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Southern California's 5.1 earthquake jolted social media
4-1-14 | Los Angeles Times | By Hector Becerra and Rosanna Xia
LOS ANGELES -- The magnitude 5.1 La Habra earthquake that shook Southern California isn't going into the seismic history books for its modest size and small damage totals.
But it was an event on social media, which transmitted stories and images of the quake and its many aftershocks with a speed and breadth that left seismologists and emergency personnel taking notice.
By Saturday, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones had become a trending topic on Twitter and finally created an account. (After some playful debate, she used @DrLucyJones as her account name rather than her nickname, the Earthquake Lady). In her first tweet, she assured those on social media that the large aftershocks still rattling across Orange and Los Angeles counties were normal.
The real-time reporting of a quake provides many opportunities but also some pitfalls. Officials can use the stream of data to determine where damage has occurred and allocate resources. The challenge is sorting between the valuable facts and the misinformation and speculation.
"People need to talk to other people when they're scared. And if we don't communicate quickly, it doesn't stop people from talking, it just means they don't have factual information to share," Jones said.
The USGS was a pioneer in digital crowdsourcing by creating a system for people to report whenever they felt a quake. More than 16,000 reports were sent to the "Did You Feel It?" system after Friday's earthquake. Based on the surveys, the USGS produces maps showing where the quakes were felt the most.
But in an era of second screens and the mobile Web, some experts say seismologists need a larger presence in social media. read more
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Dozens still displaced by quake; school, city hall, road closed
3-31-14 | Los Angeles Times
Residents in northern Orange County continued to roll with the aftermath of Friday's 5.1 earthquake as the workweek began, bringing the reality of the damage into clearer focus.
A grade school was closed, as was a well-traveled road. The civic center in La Habra was closed and more than 80 residents were still being prevented from moving back into their homes.
Since the quake Friday, there have been hundreds of aftershocks, leaving residents in La Habra, Brea and Fullerton on edge, though experts said the continued jolts were to be expected.
Experts said they can't predict what's next.
There is precedent for earthquake aftershocks to jump fault lines. The Whittier Narrows earthquake, a magnitude 5.9, struck on the Puente Hills thrust fault system on Oct. 1, 1987. Three days later, a magnitude 5.6 aftershock hit on a different fault, said Egill Hauksson, a Caltech seismologist.
Meanwhile, officials in northern Orange County awoke Monday to deal with the reality of the quake damage. A rock slide on Carbon Canyon Road in Brea -- used by an estimated 20,000 commuters a day -- remained closed. A grade school in Brea was shuttered and the civic center in La Habra was closed briefly while a work crew repaired a water pipe that had snapped during the quake. read more
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Officials tally damage from 5.1 earthquake; clean-up continues
3-30-14 | Los Angeles Times
Officials in Northern Orange County spent Sunday assessing the damage from Friday's magnitude 5.1 earthquake. The temblor caused damage to businesses — mostly spilled merchandise and a few shattered windows. Friday night, dozens of dwellings were red-tagged as officials looked for structural damage.
Officials in the cities hardest hit — Fullerton, Brea and La Habra — have not yet released damage estimates. It appears the damage was modest, and there were no serious injuries.
About 50 residents were let back into their Fullerton apartment units, which had been red-tagged Friday night after the 5.1 earthquake near La Habra, according to Fullerton Fire Battalion Chief John Stokes.
Elsewhere in the city, about 19 residents in six single-family homes across northern Fullerton remained displaced, Stokes said. Most appeared to be staying with friends or relatives after a nearby shelter at a La Habra community center was closed by the Red Cross due to lack of requests for assistance.
About 13 water line breaks were reported in Fullerton after Friday's quake, including three ruptures under city streets. By Saturday night, they had all been repaired, Stokes said.
