So far, 2008 should go down as a significant year in our current efforts to awaken our fellow citizens to the need for disaster preparation and mitigation in the United States.

    Approximately three hours before the 102nd anniversary of the great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, a temblor registering 5.2 was felt over an 11 state area surrounding Illinois.  The quake's epicenter was on or near the New Madrid Fault Line, in West Salem, Illinois.  It shook skyscrapers rattled nerves across Chicago and its enormous metropolitan area.

    Several aftershocks have added to the distress of our Midwestern neighbors.  The reason that such a relatively small earthquake has been felt over so wide a region?  The soft soil that comprises the Midwest.  Earthquakes of nearly identical magnitudes can be felt over an area 10 to 20 times the area where they would be felt in California. 

    Just weeks prior to that, a strong 6.0 earthquake rocked Northern Nevada.  Just like Chicago, earthquakes are rare, and its residents, unlike those in California, are thoroughly un-accustomed to the feeling of having the ground move beneath them.

    It seems that every time I sit down to write one of these blogs for ProtectingAmerica.org, I am interrupted with a report of another earthquake.  Here we are, on May 12, and just as I type the first words of this posting, I get word that a temblor of approximately 7.9 has struck in Chongqing, China.  An entire school has collapsed, trapping 900 children.  Nearly 10,000 are already reported dead: these figures tend to climb steadily over the days and weeks following such an event.

    On top of all this, the warnings continue to mount.  Scientists in California now say there is a 99% chance of a strong earthquake somewhere along the San Andreas Fault in the next 30 years.  The bi-centennial of the enormous New Madrid Earthquakes will be observed in 2011 and 2012.  That's "earthquakes," as there were four temblors on the New Madrid fault as big or bigger than the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. 

    That gave a sense of urgency to the 1,000 attendees at Seattle’s National Earthquake Conference, a four day event that included disaster preparation leaders from across the U.S., engineers, scientists, and spokesmen for businesses who cater to disaster response.

    Jim McQueeny, a fellow member of ProtectingAmerica.org, joined me for nearly four days as we made friends, traded ideas, and greeted new and old friends who take these matters as seriously as we do.

    Our booth happened to be right next to the leaders of the GREAT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SHAKEOUT (www.shakeout.org) or The Great Southern California Shakeout.   From November 12-16, the largest Earthquake drill in U.S. history will take place in Southern California.   The web site is full of crucial information, including important steps for individuals to take, a list of events, and graphic animations of what the next Big One will look like in Southern California.  We encourage everyone in Southern California to participate and support all the sponsoring organizations there: the Southern California Earthquake Center (at USC), the USGS, the California Seismic Safety Commission, and the California Office of Emergency Services.

    During the Seattle event, one expert after another offered impressive insight to the dangers.  We heard that more than $1 billion dollars has been invested in earthquake research.  Engineering companies talked about the latest techniques for building and retrofitting buildings.

    Seattle was an important location for just such an event.  Our friends in the Northwest face a multitude of dangers: the Seattle Fault System runs directly beneath the city, and the Cascadia Fault system runs offshore beneath the Pacific Ocean.  Between 1936 and 2001, Washington State was hit by eight earthquakes of a magnitude 5.0 or greater: two of the temblors registered 7.1 and 6.7.

    According to researchers at the University of Washington and regional seismologists, the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which runs beneath the Pacific Ocean, is capable of producing a tsunami the size of the one which caused nearly 250,000 deaths in the Indian Ocean in 2004.  The last event of that magnitude in the Pacific Northwest was in 1700. 

    We at ProtectingAmerica.org are dedicated to helping our communities and our nation prepare and mitigate for the next disaster, whether it be earth, wind, water, or man-made.

                                                        James Dalessandro, San Francisco, May 12, 2008