Gateway Emergency Preparedness Center
The Hayward Fault in Oakland, California
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The Gateway Emergency Preparedness Exhibit Center is a minimalist structure that resembles both the skeleton of a burned building and the framework of a new home. It makes a fitting setting for me, your About Geology guide, to describe the dreadful effects of the magnitude-7 earthquake of which this fault is capable. But "A Day on the Line" tells that story in more detail.
All of the land around this spot was burned in the 1991 fire. Every large earthquake causes fires, but the Hayward fault's "big one" will cut many gas lines while taking down many live power lines. Many streets will be impassable and many water lines will be broken. Bad as the Hills fire was, this conflagration may well be worse.
While a tour of the Hayward fault is a fascinating experience for the scientifically minded, it is a sobering one too. The fault is a sleeping giant that has been quiet since 21 October 1868. Since that time a densely settled metropolis has arisen upon it, calamity waiting to happen. Equanimity is not an option.
Photo (c) 2005 Fleur Helsingor, reproduced by permission. (fair use policy)