In Buena Park, a 60-year-old man was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries after a TV toppled on him, Schultz said. read more
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For Californians, 2 Quakes Put Preparedness Back on the Map
3-30-14 | New York Times | By dam Nagourney
LOS ANGELES — It has been 20 years since Southern California experienced a major earthquake, a powerful 6.7-magnitude temblor that rolled through Northridge, killing 57 people. But this stretch of seismic calm, though welcome in obvious ways, has undermined efforts to force Los Angeles to deal with what officials describe as potentially lethal deficiencies in earthquake preparation.
That may be changing. Since two back-to-back earthquakes Friday evening — a relatively small one with a magnitude of 3.6, followed by a long and rolling 5.1 quake — Los Angeles has been shaken by nearly 175 smaller aftershocks. It is the first time this area has suffered an earthquake in excess of 5 magnitude since 1997, and it comes two weeks after a 4.4 earthquake jolted residents awake.
None of these quakes caused injuries or widespread damage, other than broken water pipes and some homes that have been declared at least temporarily uninhabitable. But geologists see them as the predictable end of a cycle: a return to what might be an uncomfortable normal in which 5-magnitude earthquakes become routine events.
"The last 17 years has been the quietest time we have ever seen," said Lucile M. Jones, a seismologist at the United States Geological Survey. "Maybe we're starting to turn back to more normal levels."
The burst of seismic activity has come at a critical time for this part of the country, as Los Angeles confronts growing criticism that it has lagged in taking steps to minimize earthquake casualties. Its new mayor, Eric M. Garcetti, has seized on this as a defining issue. He appointed Ms. Jones as a special adviser to draw up an earthquake preparedness plan, following the lead of San Francisco and other cities. read more
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This fault could bring an earthquake worse than 'The Big One'
3-30-14 | Los Angeles Times | By Rong-Gong Lin II
The Puente Hills fault, which scientists believe could be responsible for Friday's 5.1 earthquake in La Habra, is considered very dangerous.
Here are some basic questions about the fault.
Q: What would be the difference in shaking between a 5.1 quake and a truly huge quake?
Friday night's earthquake was caused by the underground fault slipping for half a second, said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones, prompting about 10 seconds of shaking at the surface. But a 7.5 quake on the Puente Hills fault could cause the fault to slip for 20 seconds — and the shaking could last far longer. Scientists say that quake would be more destructive than the so-called Big One on the San Andreas fault.
Q: Why are scientists so worried about the fault?
The Puente Hills thrust fault is so dangerous because of its location, running from the suburbs of northern Orange County, through the San Gabriel Valley and under the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles before ending in Hollywood. The Puente Hills fault could be especially hazardous over a larger area because of its shape. Other local faults, like the Newport-Inglewood and Hollywood, are a collection of vertical cracks, with the most intense shaking occurring near where the fault reaches the surface. The Puente Hills is a horizontal fault, with intense shaking likely to be felt over a much larger area, roughly 25 by 15 miles. Video simulations of a rupture on the Puente Hills fault system show how energy from a quake could erupt and be funneled toward L.A.'s densest neighborhoods, with the strongest waves rippling to the west and south across the Los Angeles Basin.
Q: What is the worst-case scenario?
According to estimates by the USGS and Southern California Earthquake Center, a massive quake on the Puente Hills fault could kill from 3,000 to 18,000 people and cause up to $250 billion in damage. Under this worst-case scenario, people in as many as three-quarters of a million households would be left homeless. One reason for the dire forecast is that both downtown L.A. and Hollywood are packed with old, vulnerable buildings, including those made of concrete, Jones said. The violent motion would be amplified by the soft soil underneath the Los Angeles Basin and the valleys, which produces a jello effect as shaking waves wobble off the basin. read more
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Magnitude-5.1 earthquake shakes Los Angeles
3-29-14 | By Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A magnitude-5.1 earthquake centered near Los Angeles caused no major damage but jittered nerves throughout the region as dozens of aftershocks struck into the night.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at about 9:09 p.m. Friday and was centered near Brea in Orange County — about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles — at a depth of about 5 miles. It was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Ventura County, according to citizen responses collected online by the USGS.
Broken glass, gas leaks, water main breaks and a rockslide were reported near the epicenter, according to Twitter updates from local authorities.
