Is San Diego Ready For The 'Big One'?
SAN DIEGO -- Could an earthquake as large as the one the devastated China hit San Diego, and if it did, would the city be prepared?
Experts said without a doubt, San Diego could be hit with a powerful earthquake at any time. But the threat might not be as ominous as you think.
"If there's any good news about the China earthquake for us it's we cannot have an earthquake that big and devastating in San Diego," said Dr. Pat Abbott, professor of geology at SDSU.
Abbot said that's because the faults in San Diego are not capable of producing the same dramatic movement. Abbot said the biggest threat is the San Andreas Fault, about 80 miles away, which is overdue for a "big one." The fault is capable of 7.9.
"The high-frequency shaking tends to die down with distance -- but the kind that doesn't is the longer period," Abbott said.
Those low-frequency movements that could sway and potentially topple high-rises and bridges are the situations for which ta special team of first-responders in San Diego County is trained.
"Our teams are most focused on individuals that are truly trapped in heavy structures that have collapsed, or entombed is how we say it," said Jeff Frazier of the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force.
Frazier is a firefighter and leader with the search and rescue task force. He worked recovery after the Oklahoma City bombing and Sept. 11.
"We've done a lot to be prepared and to be able to respond," he said.
Abbott said the largest local threat is the Rose Canyon Fault, which runs under the city and north along the Interstate 5 corridor. That fault could produce up to a magnitude 7.0 quake.
He said older brick buildings would likely crumble, especially those not upgraded to earthquake standards.
Abbott said the death toll from a Rose Canyon quake could range from zero to 30 -- not even close to the devastation seen in China.
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