Is This the Big One?

The ground shook today while I was working from home and I couldn’t help but think, ‘Is this the Big One?’

In April ‘08, the U.S. Geological Survey came out with a report stating that, “California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years….” So when the quake was felt today, I’m sure many Californians wondered the same thing.

Why do we stay in California with the certainty of such a threat? But really, what are the options? Where do you go? Everywhere has it’s own set of threats – tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods.

And there are the minor annoyances of living in some of the other parts of the country that we have the luxury of doing without in California. I just came home from vacation to see family in the Northeast so a couple of those minor annoyances in the front of my mind include humidity, mosquitoes, and bugs in general. We also aren’t faced with extreme weather of any kind.

I also noticed some of the pictures in NY Times article. Notice the smiles on the faces of the crowds. Far from panic. It’s a brief moment, an adrenaline rush, and most of the time it passes and we feel the bravado of having missed another close call.

So, I guess we will brave the possibilities and enjoy another mildly warm day in sunny Southern California.