Eyewitness photos and videos show bottles and packages strewn on store floors. Southern California Edison reported power outages to about 2,000 customers following the quake.
More than two dozen aftershocks ranging from magnitudes 2 to 3.6 were recorded, according to the USGS. Earlier in the evening, two foreshocks registering at magnitude-3.6 and magnitude-2.1 hit nearby in the city of La Habra. read more
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Aging dam prompts drought dilemma
3-25-14 | San Jose Mercury News | By Paul Rogers
MORGAN HILL, Calif. -- As California's historic drought worsens by the day, Silicon Valley's main water provider faces a difficult choice: Risk catastrophic flooding if a major earthquake strikes its largest dam - or drain billions of gallons of water from the reservoir behind it to make repairs.
Santa Clara Valley Water District officials, however, say they have little choice but to drain Anderson Reservoir: State and federal officials have ordered that the dam must be seismically retrofitted by 2018 - and to meet that deadline the work must start next year.
While the timing couldn't be worse, the dilemma is a familiar one in an earthquake-prone region. From aging dams to the Bay Bridge to the Hetch Hetchy water system, key landmarks built generations ago no longer meet modern seismic standards and must be strengthened or replaced so they don't collapse in the next big quake.
In 2009, the Santa Clara Valley Water District released engineering studies showing that a 6.6-magnitude quake on the Calaveras Fault directly at Anderson Reservoir, or a 7.2 quake centered one mile away, could cause the reservoir's 240-foot-high earthen dam to slump and fail.
Although the chances of that happening are extremely slim, a complete failure of Anderson Dam when the reservoir is full could send a 35-foot wall of water into downtown Morgan Hill within 14 minutes. The waters would be 8-feet deep in San Jose within three hours, potentially killing thousands.
When Anderson Dam was built in 1950, scientists thought the nearby Calaveras Fault was inactive. read more
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Huge model helping scientists plan Isabella dam fixes
3-15-14 | Bakersfield Californian | By Steven Mayer, Californian staff writer
It's the only significant structure standing between Bakersfield and what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls the "probable maximum flood."
The 61-year-old earthen dam at Isabella Lake, 40 miles northeast of the city, has been the target of years of study, evaluation, planning and public comment since Army Corps officials concluded the twin dams face a triple-threat: seepage, earthquakes and overtopping during a rare, cataclysmic flood.
Now a team of scientists charged with designing a "fix" for the dams has built a scale model one-third the size of a football field to help them understand how the newly designed dam will handle a variety of water flows -- from moderate to monstrous.
Nathan Cox, a hydraulic engineer for the Army Corps' Sacramento District, said the 1:45 scale model, built at Utah State University's Water Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah, helps engineers predict how planned modifications to the dam will perform under real-world conditions.
"The model is important because it's one of our primary design tools to verify that the design does work how we want it to work," he said.
One of the most common safety issues older dams present to those living downstream is that their spillways are too narrow, said Blake Tullis, an associate professor at the Water Research Lab at Utah State.
That's why the proposed modification of Isabella -- construction is expected to begin in 2017 -- will include the construction of a much wider emergency spillway to supplement the existing service spillway. read more
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Final state water action plan released
1-29-14 | Western Farm Press, Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture
As California experiences one of the driest winters on record, the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture released the final California Water Action Plan, laying out goals and vision for the next five years.
The plan will guide state efforts to enhance water supply reliability, restore damaged and destroyed ecosystems, and improve the resilience of our infrastructure.
At the direction of Gov. Jerry Brown, a collaborative effort of state agencies, and nearly 100 substantive public and stakeholder comments, formed a plan to set direction for a host of near- and long-term actions on water issues for the state.
The Governor's proposed 2014-2015 budget lays a solid fiscal foundation for implementing near-term actions for the plan, recommending $618.7 million in funding for water efficiency projects, wetland and watershed restoration, groundwater programs, conservation, flood control, and integrated water management.
