Malibu is an “earthquake hotbed” following the 3.9 magnitude earthquake that hit March 12, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Since 2024, Southern California has experienced 15 earthquakes with a magnitude of over 4.0. This is the highest total seen in the last 65 years, according to a study released on CBS News, conducted by seismologist, Lucy Jones, who works for The Seismological Laboratory of Caltech.
According to World Bank, over 60,000 people die every year from earthquakes, accounting for the majority of deaths from natural disasters. Susan Dueñas, Malibu’s director of Public Safety, said the death toll in the United States is generally lower because of strong building codes. However, she said Malibu is at risk because of how some of the city’s buildings are structured.
“The one vulnerability that we have are older buildings that are either unreinforced masonry or soft-story structures,” Dueñas said. “That opening where there are garages weakens the whole thing.”
Malibu has approximately 37 soft-story buildings, according to the Los Angeles Times. Dueñas suggested requiring building retrofits, which essentially reinforce the supports holding up the building. The California Residential Mitigation Program is one organization aiming to provide easy access to retrofits for California residents.
Additionally, Malibu is at a greater risk of being affected by earthquakes because it is part of a regional fault system, forming the tectonic boundary between the California Continental Borderland on the south and the Western Transverse Ranges on the north, according to the Bulletin of Seismological Society of America, Volume 95. The fault system extends approximately 200 km from Los Angeles to the Channel Islands.
“We need to come up with some sort of incentive program to encourage the property owners of the soft story structures to reinforce them,” Dueñas said.
In the Malibu Department of Public Safety’s office, experts oversee particular subject matter, like building structure. Dueñas, who describes herself as the “captain of the ship,” is working alongside her staff to be proactive about preparing residents for what to do in these natural disasters.
“I love my staff,” Dueñas said.”They’re all amazing. They’re young and starting out, but I have thirty years of experience so I love having that mix of their fresh eyes and having their own take on how to do things.”
According to Earthquake Warning California, earthquake preparedness is a necessary lesson to teach all students and residents living in California.
Junior Sarah Breck said she feels less prepared to handle earthquakes because she is from Arizona and did not learn about earthquake safety growing up.
“I was never really taught what to do,” Breck said. “I don’t really think most people in general would know. I’m from Arizona. There are no earthquakes.”
ShakeAlert is a tool managed by the U.S. Geological Survey that can detect when Earthquakes are coming and notify people before they arrive, even if only by a few seconds. According to the ShakeAlert website, the alert can “save lives and reduce injuries” because it warns people that an earthquake is coming so that they can get to a safe place.
Dueñas said the ShakeAlert tool is particularly useful in medical situations, like surgery, where a doctor may only have a few moments to stop operating on a patient before an earthquake hits. The alert comes through like any other type of emergency phone alert and will appear as a banner on the user’s lock screen.
Junior Annalia Garrett said she had not heard of ShakeAlert and wished more people talked about it.
“I would love it if Apple notified me about using those kinds of things because that was my first time hearing about it just now,” said Garrett. “That would be very helpful.”
Garrett is from Orange County, which she explained has better prepared her for what to do during earthquakes.
“I feel like it’s just so common,” Garrett said. “I would know what to do just from in previous schooling when they’ve told us to duck and cover. I feel like I know the basic stuff. Like I would know what to do if it happened right now.”
Every year, the Malibu Department of Public Safety hosts an annual Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill to help residents prepare for what to do in an Earthquake. Dueñas said her department may consider including a segment about what ShakeAlert is, to better educate people on how to use the service. She said doing this might cause instant action, rather than confusion when people see the alert pop up on their screen.
Dueñas also helps teach a community response team class to stop people from making avoidable mistakes.
“I think the idea is that you should take protective measures,” Dueñas said. “But I think it is still so new. People are like, you know, what do I do?”
Dueñas recommended Malibu residents have supplies that could last them up to three weeks in case of a bad earthquake where the electricity, water or gas could go out.
“People have gone through it,” Dueñas said. “The pandemic taught people stuff too. We suddenly had no toilet paper. It’s silly but it’s the whole disruption of the system, the supply chain, or infrastructure. Being mentally and physically prepared for that because if you’re dependent on power for a medical device, you have to have a –plan.”
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