Hi All,

I see our local newspaper, The Press Democrat is thinking our earthquake preparedness. Here are some exerpts from a story today, please see the link for the rest. It's all rather sobering...Petra

Based on the 1989 Loma Prieta and the 1994 Northridge earthquakes, magnitudes 6.9 and 6.7 respectively, the Association of Bay Area Governments estimates that impacts in Sonoma County from a Rodgers Creek quake would include:

223 county roads, virtually all those that intersect with the fault, would be closed, including multiple areas of Highways 101, 12, 37, 116 and 112 - making it difficult for emergency crews to reach people who need help;

Loss of water and gas lines would force people to rely on their own supplies and increase the risk of fires;

14,000 units of housing would be destroyed, displacing 35,000 people in the county;

10,000 of the people displaced would need public shelter for extended periods.

In Santa Rosa, the county's most populous hub - and therefore most at risk of extensive damage in the event - two moderate earthquakes struck on the same night in 1969, leading to the eventual destruction of 74 downtown-area buildings.

• The Press Democrat