, just a few blocks from where the Cypress freeway fell. I will never forget the smell/sight the next morning when I got to work. I was also there for the Oakland Hills Firestorm.

[509]

Originally Posted by spotlesseden

worry 9.0 earthquake ? i think the chance dying in traffic accident is much higher.

Your absolutely right.

The odds are also that there will be people living in Seattle when the 9.0 hits and their survival will be dependent on local and state government response to the quake.

[Cinema Cat]

Old brick buildings don't survive quakes as well as some other types. I live in Santa Monica, CA, and was here in 1994 for the 6.7 quake. Older brick buildings were more likely to collapse. So if you're house or apartment hunting, it's something to consider.

[xboxmas]

I personally wouldn't worry too much about it. It could happen tomorrow or it could happen in 200 years. Just know basic earthquake preparations and you should be okay. I read there is only a 10 to 15 percent chance of happening in the next 50 years, so its a very small chance it will even happen in our lifetime.