Given the announced, if fluctuating, 33-percent likelihood of a 6.7 or greater earthquake on the nearby Hayward-Rogers Creek fault between now and 2038, it would seem wise for Sonoma Valley residents to know what to expect and what to do about it.
The Sonoma County Emergency Operations Plan states that, “The Rogers Creek Fault runs directly through the primary urban corridor of the County and poses the greatest risk of surface fault rupture in Sonoma in both likelihood and potential damage.
The level of earthquake damage depends on a variety of factors, including magnitude and duration. The 1989 Loma Prieta temblor had a magnitude of 6.9 and lasted 10 to 15 seconds. The 6.7 magnitude, 1994 Northridge earthquake lasted 10 to 20 seconds, and the great 1906 San Francisco quake had a recalibrated magnitude of 7.9 and has been estimated to have lasted an interminable 45 to 60 seconds…