False Security

While we all hopefully love living in California, we must admit it has it's faults!  That said, most of us do not want to spend money on big ticket items, such as Seismic Retrofitting of our homes, if it is not necessary.  To make matters worse, many people have spent money on reinforcing their homes for earthquake protection, but were sold a woefully inadequate amount of strengthening.  In either situation, it is prudent for a home owner to at least inquire, as to what is recommended specifically for your home by our local agencies.   Quake Busters provides free estimates, with a Field Inspection Report, that let's you know what your current conditions are, and what would be recommend to bring up to the published level of safety.

Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners believe that their homes are safe from earthquakes, due to the home going through previous earthquakes.   If your home was built between 1906 (the last major Bay Area Quake), and the 1990's (when building codes increased Seismic Resistance), then your home could be a candidate for Seismic Strengthening.  Another misconception  that many people  believe, is that their home is safe, because it survived the Loma Prieta Earthquake, of 1989.  It is true that the Loma Prieta, was a major earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, but the most important thing to remember is that its epicenter was in Santa Cruz, 80 to 90 miles away!   Seismologist and Geologist tell us that the East Bay could see up to 12 times the shaking of 1989, when a 6.9 goes off on the Hayward Fault!

The Hayward Fault is currently our biggest concern.  The Hayward Fault experiences a major earthquake on an approximately 140 year cycle.  This timeline was provided by Seismologist trenching in El Cerrito, many years ago.  They could identify large earth movement, and date it.  That information, plus we have documentation of a very devastating and deadly earthquake that occurred on the Hayward Fault, in 1868.  This tells us that in 2008, we reached our 140 year cycle, and are now on borrowed time!  Call Quake Busters today, to confirm how safe your home will be in the predicted major earthquake