
Strongest earthquake in years rattles Southern California - jaredwiener
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-earthquake-california-shake-quake-20190704-story.html
======
nostrademons
Note that this quake was not on the San Andreas - it was in the Eastern
California Shear Zone, a separate fault system near Death Valley. The
epicenter was about 125 miles away from LA, and almost closer to Las Vegas
(which also felt this quake). The limited damage was largely because it was
far away from any populated areas - the nearest cities are Ridgecrest (pop
27,000) and Trona (pop < 2000).

~~~
gregcrv
Also the area used be have some volcanic activity which is now limited to hot
springs and geothermal plants. But you can still see a lot of lava fields when
you drive there.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coso_Volcanic_Field](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coso_Volcanic_Field)

------
cgoecknerwald
I felt this (near Caltech, Pasadena). I spent the entire duration trying to
figure out what was shaking my desk.

I hope this doesn't trigger anything larger. Does anybody know if this was
close enough to the fault line to possibly affect anything?

EDIT: I see they have updated the article to a 1 in 20 chance.

[1]
[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/)
[2]
[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443095...](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443095/map)

~~~
tanderson92
I was only a few miles away in San Gabriel and did not feel a thing; I wonder
if the SGV blocked any of the waves.

Wish I had come to campus early today to feel that one.

~~~
Stratoscope
For anyone wondering, SGV refers to the San Gabriel Valley. (Correct me if I
got it wrong.)

~~~
seandougall
You got it right! (Though Pasadena is also in the SGV.)

I felt it in South Pasadena, but it was very gentle; would have been easy to
miss if I hadn’t been sitting still when it happened.

------
cgoecknerwald
"Only 10 percent of California's 7 million plus homeowners have earthquake
insurance – and the number has dropped by more than half since the deadly
quake" (2014)

You can get an estimate for an earthquake insurance policy with the California
Earthquake Authority.

[1] [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/why-do-so-few-
ca...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/why-do-so-few-california-
homeowners-have-earthquake-insurance-n227711) [2]
[https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/](https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/)

~~~
TimTheTinker
I'm not clear how a CEA policy makes financial sense for a standard single-
family, owner-occupied house. The only affordable plans have massive
deductibles and only partial cost coverage. If "the big one" hits, it's likely
that:

(a) CEA will quickly run out of money and I won't be covered anyway.

(b) The whole community will be ruined so assuming all of my family is still
alive we'd best move somewhere else anyway (and a rebuild or undamaged house
wouldn't sell).

(c) Some kind of government bailout or community help program will be
available.

For smaller earthquakes, it's likely I'd either fail to meet my deductible or
be unable to pay the non-covered portion (which has to be paid out first
before they'll begin to pay for further repairs).

Am I wrong, or is there something I'm missing? I wish this weren't the case.

~~~
saagarjha
> CEA will quickly run out of money and I won't be covered anyway.

I don’t understand why insurance companies can run out of money whenever they
need to pay claims. I’m sure they _know_ they’re going to go under, why can’t
they get insurance on themselves?

~~~
richk449
What’s the incentive to purchase insurance? It will reduce their profits. If
you are an executive of a company offering earthquake insurance, better to
just keeps profits high now, make a high salary, and when the big quake hits,
declare bankruptcy and walk away.

~~~
JudgeWapner
they're much more sophisticated than that. they'll do things like say the
damage was caused by wind, not water. they'll influence forecasters to call it
a "super-storm" instead of a hurricane, and for an earthquake, something
equally creative:

\- the building was defective/you didn't have it inspected by our experts, so
maybe the foundation already had cracks from the last EQ, in that case we
can't pay the claim

\- insurance only covers up to 5.0/6.0

\- although it was reported as a 7.5, you live 4 miles away from the
epicenter, meaning the EQ was likely below a 6.0, in which case your policy
doesn't kick in/we'll only pay 30% of your claim

\- the EQ cracked a water main/gas line, and most of the damage to your house
is from the flood/fire, which isn't covered under EQ policy. try suing the
insurance of the utility company.

\- we determined that fracking is likely the cause of this quake, in which
case it's manmade and not covered. you can sue the oil company though.

