Earthquakes and Us

Not to be all doom and gloom, but after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan last week, there's been various reports lately of how eerie the string of earthquakes in the Pacific have been recently. We live of course on the 'Ring of Fire', a circle of volcanic and seismic activity that circumnavigate the Pacific. If you remember, the chain of events started last year with a big 8.8 quake in Chile (the southeast corner of the Pacific). Then it moved to the southwest of the Pacific with the horrific 6.3 New Zealand quake. And then a few days ago, it moved up to the northwest of the Pacific with Japan's 9.0 blowout. Does that mean we're due for a big one here in the northeast Pacific region? We can't predict the future of course, but all those quakes are probably putting pressure on the faults in our region- of particular note would be the major San Andreas fault in California. So do you sit inside all day and worry. Of course not, but you should prepare. The County of San Diego has some good tips (too many to list here) but it would be wise to get yourself ready just in case.