Lessons Learned From Haiti Earthquake

PALM DESERT- World renowned earthquake preparedness expert Dennis Mileti says when “The Big One” hits California it will come close to shaking as much as the Haiti earthquake. The violent shaking is a concern to experts because it is what creates the damage.Mileti says, “It was a shallow earthquake in Haiti, they saw shaking in the 9 to 10 range, we’ll see almost that, that’s violent.”

When the big one hits California communication and help will be cut off. Experts say you’ll need at least a weeks worth of supplies, including water, food and medical supplies. The San Andreas fault runs through Interstate 10 in Whitewater, it will stop all help from getting to the Coachella Valley according to experts working with scientific models.

The 7.0 quake in Haiti is a good reminder the need for warnings are needed. The new Coachella Valley Earthquake Warning System, known as C.R.E.W.S. will do just that. It will give valley schools and fire departments a heads up that the deadly part of an earthquake is about to happen. KESQ will soon be installing the system in our studios so we can be the first to warn you when an earthquake is about to happen. The warning will allow you to do the most important thing, “Duck, cover and hold on”. While the damage won’t be as bad as Haiti, we’ll see close to $200 billion dollars worth of damage according to experts. Mileti says, “When we’re able to have a early warning system in place it allows us to protect our loves ones to make sure they’re not killed and aren’t injured.”

For more information on the Coachella Valley Earthquake Warning System go to http://crews.earthquakeearlywarning.com/home/