\- we checked the seismometer and we dispute the USGS reporting that it was a
6.0/7.0/8.0/our geologist has published research saying that current methods
of measuring earthquakes are in question. so although we don't need correct
science to collect your premium, we do need perfect science to pay any claims.
Or if you settle now, we'll pay 40% of your coverage or else you can try to
sue us and maybe get paid 10 years from now

\- we don't cover the specific region where all the earthquake damage
occurred/that requires a different policy

\- we only cover incidental/secondary damage, like clocks falling off the wall
(which, of course, you must have a receipt for and will be paid minus
depreciation and deductible). your policy doesn't cover utility line damage,
structural damage, or earth-moving damage.

------
amatecha
Huh, we also just had a 5.8 magnitude one off the coast of BC, Canada [0]
around 9:30 PM last night.

[0]
[http://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2019/2019070...](http://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2019/20190704.0430/index-
en.php)

------
reverite
There's a few articles that go into a loosely defined faulting area dubbed the
Walker Lane[1][2][3] in which it's theorized that the East Pacific Rise (a
rift), under the Gulf of California, may be expanding directly north. I know
some geologists were surprised at first at the 7.4 Landers earthquake in 1994,
and the article goes into that the Walker Lane seems to follow US 395, so I
wonder if this is just a continuing extension of geologic activity associated
with it.

[1] [https://volcanohotspot.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/splitting-
no...](https://volcanohotspot.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/splitting-north-
america-the-walker-lane-part-1-the-tectonics/)

[2] [https://www.wired.com/story/walker-lane-move-over-san-
andrea...](https://www.wired.com/story/walker-lane-move-over-san-andreas-
fault/)

[3] [http://www.bldgblog.com/2019/04/walker-
lane/](http://www.bldgblog.com/2019/04/walker-lane/)

~~~
casefields
That was fascinating. Thanks for those links.

------
ralusek
I feel like we're woefully underprepared for earthquakes. It feels like
pushing away technical debt on a societal scale.

~~~
eof
I think the lack of damage from this shows a high degree of preparation. This
same earthquake 50 years ago would have likely been much worse.

~~~
ngold
I was in Los Gatos for the epicenter of the 89 quake that was 6.7 I believe.
It was pretty bad. It looks like this was handled much better.

~~~
foota
6.7 is a lot stronger than a 6.4 though, as well.

~~~
iscrewyou
If we are splitting hair, a 6.4 can technically be more dangerous compared to
a 6.7 if the waves and the oscillation of the building coincide and amplify.

~~~
alex_young
The Richter Scale is 10 x per full point. A 6.7 should be 4 times the strength
of a 6.4

------
gregw2
Here's a nice USGS predictive graph of earthquake 6.7+ probability for
California from 10 years ago, posted on HN a few years ago:
[https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3027/fs2008-3027.pdf](https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3027/fs2008-3027.pdf)

------
appleshore
I didn’t feel it in West LA but my cat became extremely spooked. He was in an
ultra hunting mode, flat to the ground and scanning the room. I never seen him
act like this especially for this duration. He wouldn’t eat treats or respond
to anything.

I wonder if it was just the vibration of the ground or if there’s some other
factor alerting him.

~~~
kenhwang
I felt it pretty clearly in West LA. My dog decided to roll onto her back to
get a massage out of the earthquake.

~~~
point78
Got to love the difference between cats and dogs

------
dawhizkid
I'm pretty sure much of SF (marina, south beach, mid soma) are partially built
on landfills are considered "liquification zones" by the city.

~~~
benmarks
I think the term you're looking for is "liquefaction map" \- I only know this
term because we're exposed to the risk here in Charleston, S.C.:
[https://sf.curbed.com/2019/4/15/18311670/earthquake-map-
cali...](https://sf.curbed.com/2019/4/15/18311670/earthquake-map-california-
geological-survey-liquefaction)

