Earthquake Update

Are you living in an earthquake zone? Recent studies show a shadow fault line that runs through the most populated areas of Seattle and Bellevue. The fault line is called the Seattle Fault.

If an earthquake strikes the Seattle area, how much damage will it cause? If history is repeated, scientists predict that the next quake could be as high as 7.5 on a Richter Scale. Geographers also predict that 2,000 people will be killed on a working day, 23,000 people will be homeless, and 100,000 people will be without electric power or telephone lines. Fires will burn out of control in the industrial areas and along the waterfront.

The greatest damage will be to Harbor Island, Pioneer Square and West Seattle, to name a few. All the bridges and freeways will collapse like the one in the San Francisco quake in 1991.

The Seattle Center, SeaTac, the Kingdome, the Tacoma Dome, Boeing and the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma are a few areas that will experience the quake's maximum intensity.

So are you ready for the "Big One" in Seattle?