Did You Feel It?(Revised)

JUST A LITTLE SHAKER
A 2.7 magnitude earthquake hit Costa Mesa at 10:22 Monday night. According to the first indication at the USGS site, HERE, it looks like it was centered just behind The Camp on Bristol Street, about 4 miles down. You can see the specific location on this Google Earth image:




A LITTLE BUMP ON THE EASTSIDEOn the Eastside of Costa Mesa it was felt as a little bump - no preliminary shaking nor anything afterward. Some of you might have thought it was a sonic boom, so slight was the affect.

A REMINDER - GET READY!This is just one more reminder that the Newport-Inglewood Fault is nearby, and that we should be getting ourselves prepared for an event - just in case.

UPDATE!!
Here's the new Google Earth map showing the revised location of last night's little earthquake after review by a seismologist. It was located deeper than expected (13+miles) and a little further East. The site is in Fairview Park, just north of the model trains.

Earthquakes - Are You Prepared?

Ah, a day without a Riggy story is like a day with a cloudless, sunny sky!

7.2 MEXICAN QUAKE
Much of the regional news lately has revolved around earthquakes. More specifically, the discussions have been about the 7.2 earthquake just below the California/Mexico border near Mexicali. Although we've seen some photos of extreme damage, folks seem generally to feel that we, on this side of the border, got off lucky on this one - especially when compared to the recent Haiti quake.

KEEPING TRACK...
I've been keeping track of the earthquake activity in the area since the Mexican quake hit. I've linked to the USGS site on the right side of the page, so you can keep track, too. Last week, for example, the map similar to the one you see below showed over 3500 earthquakes, ranging in size from the 7.2 down to hundreds in the 1-2 point range on the Richter Scale.

YOU'LL LOVE THIS!
Here's an interesting exercise for you. First, click on this link, HERE, and it will take you to a page that looks like this one:

CLICK ON "START ANIMATION"
Once there, click on the "Start Animation" button and sit back and watch as you will see what kind of earthquakes we've had in California/Nevada in the past week or so. It's entertaining and very, very scary!

RESOURCES AVAILABLE
After you've viewed that animation I suspect you'll be giving some thought to just how prepared you are - or are not - in the event of a natural disaster like an earthquake. Well, we have some resources for you on that subject.

SEVEN STEPS...
Click HERE to go the page entitled "Seven Steps To Earthquake Safety". Once there you can scroll down and find additional links that will guide you through the steps you need to take to prepare for a disaster, to protect yourself when it happens and how to recover from such an event. You will find tools to help you make a disaster kit, how to access your home for safety concerns, and how to formulate an emergency survival program.

TIME TO STOP TALKING AND TAKE ACTION!
We all talk about earthquake preparedness but seldom do much about it. Even though our building codes will likely preclude our neighborhoods from looking like Port au Prince following Haiti's earthquake, the damage a 7+ shaker can cause in our region cannot be overlooked. Since we have a major fault running right under us - the Newport-Inglewood Fault (which runs from roughly LAX to Dana Point, through Wilmington, Long Beach, Huntington Beach and down the center of Newport Harbor) - we simply cannot ignore the possibility of a serious earthquake event along that fault. I've written about that possibility before, HERE. I plan to continue to nag you about this from time-to-time, just to provoke you into getting you and your families prepared - just in case.

Did You Feel It?

A ROCK AND ROLL EASTER
If you're reading this anywhere from Los Angeles south I know you probably felt the earthquake in Mexico this afternoon. That shaker, calibrated at 7.2 on the Richter Scale, sure did get a lot of people's attention! When it hit at 3:40 p.m. Easter Sunday I was enjoying a family holiday gathering in South Orange County. It rolled and swayed us for 40 seconds and set off car alarms in the neighborhood.

USGS CHART SHOWS QUAKES
Here's a chart from the USGS web site that shows the intensity of the quake and the others that have followed until just before midnight Sunday.


