Tom Fudge : Earthquakes happen all the time in California. But most of the time they're so mild you can't even feel them. And we've come to view catastrophic quakes as things that happen other places. Places like China, where an earthquake this Spring killed tens of thousands of people. Could that happen here?
The death toll might be different but a quake of that magnitude is a real possibility. That's why the U.S. Geological Survey has planned what's being called the Great Southern California Shakeout, an elaborate earthquake drill that takes place tomorrow.
The Shakeout is based on predictions of what could happen to our buildings, or electricity, our power and water supplies, and to ourselves in the event of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the San Andreas fault.
The Great Southern California Shakeout drill is Thursday, November 13, 2008.
Guests
- Pat Abbott , geologist and retired professor from San Diego State University.
- Ron Lane , director of the County Office of Emergency Services and a co-chair of the Great Southern California ShakeOut.
- Kenneth Hudnut , geophysicist with the US Geological Survey who designed the earthquake for the Great Southern California Shakeout scenario.
