Chapter Hazard Analysis

US Earthquakes Deaths since 1970

Year	Location	Richter	Deaths
1971	Los Angeles, CA	6.4	65
1975	Hawaii	7.2	2
1983	Coalinga, CA	6.5	1
1987	Whittier, CA	5.9	8
1989	Loma Prieta, CA	7.1	62
1991	Arcadia, CA	6.0	2
1992	Big Bear Lake, CA	7.4	2
1994	Northridge, CA	6.9	57
Source: Citizen’s Guide to Geologic Hazards

ulnerable buildings, roads, bridges and utility lines and the unpredict­ability and instantaneous nature of earthquakes can result in enormous losses of life. The table to the right shows the number of deaths in the larger quakes in the United States over the last 30 years. Note that some earthquakes with high Richter ratings, such as the one at Big Bear Lake, have low death counts because they occurred in unpopulated areas.

Because the greatest potential for loss of life is to people within a collapsing building, the threat to Kane County residents is directly related to the condition of the buildings. This is discussed below under building damage. Other life safety threats include collapsing roads and bridges, flooding from dam breaches, fires from ruptured gas lines, and release of hazardous chemicals from broken storage tanks or trucks.

Health: The main health concerns from earthquakes arise from sheltering people and caring for injuries. These would be the same as for other quick and destructive hazards, such as tornadoes.