To many around the world, it seems that the number of destructive earthquakes has increased dramatically.   Yet most of the destruction is due to the recent exponential increases in human populations along major fault zones. 

Saturday, February 28, 2010: Still reeling from the devastating effects of the magnitude 7.0 Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010, the world today is witnessing immense destruction and life loss in the aftermath of a magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile – an event hundreds of times larger than Haiti, which could turn out to be one of the most powerful earthquakes in history. In just a few tens of seconds, the Nazca tectonic plate “slid” beneath South American plate.

"Myths are stories told by people about people: where they come from, how they handle major disasters, how they cope with what they must and how everything will end.” – Robert O’Connell 

Sixteen years ago this week, the world’s eyes were on the Los Angeles, California region. The devastating January 17,1994 Northridge magnitude 6.7 earthquake had just killed 57 people, injured 10,000 others, put seven freeways out of commission, and damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings, including a large wood-frame apartment building that collapsed and killed 16 occupants.

News and images of the January 12th Haiti earthquake and its aftershocks are unspeakably horrendous. As we join millions of others around the world in support of coordinated relief efforts, we also want to help spread the word on how to help.

Click on the following links to make donations online, or to learn more about how to participate in other ways.

Open Hazards Group forecast a probability of less than 1% that an earthquake the size of the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake would occur within a 100 km radius of the actual location. Why?

I plugged in my old address in Altadena, California to this site’s damage estimator, and placed a magnitude 7.5 earthquake (a plausible event) on the San Andreas fault. I placed the epicenter near Palmdale, California. The result I got was unsettling, and frankly made me glad I now live in an area where I only have to worry about ice storms, blizzards, tornadoes and mosquitoes. Here’s what I got:

You’re walking across a street when you notice a car speeding toward you. Will it hit you?

Think. Where are you in relation to the speeding car? Does the driver see you? Will you make it across the street to safety by continuing at your walking pace? Or, should you break into a run?

A basic homeowner’s insurance policy in the U.S. does not cover earthquake related loss or damage. Although 90% of the country's population lives in seismically active areas, only a fraction are covered by earthquake insurance. Even in California, the majority of the state’s homeowners opt out. A common perception is that earthquake insurance costs too much and offers little coverage.