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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

No, it isn't offensive to have them study something worth studying.  Telling 
us something that folks born and raised in California already know is a 
TOTAL waste of money!  Using the big headlines is silly.  That can be listed 
under either fearmongering or pumping up the headlines to justify the 
budget.  Tell us something we don't know.  Prove that they earned the money.

A major quake is 7.0 or higher and as you can see, they happen every 10-20 
years.  The * are those I've been in.  There were a couple in the late 60s, 
early 70s that they are still arguing over as to whether they were 6.9 or 7. 
They are reported in different scientific journals as either 6.9 or 7.  I 
didn't list them because they aren't listed everywhere as 7.0 or higher.

1999:  Hector Mine, 7.1
1994:  Cape Mendocino, 7.1
1992:  Landers, 7.3
1992:  Cape Mendocino, 7.2 (lots of earthquakes there)*
1991:  W. of Crescent City, 7.1*
1989:  Loma Prieta, 7.1*  (63 deaths)
1980:  W. of Eureka, 7.2 (aka Ferndale Quake)*
1952:  Kern County, 7.7  (12 deaths)
1940:  Imperial Valley, 7.1  (9 deaths)
1927:  SW of Lompoc, 7.2
1923: Cape Mendocino, 7.2
1922:  W. of Eureka, 7.2
1906:  SF, 8.25  (total deaths unknown, listed anywhere from 65 - 3,000, 
most from the fire)
1899:  W. of Eureka, 7.0
1873:  W. of CA/OR border, 7.3
1872:  Owens Valley, 7.6  (27 deaths)
1857:  Fort Tejon, 7.9  (1 death)

BTW, Northridge (60 deaths) was only a 6.7.  However, it had the strongest 
ground acceleration ever recorded and that is what caused all the damage.

And, as far as we are concerned, the number of deaths for Loma Prieta should 
be 64. <g> The kidlets' cockatiel, Rudy, had a heart attack and died. :(

You are right, we frequently sleep through them.  We did with the one in 
'92.  It did put a crack in our porch but seeing as how the little house had 
survived much worse, it wasn't a big deal.

And although the '06 quake always gets billed as the San Francisco Quake, 
Oakland and points north suffered more *earthquake* damage.  San Francisco's 
problems were from fires.

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT gmail.com>

> > We have a major quake about every 10 to 20 years and always have, so
> > predicting one within 30 years is a no brainer.
>
> I know it seems offensive to some that the government spends money on
> science, but the USGS has been working on understanding, and
> predicting, US geology for more than a hundred years. Sure, quakes
> happen in California, but I'm betting residents would really like to
> have a better idea when they're about to occur. Major ones don't
> happen all that often -- as Californians will assure you until _you_
> fall asleep, they sleep through 'em. Over the years, I've read many
> articles about how Californians aren't ready for a really big event.
> It's one thing to have the sorts that we've seen over the years, but
> it's another to have a huge area -- and all its hospitals --
> devastated.
>
> This is Earth. Shit happens. When it does, most of us do the best we can.