Losses from Napa earthquake could add up to S$1.25b

NAPA (California) — The strongest earthquake to strike the San Francisco Bay Area in a quarter of a century caused massive damage — up to US$1 billion (S$1.25 billion) in economic losses, one official United States government estimate showed — and renewed long-dormant fears that the “Big One” might be unleashed at any time.

The magnitude-6.0 earthquake that struck on Sunday caused widespread damage to historical buildings, wineries and homes both opulent and modest, though few injuries and no fatalities were reported. Numerous wineries — the lifeblood of Napa Valley’s tourism industry — suffered losses as a result of the quake, which could be felt as far away as Salinas, almost 193km away.

Some reports said the Napa Valley wine industry is worth US$13 billion a year.

Despite the widespread damage, scientists said California was fortunate to escape greater devastation from the earthquake, which exposed gaps in the state’s preparedness. The historic 1906 San Francisco earthquake was about 500 times larger than Sunday’s.

“It was truly small — small compared to what California has experienced in its recorded history,” said Mr Ross Stein, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Ms Kelly Houston, a spokesperson for the California Emergency Management Agency, said the quake was also a reminder that virtually the entire state — not only Los Angeles and San Francisco — was at risk.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the earthquake, the White House said. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for southern Napa County, directing state agencies to respond with equipment and personnel.

“This was a pretty big jolt in Napa, but it certainly was not the Big One,” Mr Barry Martin, Napa’s community outreach coordinator, said in comments to local television, referring to fears Californians have of a catastrophic quake along one of the seismic faults underneath the state.

California is forecast to experience a much more powerful earthquake at some point, but scientists do not know exactly when it will come or how strong it will be, said USGS geophysicist Don Blakeman. “Usually, when people talk about the Big One, they’re talking about something on the order of a magnitude 9 which, of course, is tremendously more powerful” than Sunday’s quake, he said.

Several fires broke out following the earthquake, including one at a mobile home park that destroyed six homes, the authorities said. By midday on Sunday, the fires were out and power lost in some areas was starting to be restored, said Mr Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “Right now, things are stabilising a little bit,” he said.

Much of the heaviest damage was in downtown Napa, where large sections of brick had fallen from the county courthouse and other historical buildings. Three of the buildings that sustained severe damage had not been retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, city officials said, while the retrofits on some other older buildings did not hold and large sections of brick and concrete collapsed onto the pavement.

More than 30 buildings across the city were deemed uninhabitable.

“Certainly, a few of the retrofits didn’t fare that well,” said Mr Mark Luce, a Napa County supervisor. He added that many more buildings, including the county administrative building, had interior damage including broken sprinkler lines and fallen ceilings that would be costly to repair.

“We’ll look at what happened with these couple buildings where we saw these failures and see if there’s anything we missed,” Mr Luce added. “We’ve had a live test of what a 6.0 earthquake will do.” AGENCIES