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California’s Water from Colorado River Could Be Crippled by a Big Earthquake. Drought Makes Fixes Vital

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

As drought, global warming and chronic overuse push the Colorado River to perilous new lows, water officials are hoping to prevent an earthquake from severing a critical Depression-era aqueduct that now connects millions of Southern Californians to the shrinking river.

Recently, officials from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California celebrated as crews lowered a section of earthquake-resistant pipeline into a portion of the Colorado River aqueduct — the 242-mile system of pumps, tunnels, pipelines and open canals that carry water from Lake Havasu to Southern California.

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A 7.1 Earthquake Couldn’t Kill this Mojave Desert Town. But a Water War Just Might

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Thomas Curwen

On the northern edge of the Mojave Desert, a new trauma has awakened old concerns: What happens if a town’s water gets shut off? The question keeps Danny Tolbert awake most nights. Two years ago his taps ran dry after a 7.1 earthquake nearly brought down his house and community. That was three months before his stroke, before he learned how diseased his heart was.

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Major Earthquake Retrofit Work Complete At Lake Merced Pump Station

/in , /by /CBS SF Bay Area

It all started with a 2002 state law demanding quake-resilient water delivery. Nearly $5 billion later, San Francisco has retrofit the system from Hetch Hetchy to the city, just now crossing the finish line on the shore of Lake Merced.

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What if California Faces a Disaster During the Pandemic?

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Don Thompson

California has evacuation plans for earthquakes, floods, mudslides and, of course, wildfires, but what if one of those disasters occurs as the state is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak when everyone is being urged to stay home?

State and local officials are trying to figure that out.

“That’s something that is being looked at, but it’s challenging,” said California Office of Emergency Services’ spokesman Brian Ferguson.

Kim Zagaris, longtime fire and rescue chief for the emergency services agency, came out of retirement to help with planning during the virus crisis.

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San Diego Would Suffer Catastrophic Damage if Rose Canyon Fault Produces 6.9 Earthquake

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake on San Diego’s Rose Canyon Fault could damage 100,000 residences, cause widespread road and bridge failures, and make parts of Mission Bay sink about a foot, according to the most detailed disaster scenario ever done on the region.

Such a temblor could also cut gas and water service between La Jolla and the Silver Strand for months, collapse key municipal buildings, and close the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, says a report by the San Diego chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. Parts of the fault would rupture the Earth’s surface and shift the landscape 6 to 7 feet, damaging streets so badly it would make it hard for police, firefighters and paramedics to get around.

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