Earthquake

Regional in some areas, local in effect. Two weeks of self-reliance, not three days, where the faults run.

ScopeLocalCauseNaturalDriven byLocationImpactMajorLikelihoodUnlikely

Why it matters

What Earthquake would mean for you

Three numbers decide how important Earthquake is to your preparedness planning. Impact and Likelihood are general baselines. Vulnerability depends on how prepared you are for this threat.

ImpactMajor8/9

NegligibleCatastrophic

A strong quake strikes without warning and can collapse an unprepared home, break gas and water lines, and cut services for weeks - a severe Impact where faults run.

LikelihoodUnlikely4/9

RareFrequent

Highly geography-dependent: routine risk on active faults, negligible elsewhere - so it lands low-to-mid overall.

VulnerabilityNot rated

NegligibleCatastrophic

This number is yours. It measures how hard Earthquake would actually hit your household given what you already have in place. Rate it in Threat Planning — then all three multiply into your personal threat rating.

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General baselines — How we rate threats →

Be ready

Preparing for Earthquake

Concrete moves that lower your Vulnerability. Add any of them and we'll track it as an action on your threat list.

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Secure heavy furniture, water heaters, and shelves to walls.

Store two weeks of water and supplies, not three days.

Know how to shut off gas and water.

Practice drop-cover-hold and keep shoes by the bed.

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Articles on Earthquake

Deep Dive

Threat Analysis·7 min read

Three Days Is a Myth in Earthquake Country — Plan on Two Weeks Alone

A regional quake breaks the roads, the hospitals, and the utility crews at the same second, for everyone at once. That's why the 72-hour kit is built on an assumption a quake destroys.

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Keep close

Resources for Earthquake

Threat Analysis

Earthquakes

Earthquake magnitude is measured using a logarithmic scale.

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See it on the map

Earthquake where you live.

Recorded quakes and the shaking each fault can deliver — risk falls off fast with distance.

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A national view — this is one of 410+ layers in Area Recon. Open it to zoom to your address, then add the hazards, infrastructure, terrain and resources around you, and read the real numbers for your county.

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