Buying Real Estate in San Diego and Concerned About Earthquakes?
In San Diego, we don't have hurricanes,
tornadoes or serious floods. In fact, our climate is "99% perfect", and we
have more days where the temperature is 72 degrees than anywhere else on
the planet. But because we are on the Pacific Rim, we have to be concerned
with the possibility of an earthquake.
What are the odds of you being involved in an earthquake? It has to do with
how far you are from an active fault, what the buildings are made of, and
what the underlying soil is. The worst tragedies occur where there are old
masonry buildings built on sandy soil. We all saw the devastation in the
Marina district of San Francisco and in Mexico City.
In San Diego, we are 90 miles from the San Andreas fault, much farther than
Los Angeles or San Francisco. Our buildings here tend to be wood frame and
stucco, which is much more resistant to earthquakes than masonry construction.
Our soil is mostly decomposed granite, which does not move like the old lake
beds of Mexico City. We are a much younger city than others in California,
so we benefit from the stricter building standards that the older cities
didn't have. And just recently, the California Department of Transportation
has begun improvements to all overpasses to make sure they can withstand
a 7.0 earthquake.
In other words, don't judge the entire state by the destruction that you
see on the media. Not all areas are equally at risk. To be safe, you want
to live far from a fault; make sure the buildings you live and work in are
built on solid ground; and that they are well constructed. That's what we
have to offer here in San Diego.
For more informaton, the U.S. Geologic Survey website has an extensive "Frequently Asked Questions" section.
If you like to look at maps, look at this one. You'll notice that San Diego is the least
risky place in Southern California.
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