Final revisions to the draft plan, released in October, include an expanded section on drought response and a new effort focused on better management of Sierra Nevada headwaters that helps water storage and quality, and ecosystems. read more
The California Action Plan is available here.
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House approves bill with funds for Sacramento flood protection
1-15-14 | Sacramento Bee
The massive spending bill the House of Representatives passed Wednesday includes $72 million for Sacramento flood-protection efforts. Lawmakers approved the $1.1 trillion, 1,580-page budget plan on a vote of 359-67.
Of the $72 million, $2.5 million would go toward design work on an ongoing project to improve levees around Natomas and Sacramento. The balance of the funds would also further the goal of protecting the Sacramento region from a 200-year flood.
Two separate projects at the Folsom dam would receive $69.5 million, to help raise the dam and construct an auxiliary spillway.
The Senate is expected to take up the legislation by week's end. read more
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On 50th anniversary, survivors recall Baldwin Hills dam collapse
Hundreds file into what is now Upper Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, where the reservoir dam burst Dec. 14, 1963, killing five.
12-14-13 | Los Angeles Times | By Bob Pool
Survivors of the sudden collapse of the Baldwin Hills Reservoir dam gathered Saturday in a grassy valley to commemorate the disaster that sent 150 million gallons of Los Angeles drinking water cascading into their homes 50 years ago.
Hundreds filed into what is now Upper Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, where the earthen edge of the 66-foot-deep reservoir — holding 292 million gallons — ruptured Dec. 14, 1963, sending a 50-foot wall of water roaring into homes and cars along nearby Cloverdale Avenue.
Five people were killed, 65 hillside homes were torn apart and 210 other homes and apartments were damaged in an area between Jefferson and La Cienega boulevards and La Brea Avenue.
The father of Barbara Whitaker, a 76-year-old retired executive assistant from Irvine, was one of those who died. Archie V. MacDonald was 71 when he helped evacuate his wife, Marie, from the 627-unit Village Green residential complex.
"Mom got across to the car, but Dad went back to see if he'd locked the front door. The water just picked him up and carried him off," recalled Whitaker, who had not returned to the reservoir site since the disaster. "Mom held on to a tree and was rescued by a helicopter." read more
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Oroville Dam earthquake investigation may be needed
11-29-13 | Sacramento Bee | By Matt Weiser
A recent federal inspection has concluded that Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the nation, needs a comprehensive earthquake safety assessment. The dam on the Feather River is the primary storage facility for the State Water Project, the state-owned plumbing system that provides drinking water to more than 23million people across California. Failure of the dam could inundate not only the city of Oroville but numerous other communities downstream, including Yuba City, Marysville and even West Sacramento.
The inspection was conducted in 2010 by consultants working for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees hydroelectric dams in the United States. It is the most recent inspection of its kind, which are conducted every five years. No significant flaws were found in the dam itself. Inspectors recommended the earthquake safety assessment based on newer information about earthquake hazards in the vicinity of the dam. A copy of the inspection was reviewed by The Bee following a Public Records Act request.
Officials at the California Department of Water Resources, which manages the dam, say they don't plan to conduct the recommended review because they don't think the expense is justified. But they may be compelled to do it by state or federal regulators who are still considering the recommendation.
Oroville Dam, at 742 feet high, was completed in 1968 and is the tallest dam in the United States. It stores 3.5million acre-feet of water, or enough to serve 7 million average households for a year. In California, only Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River stores more water.
State water officials say the dam is sufficiently strong. "Even with today's understanding of seismicity and ground motions, Oroville still would meet the criteria that would be set today," said David Panec, chief of dam safety at the DWR's operations and maintenance division. "The dam is essentially overbuilt."
Independent experts concur. Like Panec, they point to a 5.7-magnitude quake that occurred near the dam in 1975 that caused no damage to the structure. Subsequent investigations showed that the dam performed well and was not weakened by the quake.
