County officials recently announced the launch of San Diego’s new ShakeReadySD, an earthquake early warning system included in the broader SD Emergency app.
ShakeReadySD will provide alerts to users, giving them the precious seconds needed to take protective action before an earthquake strikes.
“That advance warning could make all the difference,” County Supervisor and Board Chairman Nathan Fletcher said in a county press release. “It could give you a number of seconds to be able to move your family, your friends into a safe place and help avoid series injury.”
I wrote aboUt the county’s intent to set up the app last year. Since then, the Office of Emergency Services has been working with the U.S. Geological Survey on the alert – using a network of more than 770 underground sensors and other technology to detect the early rumblings of a quake and send out warnings before the shaking starts. County officials had designated $21 million that comprised among other things the implementation of the warning system. (Find out more at ReadySanDiego.org.)
Good Leadership
Some of society’s smartest safety innovations have come from leaders who had the foresight and courage to assess risks with open eyes, and do what they could to eliminate them. We now benefit from traffic controls that reduce accidents; regulatory oversight to prevent harmful pollution and to ensure the safety of food and medications; and building codes to keep our communities safe.
But apartment buildings constructed decades ago – built within the codes for that time – are much less likely to withstand an earthquake as modern construction. That’s because, over the years, scientists and engineers have learned a lot about ground movements during seismic activity and their impact on various types of construction.
Risks for San Diego
County officials are clearly aware of San Diego’s risk of a major earthquake. That’s why they are taking steps to establish an early warning system.
Seismologists agree that San Diego’s Rose Canyon Fault, while relatively inactive, has the capacity for a 7.0-magnitude quake similar to those experienced in 2019 in Ridgecrest. And when it does strike, the damage caused could be colossal – estimated between $124 million and $13 billion.
In fact, the California Geological Survey ranks San Diego as one of the state’s top 10 areas for projected loss from an earthquake
That’s because the San Diego is more densely populated than Ridgecrest – and a large portion of its buildings were constructed based on outdated and ineffective codes.
The Rose Canyon Fault runs right through the middle of the city — from the Silver Strand to La Jolla — snaking its way under lofty high-rises, commercial districts and apartment buildings used by tens of thousands of people each day.
The risk of an earthquake disaster in San Diego is very real. The County’s early warning system may help to save lives, but it will not protect existing buildings and infrastructure from serious damage in a quake.
Only seismic retrofits can do that.
If your apartment building is one of the many soft-story structures at risk of failure in an earthquake, call Optimum Seismic today at 833-978-7664 for a complimentary evaluation to find out precisely what earthquake risks and liabilities you are facing. Only then can you be assured that your assets are adequately protected, along with the lives of those who live and work in your building.
