Weighing whether to stay (Salt Lake City: insurance, house, water heater)

[English Ivy]

Hi everyone,

My family moved here one year ago, and overall we absolutely love it. I love my neighborhood, neighbors, the weather, the proximity to the mountains, the sheer abundance of things to do, the ease in meeting people and building friendships, the social capital, the family-friendliness, the cleanliness. I could go on and on.

But, (there is always a "but", isn't there?) there are two things that greatly concern me: the likelihood of a severe earthquake occurring sometime over the next 50 years, and the air quality.

I knew about the air quality issues beforehand (and I understand this summer is unusually bad due to the smoke from all the fires here and in CA). I didn't learn about the earthquake risk until after we moved here. There isn't really anywhere else I want to move to, but I'm worried that if we stay, my young children are going to end up with asthma (like so many other kids around here) and/or someone in my family will be injured or killed if/when "the big earthquake" comes. I feel like if we stay, we may be putting our family's health and/or safety at risk, just so we can enjoy some gorgeous hikes and good times with friends.

Obviously no place is perfect. Maybe this is just the honeymoon phase coming to an end. But it doesn't really seem to bother anyone else around here, and that confuses me. Yes, it's more expensive to equip all these older brick buildings to handle an earthquake, but if you know your city is due for a big one, doesn't it seem foolish not to?

Thoughts?

[berger123]

I think one reason people don't seem to worried is because if your like me, you have been told your whole life that we are expecting "the big one" so we are just used to it. I know that it may happen in the next 50 years but I have been told this my whole life so I have normalized the fact that yes the house I'm living in will collapse and we live on an old lake bed with loose soil that will liquify in an earthquake.

Regarding the air quality, yeah its a difficult one because inversions are natural to this area and our cities definitely decrease the air quality and people do worry about it, but alot doesn't seem to be doing done on either a state level or individual level. I don't see the state inacting tougher standards, but individuals also aren't changing the way they live or commute either so yea that air quality will continue into the future.

Your right no where is perfect, you can make a list of Salt Lake and really think about if this where you see yourself and if it is best for your family, because everywhere is different.

[berly57]

English Ivy -- I, too, have lived here a year (this week, in fact) and never even realized we were at risk for earthquakes -- lol. I do agree with you -- I absolutely love it here. According to my daughter & son-in-law, the air quality has been worse lately, but like you said I think that's due to the wildfires. I couldn't believe how smoky it was this morning.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by English Ivy

Hi everyone,

My family moved here one year ago, and overall we absolutely love it. I love my neighborhood, neighbors, the weather, the proximity to the mountains, the sheer abundance of things to do, the ease in meeting people and building friendships, the social capital, the family-friendliness, the cleanliness. I could go on and on.

But, (there is always a "but", isn't there?) there are two things that greatly concern me: the likelihood of a severe earthquake occurring sometime over the next 50 years, and the air quality.

I knew about the air quality issues beforehand (and I understand this summer is unusually bad due to the smoke from all the fires here and in CA). I didn't learn about the earthquake risk until after we moved here. There isn't really anywhere else I want to move to, but I'm worried that if we stay, my young children are going to end up with asthma (like so many other kids around here) and/or someone in my family will be injured or killed if/when "the big earthquake" comes. I feel like if we stay, we may be putting our family's health and/or safety at risk, just so we can enjoy some gorgeous hikes and good times with friends.

Obviously no place is perfect. Maybe this is just the honeymoon phase coming to an end. But it doesn't really seem to bother anyone else around here, and that confuses me. Yes, it's more expensive to equip all these older brick buildings to handle an earthquake, but if you know your city is due for a big one, doesn't it seem foolish not to?

Thoughts?

According to two entirely unrelated studies I've seen, Salt Lake City rates #2 in the US of the safest places to live (with regards to natural disasters). It doesn't get much safer than that. Here's Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
, and here's another. My best guess is that there are others.

Yes, we're on a major fault-line,and yes, we're "due for the big one." We've been "due for the big one" for hundreds of years already. But seriously, what does that mean? You could live here for 50 years and never see it. It might not have happened for another 500 years. There's just really no good way to predict when it's going to happen.

Meanwhile, people in many parts of the Midwest or the South and even the Eastern Seaboard risk a much greater change of losing everything they have due to either a tornado or a hurricane -- every single solitary year. I can't imagine living with that kind of anxiety. You pretty much know that somewhere within a couple of hundred miles of where you live is going to be severely impacted by natural disaster every year that you live there.