You can visit the USGS site HERE and click on the link in the upper left corner for California quakes - click on the line with the names of faults for more info.

GET PREPARED - NOW!
This quake is yet another reminder that each of us should get ourselves prepared for the next BIG ONE. There are many resources available online to help with the planning process. Having watched the coverage of the Haiti earthquake that took over 250,000 lives and has destroyed the economy of what was already one of the poorest nations on the planet, I think it's important for us all to get focused on what it will take for each of us as individuals to survive at least a week should our area be hit by an earthquake the magnitude of the one that hit Mexico earlier today. The clock is ticking, my friends...

Fun In Newport-Mesa

MORE FUN THAN...
It's been an interesting week here in the land of Newport-Mesa. In addition to the budget gyrations mentioned in the two previous blog entries, there have been a few other noteworthy events, too.



CITY STOPS ENFORCING ANTI-SOLICITATION ORDINANCE
Among them is the decision made by city officials early in the week to cease enforcing the anti-solicitation ordinance that has provoked yet another lawsuit by the ACLU. We don't know all the details of specifically why, as contract City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow announced on Tuesday evening, they've chosen to pause in their enforcement efforts. She tells the local media, HERE and HERE, that they will hold off any further enforcement efforts until the results of an appeal of a similar case involving the city of Redondo Beach is resolved. While you're at those sites, take a peek at the comment threads for a little perspective on how some of the "open-minded" folks who live around you feel. The Register site is particularly enlightening.

OC VOICE BLOG INTERVIEWS CHIEF SHAWKEY
I invite you to visit the Orange Coast Voice blog, HERE. Over in Huntington Beach Editor John Earl and his staff has produced quite an outstanding series of video clips on the subject of the Costa Mesa efforts to enforce the anti-solicitation ordinance which includes an extensive interview with Costa Mesa Police Chief Christopher Shawkey. A peek at those YouTube clips will be very informative for those of you who have an interest in this story. Congratulations to Earl and his team on this excellent report.

FOLEY FIGHTS BACK
At the City Council meeting Tuesday night councilwoman Katrina Foley tossed some of the venom pitched her way earlier by The Mouth From Mesa North, as reported in an earlier post. Well, the Daily Pilot reported her comments today. You can read them in the Political Landscape column HERE. It's about time someone starts standing up to that racist bully. He's ranted his displeasure with Costa Mesa for more than a decade. The Mouth is obviously unhappy with the demographics of our city. My suggestion is, in the interests of his mental health, he seek greener (or whiter) pastures. I imagine there are some folks in Idaho who would welcome him with open arms. I'll buy the bus ticket.

NEWPORT BEACH TESTS IT'S ALERT SYSTEM
Our pals in Newport Beach are defending their use of their automated telephone alert system to warn residents to stay away from the shoreline during the recent Chilean earthquake-induced tsunami scare. You can read the Register article on the tsunami HERE, and the Daily Pilot article HERE and Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff's commentary HERE. Even though the threat turned out to be nothing at all, I think they did the correct thing. The tsunami manifested itself as ripples on local beaches, but it's better to be safe than sorry.


*(Addendum)
CORONA DEL MAR TODAY SCOOPS OTHER MEDIA ON TSUNAMI ALERT
A writer dropped me a note after this post was published to let me know that this whole "Tsunami Alert Failure" story was actually broken by Amy Senk at the Corona Del Mar Today blog. Amy, not just your average blogger, is a real journalist who does a great job covering issues involving the village of Corona del Mar and nearby locales. Unfortunately, she doesn't always get the credit she deserves for her coverage of important issues. You can read her entry on this issue HERE.


