Check out how safe are our hospitals

The Napa River in Napa, California, as viewed from COPIA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the wake of the Napa earthquake, attention is now being turned again to how safe are our local hospitals. Legislation requires hospitals to retrofit. Some have. Some have not due to the high costs.

This article details the list of California hospitals and shows the status of needed retrofitting.

Check it out.
http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/08/30/how-will-your-hospital-fare-in-the-next-earthquake/

If you want you can skip directly to the listing of all hospitals just click the link: http://oshpd.ca.gov/FDD/seismic_compliance/SB1953/ExtensionRequests.pdf

Related articles

• How Will Your Hospital Fare in the Next Earthquake?
• After Napa Quake, Thousands of California Buildings Still Without Seismic Retrofit
• Napa Wineries Assess Damage to Wine After Earthquake

Chimneys most vulnerable during earthquake

English: Earthquake damage Close-up of the damaged chimney stack at 26 Ashcroft Road http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/708670 after the earthquake of 27th February 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you have a fireplace and many of us do, you need to check your chimney to make certain that it can withstand the big earthquake.
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle notes that chimney failure is the most common damage in an earthquake. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Chimney-failure-most-common-damage-in-an-5722587.php

Many chimneys failed in the Napa earthquake, including one that collapsed on a teen age boy.

So get your chimneys checked out and get ready, Long Beach.

Related articles

• Boy Injured In Quake By Falling Chimney Recounts Incident
• Boy Hurt in California Quake: 'I Should Be Dead'
• Chimney failure most common damage in an earthquake
• Teen crushed by bricks in Napa earthquake recounts pain, fear

Northern California hit with 6.0 Earthquake

USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. Light gray areas are heavily urbanized regions (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Northern California near Napa Valley Sunday, injuring at least 120 — 3 critically — and causing extensive damage, including fires sparked by burst gas lines, in the largest tremor to rock the Bay Area since the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta quake in 1989.

Leslie Gordon of the U.S. Geological Survey says the tremor struck just before 3:30 a.m. Sunday local time, about 10 miles northwest of American Canyon, which is about 6 miles southwest of Napa.

Hello. A 6.0 earthquake hit northern California this morning. Lots of damage. 89 people reported hurt. Some critically.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/24/usgs-60-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-northern-california/

Related articles

• 6.0 magnitude earthquake shakes N. Calif.
• Large earthquake rattles San Francisco Bay Area
• Earthquake Shakes Northern California

Long Beach to Be Test Site for Earthquake Early Warning System

The announcement that the City of Long Beach was to be a test site for an earthquake early warning system got a little coverage in April. See KNBC news.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Long-Beach-Earthquake-Early-Warning-System-CISN-EEWS-256586271.html

Los Angeles County will be a beta site for a system that could warn people of an impending earthquake, giving them enough time to find safety.
Long Beach will be home to the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS), developed by the United States Geological Survey and the California Institute of Technology, the city announced Thursday.
According to the CISN, warning times depend on the distance to the epicenter of the earthquake.

KCET also just ran a program highlighting Long Beach in this effort to get an early warning system up and running in California. See http://www.kcet.org/shows/socal_connected/content/science-and-technology/earthquake-detection-system-may-give-100-second-warning-when-big-one-hits.html

This is great for Long Beach and great for California.

Related articles

• City Of Long Beach Selected As Beta Site To Test Earthquake Early Warning System
• Earthquake Early Warning System To Be Tested In Long Beach
• Earthquake Activity Reported in 42 States