~~~
iamtheworstdev
That is scary to me. Should it be scary to me? In regards to liquefaction
zones and earthquakes? I mean, i recently built a fence and the moisture in
the ground made me conscientious of liquefaction when tamping for my gravel
and posts, how does this play out for SF in an earthquake?

~~~
perchecriik
You're probably looking for the "Liquefaction Hazard Maps" page for the Bay
Area:
[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/urban/sfbay/liquefaction...](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/urban/sfbay/liquefaction/sfbay/)

Disclaimer: I am a geologist, but I'm not a P.G., hence all that I say on this
topic is bullshit. p.s., Does your conference have beer? If it doesn't, I'm
not going. I mean, I'll be so happy when AGU rolls around, because, man, I'm
_thirsty_.

------
dmckeon
Luckily, this was far from population centers - epicenter about 10 miles from
Ridgecrest, a town of 30,000 people just south of Naval Air Weapons Station
China Lake, and just east of US 395, about 80 miles east of Bakersfield.

Informative USGS links include:

[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443183...](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443183/executive)

Select "View Neaby Seismicity" to see the 47+ recent quakes in this area.

~~~
classichasclass
It was pretty close to Trona. Having driven through Trona, life sucks in Trona
and today it sucked a lot worse.

Lots of shaking here in the greater LA foothills, but no damage (though this
house does have earthquake insurance).

~~~
alex_young
Ah Trona. Not much out there to be honest. Here's what the view from Trona
Pinnacles looks like:
[https://photos.app.goo.gl/LrML8TsBbZoW79t1A](https://photos.app.goo.gl/LrML8TsBbZoW79t1A)

~~~
quattrofan
Could be Mars

------
cardiffspaceman
So it was apparently widely felt but Ridgecrest-China Lake, where it seems to
have been felt the most, is not very close to the major populations. You can
see this from cgoecknerwald's second link showing the locale of one of the
major aftershocks.

[1]
[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443095...](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443095/map)
to save slight scrolling

------
tepper43
6.4 magnitude it is a lot. I hope there are no injured

------
markus_zhang
Hope everyone is fine. Is it actually a good thing? I mean at least the prob
of larger quake declines with it.

------
sambal
In 2010 there was a 7.2 centered 30 miles south of the socal border that
caused $1B of damage on both sides.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Baja_California_earthqu...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Baja_California_earthquake)

------
notatoad
>Gallegos said that the dried chiles hanging from a hook on her kitchen wall
were all shaking. "It was surreal."

was this really the best anecdote they could find to include in the story?

~~~
squarefoot
I don't know, but anyway... If you happen to be under dried chiles when they
shake, be sure to keep your eyes closed because the pain could make an
earthquake much more pleasant. Been there done that, and that pain lasted
hours... ouch!

On a more serious note, the anecdote might suggest that the earthquake
produced very high frequency oscillations. Dried plants are relatively light
and stiff so that a larger but slow displacement might be harder to spot by
looking at them, but they could be much better at transmitting fast
oscillations.

~~~
schoen
> Been there done that, and that pain lasted hours... ouch!

What an unusual form of earthquake injury!

~~~
squarefoot
Well, a fault was involved, although not a geological one:)

Read as: don't pick dried chiles directly from below, or at least close the
damn eyes...

~~~
schoen
Oh, I see! I thought you meant that you'd actually experienced getting chili
pepper in your eyes _during an earthquake_.

------
peter303
The new early warning system did not trigger in L.A. Authorities said the
projected damages wasnt big enough. The warning system is supposed to give
seconds to tens of seconds of warning to turn off equipment and seek cover.

------
Rebelgecko
Not the submitter's fault, but I'm pretty sure the title is inaccurate

~~~
enjoyyourlife
It's not. The last earthquake with a higher magnitude in California occurred
in 2010. The title is just phrased wrong.

------
etxm
I saw a picture of a pinot that fell off a shelf and broke.

~~~
johnnycab
Try an entire liquor store:
[https://twitter.com/zomo_abd/status/1146843583988658176/vide...](https://twitter.com/zomo_abd/status/1146843583988658176/video/1)

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sandinmyjoints
We heard, but did not feel, this near Pacifica

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bitmadness
Woke me up this morning, pretty wild

------
SubiculumCode
Lucky in middle nowhere