YOUNG "ACE REPORTER" SCOOPS THE LOCAL MEDIA
The earliest local report on the earthquake and tsunami threat was produced by a local high school sophomore, Melanie de Arakal, who, after hearing the international news reports that morning, sprang out of bed and fired off an entry in the online version of the Corona Del Mar High School Trident, HERE. If that name looks a little familiar, this budding reporter is the daughter of my friend, former Daily Pilot columnist and Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman, Byron de Arakal. It certainly looks like those "ace reporter" skills are in her genes. Congratulations to Melanie for her timely and excellent reporting. Incidentally, young Melanie is also a budding basketball star at Corona del Mar. You can read more about her enthusiasm for the game, and one player in particular, HERE.

MONAHAN GIVES THE CITY "THE FINGER" - AGAIN
Councilman Gary Monahan apparently continues to believe the rules are for others and don't apply to him. You will recall that in recent months he displayed an illegal banner on the front of his gin mill announcing Sunday Night Football. Even though the city Code Enforcement folks advised him to remove it, he stretched it out as long as he could. He was cited for that infraction. Well, he's at it again and this time not only is he violating the law with another illegal banner in the same place, he's thumbing his nose at the city by posting it on his Facebook page. Here's what his announcement looked like:
IGNORES THE COUNCIL - AGAIN
As I said the last time Monahan pulled this kind of stunt, I don't have a problem with temporary banners announcing a special event. However, Monahan made his case to his peers on the council the last time and was rebuffed. He went right ahead with the other banner and here he is with another. These kind of shenanigans should be kept in mind if (when) he dredges up the "directly-elected mayor" scheme later this year. He apparently sees himself as a kind of "mayor for life" and wants to put the issue before the people. His scheme excludes term limits, by the way. As always, it seems that all he cares about is what's in it for him. Don't worry, I'll remind you of his banner transgressions when the time comes.

Are You Ready For The Big One?

WHY SO MANY WATER MAINS BREAKING?
I suspect some of you have found it curious, as I have, that so many water mains have been breaking in the Los Angeles area recently. This image shows the locations of the breaks from September 1, 2009 until September 29, 2009. Many more have occurred since that date. If you wish to see the actual interactive map with locations and dates click HERE.



A PRECURSOR TO "THE BIG ONE"?
The other day, as I was peacefully enjoying my lunch at a favorite local hangout, a good friend and neighbor stopped by my table, plunked down in a chair and asked me if I knew what all the water main breaks means? It was a kind of out-of-the-blue question, so I rocked back and asked him what he was getting at. So, he told me that it is a precursor of The Big One! His view is that those brittle, mostly older, water mains are inflexible segments of the infrastructure that will break rather than bend when the earth surrounding them begins to apply pressure.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
He and I have never spoken about the possibility of a big earthquake before, so I just let him present his theory and, after a little chat, he excused himself and left me to ponder the possibilities.

ACTIVE FAULT CORRELATION?
I found that link above, then went looking for earthquake fault maps, to see if there might be some kind of correlation - and got more than a little nervous once I found them. You can view one of them HERE, on this interactive map, which gives you the fault names as you pass your cursor over each fault line.

HOLLYWOOD AS THE EPICENTER?
It seems that most of those breaks shown on the image above are clustered around the area where the Whittier Fault approaches the Raymond Fault, which extends from right to left on that map toward the ocean, where it adjoins the Santa Monica Fault. If you use Hollywood as the epicenter, at least five million people live and/or work within a 10 mile radius of that point.

MY EARLIER SPECULATION
Several years ago, following Hurricane Katrina, I wrote an essay speculating about the impact of an 8.3 quake along the Newport-Inglewood Fault, which runs basically from LAX through Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach before it joins the Rose Canyon Fault and turns offshore near Dana Point. I speculated about the staggering loss of life and property should that happen. You can read that essay HERE.

If a similar magnitude quake were to hit with Hollywood as the epicenter the losses would make my earlier estimation seem minuscule.

