Click here to read my original letter to the U. S. Geological Survey from October 22, 2010.
The reply:
Excellent reply back from Michael Blanpied there... as he mentioned, I did neglect to include the printout of the maps I posted on my initial post. I realized this as soon as I dropped the letter in the mailbox. I left it laying facedown on my desk, but opted to not send out a second letter. I figured he knew what I was talking about, and sure enough he did.
I wasn't aware that all earthquakes start out the same... that supports the idea that it's pretty much impossible to predict the magnitude of a quake. He does say there are early warning systems in place in a few locations, although it sounds like California has yet to secure the financial backing to deploy one here.
Basically, Michael gave me some great resources to work with. Click here for a copy of the article from the journal Seismological Research Letters that he included.
The office building where I work, my office is not on the ground floor. I don't have easy access to the outside, either. There are large metal beams holding this structure up, and nails sticking out of the underside of the floorboards all over the place. I've been in this building when an earthquake has hit, and it was unnerving to say the least. My boss, an older gentlemen of small stature that doesn't move very quickly at all, hurdled over his desk and sprinted out of his office door, and down the stairs with lightning speed. I was pretty much right behind him, and all I could imagine was the beams collapsing, the staircase crushing us, and it all being finalized as the floorboards from upstairs came crashing down, nails piercing our twitching bodies.
Ungh. I think about this every time I go into and out of work.
Very informative reply. Thanks, USGS!