Not everyone is confident. Ronald Stork, a senior policy advocate at Friends of the River, said the call for further study of Oroville Dam should not be taken lightly. In recent years, after modern studies, numerous other earthen dams in California have been shown to be vulnerable to earthquakes. For instance, Folsom Dam upstream of Sacramento is now undergoing millions of dollars in upgrades to withstand earthquakes. Similar work is planned at Lake Perris in Riverside County and San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, both also part of the State Water Project. read more
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Reclamation plans work on Prosser Creek, Fontenelle
11-5-13 | HydroReview
Knight Construction & Supply Inc. won a $2.1 million contract from the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation to refurbish gates at Prosser Creek Dam in California.
Knight will remove, refurbish and replace two guard gates and two control gates; fabricate gate leaf seats, gate body seats, and leaf lip reconfiguration bars; and install new hoist shutoff and bypass valves. Prosser Creek Dam was built in 1962 and is part of Reclamation's Washoe Project. read more
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New TID Dam Safety Effort Off to Good Start
11-2-13 | Turlock City News | By Alex Cantatore
The Turlock Irrigation District is running one dam safe operation, thanks to new Chief Dam Safety Engineer Peggy Harding. Harding's hiring has its roots in a May 3, 2012 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision which required dam owners to develop a safety program. The lack of such a program had contributed to some incidents in the past, FERC said.
TID filed a safety plan for Don Pedro Dam with FERC on Nov. 1, 2012. And on March 19, the district signed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to safety – and hired Harding, who has 30 years of experience in dam safety. Harding started with TID in June, and led FERC officials on an inspection of Don Pedro Dam on the very same day.
"My job is to consolidate all dam and dam-related functions under one position," explained Harding. So far, Harding has conducted independent safety reviews of all TID dams – Don Pedro, LaGrange, Dawson, and Turlock Lake. All were found to be in acceptable condition, and safe for continued operation.
That doesn't mean TID can't improve conditions, though. Harding is tracking a list of action items to improve safety, ranging from vegetation control on smaller dikes to containing rockfalls above the Don Pedro powerhouse.
Harding is also at work on an emergency action plan for the district, and a training course for dam operators to understand what to do when things go wrong.
And there's yet more work to be done. Harding hopes to establish a formal safety program for TID's smaller dams, and conduct a thorough review of the design and performance of all dams in the system. read more
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Gov't officials hold public meetings for dam work, lake recreation concerns
9-6-13 | KBAK-TV | By Bakersfieldnow.com staff
LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. – Officials are holding a pair of public meetings to address recreation concerns during Lake dam work.
The Isabella Lake Dam Safety Modification Project, with construction slated for 2017, will address over-topping, seismic and seepage issues identified with Isabella Lake's main and auxiliary dams to reduce the likelihood of dam failure.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Forest Service will hold meetings 6-8 p.m. Sept. 25 at Kernville Chamber of Commerce and the next day from 9-11 a.m. at Lake Isabella Veterans and Senior Center, according to the Corps.
The purpose of the meetings is to gather information from local residents interested in recreation at the lake about possible impacts anticipated as part of the dam modernization project. read more
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Isabella Lake levels exceed safety limit
7-11-11 | The Bakersfield Californian | By Steven Mayer
Now is not a good time for a big earthquake on the Kern River Fault.
For the first time since 2006, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed a safety restriction on the amount of water stored behind the two earthen dams at Isabella Lake, the reservoir has exceeded that safety zone.
Officials say a certain amount of wiggle-room is built into the restrictions and the violation of the limit is not cause for immediate concern. However, they have directed the Kern River water master to release more water downstream.
By last weekend, what was left of the season's massive snowpack combined with extremely hot temperatures and the arrival of monsoonal thundershowers to send more water into the lake than was anticipated.
It was five years ago that the now 58-year-old Isabella dam system was identified by the Corps as one of the most at-risk facilities in the nation.
Not only was water found to be seeping beneath the dam but the geological foundation on which the auxiliary dam was constructed was determined to be made of an alluvial rock material that could be "potentially liquefiable" in a strong earthquake, causing the collapse of the dam and allowing a massive wall of water to race through the Kern River Canyon toward Bakersfield. read more