ARE WE PREPARED?
All of this got me thinking again about our earthquake preparedness, or rather, our lack thereof. Many of us talk about being prepared for a natural disaster, earthquakes being the most likely, but seldom do anything about it. We know we should have food, water and emergency supplies staged in our homes and cars, but don't take the time to collect them. I guess we're just assuming that we will never be affected by such an event - kind of like those hundreds of thousands of folks in the far Pacific regions who have lost their lives and/or all their worldly possessions to the effects of a Tsunami.

A TERRIFIC RESOURCE
You can read a recently-updated Emergency Preparedness Handbook prepared by the Los Angeles City Fire Department HERE. It's a great resource, easy to read and gives you a good guidebook to follow in your own earthquake preparedness exercise. I'm not going to attempt to echo all the good advice contained within that booklet, but certainly do encourage you to look through it and follow the information provided.

GET READY - JUST IN CASE
It is estimated that each of us may be "on our own" for upwards of a week following a natural disaster - an earthquake, for example. You will recall the unusual broken water main at the intersection of Via Lido and Newport Boulevard a couple weeks ago. Well, that site is directly astride the Newport-Inglewood Fault!

USE KATRINA AND NEW ORLEANS AS MOTIVATION
With the images of those poor folks in New Orleans, stranded in the Louisiana Superdome following Hurricane Katrina - with rotting corpses and no food or water - still in my mind, I encourage you all to get your family prepared - just in case. The following brief video from the Superdome during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina may provide you some motivation.

Things That Go Bump In The Night

EARTHQUAKE!
So, did ya feel it? No?

Tonight we here in Southern California had another reminder that we live in Earthquake Country. At 8:39 p.m. a little 4.7 shaker hit the Los Angeles area and there have been a couple smaller aftershocks since then.

NEWPORT-INGLEWOOD FAULT
This one, which apparently was located on the northern/western tip of the Newport-Inglewood Fault, was felt throughout the Southern California area and, according to news reports very late Sunday night, has resulted in very little damage.

A LITTLE JOLT HERE
Here in Costa Mesa it was a jolt, then some jiggling - enough so that we moved to a doorway for the duration of the 8-10 second tremor.

USGS MAP
Here's a map from the USGS site - one of many available for viewing for each such shaker. I've provided a link over on the right side of this page for that site for future reference.THE BIG ONE - FICTION OR PREDICTION?
Just for reference, shortly after Hurricane Katrina I wrote an essay on my other blog site which addressed a potential big shaker on the Newport-Inglewood Fault. You may find it of interest. It can be read HERE.

So, life goes on here in "shaky land".

Orange County Register Predicts Earthquake

The Orange County Register, which is rapidly becoming the news source of choice for greater Orange County, supplanting the Los Angeles Times, had a front page story today entitles, "THE NEXT BIG QUAKE", and included a photo of the San Andreas Fault to get your attention. It got mine.

Here's the link to their story, with the byline of Gary Robbins, their "Science Dude", that predicts a large earthquake - 6.7 on the Richter Scale or stronger - within the next 30 years. Once there you will find other articles, one about Tsunamis, for example, that will also get your attention.

Those of you who have read this blog for some time know that this is the second generation of A Bubbling Cauldron. The first, using what I referred to as a bargain basement blogging tool, was abandoned eighteen months ago. However, occasionally I'll provide a link to a specific segment to illustrate a contemporary point. This is one of those times.

A few years ago, following Hurricane Katrina, I wrote an essay entitled, "The Big One - Fiction or Prediction?", in which I presented a scenario in which the Newport-Inglewood Fault ruptured. You can read that essay by simply clicking on the title.

It's never too soon to make preparations for a cataclysmic event. Earthquake preparedness kits for your homes and automobiles are essential parts of that preparedness. Now's the time - make plans for the safety and security of your loved ones when The Big One hits.

A quick Google search will turn up many sites to help you begin your preparations. Here are a couple to get you started:

Los Angeles Fire Department Earthquake Preparedness Handbook (pdf)

The disastercenter.com preparedness list

The precautions outlined in those two sites and many others are simple, straightforward and easily followed. Don't delay.