http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/06/17/quake.jitters.ap/index.html
Quake jitters hit California
Recent temblors prompt Californians to prepare for the "Big
One"
Friday, June 17, 2005 Posted: 10:30 PM EDT (0230 GMT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- After four significant earthquakes in less than
a week, Californians are getting jittery, with some stocking up on
water, food, cash and even insurance. But seismologists say
clusters of quakes are not unheard of and do not necessarily mean
the Big One is coming.
After several years of relative seismic calm, the recent quakes are
a not-so-gentle reminder that the ground here is never as solid as
it seems.
The shaking began Sunday morning with a magnitude-5.2 temblor in
the Anza area of Riverside County, about 90 miles southeast of
downtown Los Angeles. That was followed by a magnitude-7.2 quake
Tuesday night under the Pacific Ocean off Eureka -- an unrelated
incident that prompted a tsunami warning.
Thursday brought two quakes that were 10 hours and about 700 miles
apart: one of magnitude 4.9 in San Bernardino County and another
late that night of magnitude 6.6, also centered off the Northern
California coast.
As groups of quakes often do, this week's shaking brought murmurs
of the "Big One" -- the kind of quake that moves mountains and
levels entire cities.
"I think we're on our way to the 'Big One,"' said Jacki Breger, 61,
executive director of a Los Angeles charter school who plans to
overhaul the school's emergency plans by this fall. "It makes me
really nervous with so much quake activity."
Marian Garcia, 24, isn't taking any chances. She stuffed two
backpacks with sweaters, shoes and canned food, and her 4-year-old
daughter now sleeps with her instead of in the little girl's own
bedroom.
"In case we have to get out there, I want to be close to her," said
Garcia, who works at a downtown Los Angeles flower stand.
Some studies have suggested that the San Andreas fault, which
leveled much of San Francisco in 1906 and extends more than 800
miles through California, may be about to release pent-up
energy.
But that's not a consensus opinion -- earthquakes just aren't that
predictable, and a few jolts don't necessarily mean a huge quake is
imminent.
"We don't know whether the 'Big One' is coming," said Tom Jordan,
director of the Southern California Earthquake Center.
The last major rupture on the southern portion of the fault
happened in 1857, when an estimated 7.9-magnitude quake struck. It
severely damaged Fort Tejon, but there was minimal damage statewide
because California was sparsely populated at the time and had no
high-rise buildings.
The flurry of quakes typically leads homeowners to buy earthquake
insurance, which only about 14 percent of homeowners currently
have.
In the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake in 1994, the number
of homeowners who purchased quake insurance policies rose to 29
percent, said Pete Moraga, spokesman for the Insurance Information
Network of California, a nonprofit trade association that
represents insurers.
Phillip Mookerdam, co-manager of the Supply Sergeant store in Santa
Monica, said customers began arriving soon after the magnitude-4.9
quake rattled the region.
"They started calling and walking in, asking whether we carry
survival kits," he said.
Sales of those kits -- which include solar-powered radios, dry
food, water, flashlights and a first-aid kit -- have been brisk,
Mookerdam said.
Residents have also been stocking up in Crescent City, where the
7.2-magnitude offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami
warning.
Ray's Food Place has seen an increase in sales of canned foods,
batteries and water. People were afraid that a major earthquake or
tsunami could lead to road closures or shut down water and
electrical systems.
"They want to be able to be more self-sufficient in case roads
close and they can't get to the grocery store, or in case the
groceries can't get to the stores," manager Jeff Wheelon
said.
Elsewhere in Southern California, some owners took their dogs to
the veterinarian for tranquilizer shots.
"The ones that are frantic are usually the ones with owners that
are frantic, too," said Marilyn Lilla, 58, who works at the General
Dog and Cat Hospital in San Bernardino.