Verge.com: Escape From La: Why Is The United States Pathetically Unprepared For An Earthquake?

[Toe Jam]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/11/4827844/us-california-earthquake-early-warning-system

 

According to some estimates, Californians face a 99 percent likelihood of experiencing a major earthquake within the next three decades — and odds are good that it'll strike in the vicinity of either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Unfortunately, experts warn that California and the rest of the US are woefully unprepared for such a devastating temblor — even though technology to drastically enhance that preparedness already exists.

That fact was highlighted in late September, when California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to roll out an earthquake early warning system — called ShakeAlert — across the state. The system, which will offer anywhere from 10 seconds to one minute advanced warning of an impending quake, "will help the public take a number of safety measures to reduce injury and damages," said state spokesperson Greg Renick at the time. "People will be able to take cover ... medical professionals will have a chance to stop procedures, and train operators should have time to slow down and stop the trains."

The only problem? Nobody — not even the state government — is stepping up to pay for it. The legislation explicitly prohibits taxpayer dollars from going towards the system, which is expected to cost $120 million in its first five years, and $16 million a year thereafter to remain operational. "It's been made very clear that the money won't be coming from California, which means it isn't clear where the money will come from at all," says Richard Allen, a seismologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who last week wrote a paper in Nature extolling the importance of financing such a system. "It's clear that we need one. But will it be paid for before the next earthquake, or after?"

 

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[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

I have family that lives in San Fran and Nor Cal. They ask me why I don't move there, and I tell them because it's right on a major fault line. They always turn their heads away when I say that, and change the subject. I can't be in denial like them. Like George Carlin said, "These people build their houses right next to an active volcano, then wonder why they have lava in the living room!"