Ground shaking intensity

How Much Will The Ground Shake?

A Comparison with the Loma Prieta Earthquake

For the cities indicated, each colored bar shows how many times stronger a magnitude 7 earthquake on the same-colored fault segment is likely to feel in relation to the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Example: A magnitude 7 earthquake on the northern Hayward fault segment is likely to cause shaking in Oakland that is about twelve times greater than shaking felt during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Photo of soft story house, collapsed from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

October 17, 1989
Loma Prieta Earthquake
Magnitude 6.9
414 Homes Destroyed
14,000 people left homeless

Unretrofitted soft story homes, where garages occupy most of the ground floor increase the odds of building failure during an earthquake.

Source: USGS
"The Next Big Quake in the Bay Area"

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