Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Seismologist Ross Stein tells Portola Valley residents to prepare now for likely strong shaking
Summary
Seismologist Ross Stein told the Portola Valley Town geologic safety committee that residents face a substantial lifetime chance of strong shaking, urged pairing earthquake readiness with flood and fire preparations, and answered questions on insurance, gas shutoffs, trees and local hazards.
Seismologist Ross Stein told the Portola Valley Town geologic safety committee on April 16 that residents should treat earthquake readiness as part of the same preparedness people already do for flood and fire hazards.
Stein opened by reading a passage about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to stress how quickly urban disasters erase infrastructure and memories. He said living in the Bay Area carries a roughly 1% per year chance of very strong shaking — which translates to a greater-than-50% chance of such shaking over a typical lifetime — and estimated that the quake many residents are most likely to experience in their lives would be about magnitude 6.8.
That local hazard picture, Stein said, combines areas of amplified shaking where bay muds and…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
