Although experts state that the San Joaquin Valley area rarely experiences earthquakes of more than M4.5+, it is an area that has experienced several earthquakes in the past. Some of these earthquakes were devastating as they were above Mw 7.0. For instance, in 1857, Fort Tejon in the area experienced an earthquake of Mw 7.9 and another one of Mw 7.5 in 1952 occurred around White Wolf (Zeng, Petersen & Shen, 2018). In 2019, the Ridgecrest area experienced a major earthquake of Mw 7.1 Wolf (Zeng, Petersen & Shen, 2018). Apart from these three instances, the entire region has experienced other earthquakes of low magnitude but which demonstrate that it is a generally risky area.
The California State University is located right in this area. Experts indicate that the valley is prone to frequent earthquakes of different magnitude due to its location. Specifically, the area is ringed by faults that include the San Andreas on the west, the Garlock Fault on the south, and the faults in the Sierra Nevada on the west Wolf (Zeng, Petersen & Shen, 2018). Experts indicate that the San Andreas Fault is the largest in California and has the potential to create large earthquakes of up to Mw 8.0 and above that can disrupt the entire region Wolf (Zeng, Petersen & Shen, 2018). Earthquakes of this nature are considered disastrous as they can cause disruption in lives, property, and geography. They are known to cause hazards that include the collapse of buildings, bridges, electric connections, railways, and communication lines. The impact on roads, buildings, bridges, and electricity lines means that they can result in the destruction of human and animal lives.
Unfortunately, California State University does not have special risk mitigation programs and facilities. Only the common firefighting facilities and few others are available to respond to such a disaster. In addition, not all the buildings and other facilities in the area are resilient enough and some can collapse due to strong earthquakes. Moreover, there is a need to create awareness and knowledge about earthquake disasters and how to mitigate and respond to such disasters.
Reference
Zeng, Y., Petersen, M. D., & Shen, Z. K. (2018). Earthquake potential in California‐Nevada is implied by the correlation of strain rate and seismicity. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(4), 1778-1785. Web.