That was the question undoubtedly on many residents鈥� minds after struck Humboldt County in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, ; damaging homes, roads, bridges, water and gas lines and other critical infrastructure; and leaving about 57,000 PG&E customers without power and many without water.
The quake occurred in a rural stretch of Northern California known as the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates meet 鈥� but many residents said this temblor felt different than those that usually rattle the area.
- Eureka resident Dan Dixon : 鈥淚t was probably the most violent earthquake we have felt in the 15 years I have lived here.鈥�
- Arcata resident Amy Uyeki : 鈥淲hen it was happening, I thought it was the Big One, because we haven鈥檛 felt anything this strong.鈥�
Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor鈥檚 Office of Emergency Services 鈥� who is after a decade on the job 鈥� noted at that 鈥渨e live in earthquake country. 鈥� This is another example of the fact that earthquakes can occur at any time.鈥�
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who to support the emergency response, that state agencies are working with local and tribal governments to provide shelter, food and water; assess damage to buildings and roadways; restore power; aid local hospitals, some of which lost power and ; and monitor seismic activity.
Officials also touted that helped notify by phone that an earthquake was coming. About 270,000 people were notified via the MyShake app funded by the state Office of Emergency Services, while most of the rest were Android users who automatically receive earthquake alerts, . Some Californians far from the epicenter were also alerted by a shrill alarm that shook them from bed around 2:30 a.m., .
- Richard Allen, director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory and a leader of the team that developed the MyShake software, : 鈥淓arthquake early warning is never going to be perfect. We very rapidly come up with our best estimate of the magnitude, and we send out a warning to anyone in the zone that would normally feel shaking.鈥�
- : 鈥淭he system did operate as we had hoped, and (as) we鈥檝e been working to design.鈥�
It鈥檚 the latest indication that emergency cell phone alerts have generally proven effective for the state. During the summer heat wave, the Newsom administration 鈥� a move that brought the state back from the brink of power outages.
Meanwhile, California is quickly approaching by which hospitals will be required to be capable of operating as normal after a massive earthquake 鈥� or risk being shut down by the state. Hospital groups estimate the required upgrades could cost more than $100 billion, not including financing, and could result in facilities being closed in underserved communities.
In August, an unlikely alliance 鈥� the California Hospital Association and the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West 鈥� that would have delayed the 2030 deadline while also . The deal fizzled due to a lack of time, Jan Emerson-Shea, vice president of external affairs for the hospital association, .
- Emerson-Shea told me Tuesday: 鈥淗ospitals have spent over 20 years and billions of dollars to make sure that buildings are safe鈥� and will remain standing after a major earthquake. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 a conversation about what services make sense to continue to be available in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.鈥�
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