Seismologist Ross Stein urges Portola Valley to fold earthquake prep into wildfire and flood plans

Ross Stein, a seismologist formerly with the U.S. Geological Survey and founder of the Timblor app, told the Portola Valley Town Geologic Safety Committee that residents in the town face a substantial lifetime chance of strong shaking and should leverage existing flood and wildfire preparations to improve earthquake readiness.

Stein opened the presentation with historical context from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and argued that living memory of large quakes has faded in California. "The earthquake kit is basically the fire kit," he said, recommending that communication plans, emergency kits and evacuation routes designed for fire and flood be emphasized as earthquake preparations as well.

Why this matters: Stein presented hazard maps and metrics showing a roughly 1% per year chance of very strong shaking in the local area, which he framed as…