Why California is considered a disaster hotspot and how it copes
A disaster hotspot is somewhere where there is a threat of two or more hazards to the area, ranging from geophysical to hydro-meteorological hazards. This is certainly the case in California, where there are an abundance of hazards which threaten the safety of the population. These hazards include earthquakes, bushfires, landslides, flooding, drought and fog.
A major threat to the 40million strong population of California is earthquakes, which are caused by a network of active faults which run under the coastline of the state, including the San Andreas Fault and the Garlock Fault. The San Andreas Fault is a conservative boundary, which can give rise to powerful earthquakes. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was caused by a rupture on the San Andreas Fault, which is a strike-slip fault meaning it is a crack between two plates sliding past each other. This 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused a lot of destruction in the San Francisco area, killing an estimated 3000 people and leaving an expensive bill of damage ($9.5 billion in 2009 dollars). Much of the damage and death toll came as a result of the devastating fires which followed the earthquake, which lasted for four days. The people of California are vulnerable to earthquakes as the faults directly underlie the area and the earthquake events cannot be predicted. As California is part of one of the largest economies in the world, it can afford preventive measures such as an annual earthquake drill and building earthquake proof buildings.
