How big is the earthquake risk in LA? (Los Angeles, Long Beach: transplants, apartment)

[nori_garsi]

I haven't lived in LA all my life but I've lived in California all my life (I grew up in the Bay Area). I was unfortunate enough to experience the 1989 SF Bay Area Earthquake...I was 9 years old and I was terrified but it turned out ok and eventually I got over it, no harm done. There are little ones all the time but they don't bother me much. Fortunately major earthquakes are rare, and though no one can predict when the next big one will happen (and it will eventually), all you can do is be prepared as best you can. I certainly don't live in fear of it nor does it make me even remotely want to move out of CA.

[happ]

In today's LA Times is an article about a "swarm" of earthquakes that have been occurring near the Salton Sea over the past few days. The report indicates that a similar swarm occurred before 2 strong earthquakes with a day of each other hit in the late 1990's. One doesn't forget the strong earthquakes that seem to happen at least once a decade here.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

Yup since 1958.
I remember the 1971 San Fernando quake tossing me out of bed.

I remember that one. It didn't toss me out of bed but it wasn't far from doing so.

The 86 one, I was in Whittier on the center when it hit, I thought a crane had fell thru the building.

The Whittier quake was in Oct., 1987. Magnitude was 5.9.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by buckeyenative01

Far be it from me to know a forumer personally, but if ferretkona's been living in LA since at least 1986, he/she's probably got to experience the 1987 Whittier-Narrows and 1994 Northridge quakes first-hand?

Southern California is large. Just because you were living there in 1994 doesn't mean you experienced the 1994 quake in a meaningful fashion. In 1986 there were quakes in Oceanside and Palm Springs; the 1994 quake was just mildly felt in these areas. The Whittier-Narrows quake wasn't that large.

I was in the San Fernando Valley in 1994 and it was far more than your fish tank falling over and it was nothing to brush off. The majority of the houses on the block had major damage. It seems obvious that the poster hasn't experienced a meaningful earthquake.

A 7.0+ quake in the LA area will be a complete disaster.

Originally Posted by buckeyenative01

From my experiences, there's no reason in worrying about if/when one will strike.

How many major earthquakes have you experienced? This attitude will actually cause more problems, but that is what happens with earthquakes. People tend to forgot about them after a few years.

[Userdavey]

maybe the "big one" would really help all that traffic...by this I mean people would move away, of course.

[JTGJR]

Originally Posted by Userdavey

maybe the "big one" would really help all that traffic...by this I mean people would move away, of course.

Some suggest just the opposite. The "big one" only happens every generation or so. So, people would want to move to paradise on the (incorrect) assumption that another big one couldn't hit for 50-100 years.

[buckeyenative01]

Originally Posted by user_id

How many major earthquakes have you experienced? This attitude will actually cause more problems, but that is what happens with earthquakes. People tend to forgot about them after a few years.

There's a fine line between being aware/being prepared and worrying about when/where the big one will strike...every day of your life. Going by the panic-stricken nature of your posts, you seemed more concerned with the latter...a stark difference compared to the attitude of most Californians. At least, the ones I interact with on a daily basis.

And for the record, I a) wasn't aware that there was such thing as "earthquake experience cred" and b) no longer live in California, which doesn't negate the fact that I've experienced more than my fair share of 4 and 5 pointers. So have the 19 million others who call greater Los Angeles their home, and they all (well, most) seem relatively well-adjusted.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by sidburn

I might be moving to the LA area soon, and I wondered how much of a threat quakes really are. I know from other CA residents I've talked to that small quakes occur all the time and that it becomes a fact of life, but I also read that SoCal is long overdue for "The Big One," which could rival Katrina in terms of property damage and loss of life. Is the risk of a big earthquake a significant factor to consider or not a big deal?

I was born and raised here in LA and to me, earthquakes are no big deal as long as you are prepared. The Northridge earthquake was the most violent Ive ever felt, and I was in Burbank at the time. That quake caused a LOT of people who moved here from non earthquake having parts of the country to up and leave right away.

If you are so worried about earthquakes, maybe you can get a geological map of LA to make sure you DONT move to any areas that are subject to liquid faction like Riverside Drive from Sherman Oaks all the way to North Hollywood. That is the absolute WORST part of the valley to live as far as earthquakes go.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by Fleet

The Whittier quake was in Oct., 1987. Magnitude was 5.9.

Yea, the ex and I were seperated 86-87. The blood loss made most else irrelevent.

[cmw2133]

Just an interesting site from the USGS website. Shows you the magnitude and location of all recent earthquakes in Southern California: Recent Earthquakes - Map for Los Angeles

The way I see it, if quakes are an issue for the OP, then it's best not to move, since nobody can tell you with any certainty when a major quake could happen. It's no different from the risk that NY or DC will get hit again by a major terrorist attack... it seems like every part of the country has something: the Midwest has tornadoes, the Gulf has hurricanes, NY & DC have terrorists, the West Coast has earthquakes. But in all likelihood, it'll be the cheeseburgers that kill you.