I'm nearing 70, and have lived in Salt Lake City my entire life. I recognize the possibility of an earthquake happening, but I know that the chances of it are far more remote than they'd have to be in order for me to consider leaving. I have, in my lifetime, experienced two earthquakes that were strong enough that you could recognize them as earthquakes. But I have never had to race for an underground safe room or board up all of the windows in my house and evacuate, wondering if it's going to be standing when I get back.

The inversions suck. Period. But if you've been here a year now, you know how you're affected by them. My mom lived here until she died at the age of 96 and she had asthma. She had a very healthy life and the asthma may or may not have been caused by the air. My nephew lived here for the first 28 years of his life and has cystic fibrosis, which is a genetic condition. He did fine here. Different people are affected differently. For me, I mostly just find them depressing and hard to deal with emotionally.

[kavm]

Speaking for ourselves, we are able to live with the earthquake risk with a greater sense of equanimity than the inversions.

We did look at the seismic risk charts and the type of construction before buying our home here. Not that we feel that we’d survive the big earthquake without consequences but that we have done what we could to manage the factors within our control to minimize the risk and adverse consequences. Only the time will tell the rest.

The inversions worry us considerably more. We do not see them simply as a function of the geography or wildfires (which are not controllable) but also a reflection of the fast population growth of this state and poor environmental stewardship of the state leadership. The politicians here are out to make a buck more than out to tackle the formidable challenges involved with any level of seriousness. We do not see that changing for the better given the dominant political preference. With the continuing fast growth, these challenges are likely to get considerably worse going forward.

The health consequences are real. We personally know of 3 different families, each of whom loved this area, that have moved out of the area due to health consequences of the environmental degradation. So, a decision to stay here long term is definitely fraught with negative health consequences, and I do not see a relief on the way.

All the best with your decision.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

So long as you are up on a bench, you will get a big thump but not the damage the valley will see. Strap your hot water heater to the wall so you have a source of water. If your house is newer, add hurricane clips to tie the roof to the wall supports (will keep it on the house). Have a stash of non- perishable food and medicines in the safest area you will shelter in. Get a gun to defend yourself against looters. The higher up you live , the less the pollution.

[kavm]

That’s the theory... We are on the East bench at 5000 ft. The pollution is perhaps less than it might be next to the highways but pollution free it is not. Same with earthquake. Although we also understand the earthquake scenario as you describe, who can say with certainty what will happen when the Big One hits.

[Code Stemi]

To the above two posters, the fault line sits at the very base of the mountains on the East bench, so I doubt it is any safer than anywhere in the valley. Safer perhaps, because I have read articles that suggest the Great Salt Lake may have it's water displaced that could affect areas in the lower valley. But if someone is suggesting being on a bench is somehow safer than the valley in regards to the actual shaking, potential structure damage, etc.; that is simply not true.

Among other factors, your two concerns mentioned were reasons why I was happy to leave Northern Utah. With how beautiful the mountains are up there, it's a shame you can only see them half the time. Also, I personally wouldn't underestimate the danger of such a high-magnitude, powerful earthquake predicted for the region. That is something that made me anxious while living up there. Luckily, I've moved away. The same could be said if living in California. Even if people have gotten used to, "Oh, I've heard that all my life. Could happen any day now.", that does not lessen the degree of risk.

Ultimately, you know what would be best for your family.

Originally Posted by Katzpur

Meanwhile, people in many parts of the Midwest or the South and even the Eastern Seaboard risk a much greater change of losing everything they have due to either a tornado or a hurricane -- every single solitary year. I can't imagine living with that kind of anxiety. You pretty much know that somewhere within a couple of hundred miles of where you live is going to be severely impacted by natural disaster every year that you live there.

Fair enough. Tornados come with very little warning, and are more common in the Midwest (Tornado Alley), and less common in the South, but still possible. However, hurricanes, albeit powerful and potentially devastating, almost always come with several days worth of warnings, enough time to prepare, and relocate if necessary. This cannot be said of earthquakes, which is worth noting.

[ut new]

Air is not so bad...

https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=...r=0&cityid=186
https://air.utah.gov/

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by chahunt

Fair enough. Tornados come with very little warning, and are more common in the Midwest (Tornado Alley), and less common in the South, but still possible. However, hurricanes, albeit powerful and potentially devastating, almost always come with several days worth of warnings, enough time to prepare, and relocate if necessary. This cannot be said of earthquakes, which is worth noting.

True, there is no way of knowing when an earthquake is going to strike. You've got more warning of an upcoming tornado than you do of an earthquake, but all you can do in a tornado warning really is save your own life by hiding out somewhere safe. But along the southern and eastern coats, you know there will be hurricanes every year, and the idea of boarding up windows and trying to evacuate your city along with hundreds of thousands of other people every few years sounds like something I wouldn't want to do.