if the san andreas slips down there and comes this way, within this five kilometer zone of san franciscothe richmond/sunset is going to shake dra mat cli harder. >> in 1906 it didn't matter because the rupture went from the ep pi center off of lake merced and went in both directions. so the doppler effect was felt in both direction. >> also in 1906, nobody was here, right? >> well sue sudro was here. >> if a tree falls in the forest, and nobody hears it, well now there's a lot of housing here and somebody's going to feel it. >> i saw a map that this area was severely shean in 1906 although almost no houses were here. we can expect the same action? >> i think you have to different differentiate, but you may not get as much damage here as you would at the shore line or san francisco bay. this is a rough site -- >> if you're going to be out in richmond, it's right there. >> yeah. i have heard that along ocean beach here and a few blocks in, there are some special hazards because of the fact that there's water underlying the ground and so on. is that -- >> yeah. there are hazards associated

the granddaddy of all of these is the san andreas fault. it is the longest. it can generate the greatest earthquakes. >> it is just south of san francisco. it goes offshore down here. >> from my house to the fault is about 3 miles on average. >> the closest area in san francisco to the fault is this area here in the southwest part of the city. people said that the closer you are, there are conditions that exacerbate issues. >> the fault's effect on development depends on the fault type and soil component. the san andreas is the main fault. there is the hayward fault. the difference between the two is that the san andreas is predominantly offshore. the hayward fault actually crosses beneath populated areas and poses a larger threat. as we speak, there is a 67% probability of a major earthquake on one of these faults in the next 30 years. it is of major -- high probability. it is a magnitude 6.5. the 1906 was 7.9. the 1957 earthquake was 5.7 on the san andreas. the loma prieta was 7.1. it was so far with it we got a little effects of it. that is the overview of

this is closest to the san andreas fault. many people believe that the closer you are to default, the greater the ground motion might be. that is a portion that is a south westerly portion of san francisco that has some special earthquake hazards. we are here to talk about the geology of this area. why don't you tell us about what is going on? >> there is a giant step here at the edge of the escarpment, the edge of the landslide. all the land to the west of us is part of a landslide that is upwards of 200 feet deep. it goes underneath the ocean. it causes damage and it was mapped by the earliest geologists'. there are many kinds of rocks here. there is a big sequence of merced formation. this is a base in deposit that was formed by the interaction at the end of the continental margin. >> this is just on top. this is the same material that we were looking at at the last site. you can see it is on our way to the last side. it is deposited here by wind. it is 40-50 feet thick. this acts as a big sponge. the water flows through a

of the discussion but we know the likelihood of a catastrophic event in california because the san andreas fault isn't 100%. is going to happen. we don't know when. what is the likelihood of an electromagnetic pulse? you know what that is? blowup and atomic bomb in the atmosphere and wipe out all the electronic circuits. i don't want to put a second book during my discussion but it is called one second after is the title. it describes the breakdown of society. the likelihood of such an event occurring is not necessarily great right now. is not likely to occur. but the scope of that would be absolutely beyond anything the united states could do. the scale and scope, that is why wherever you live you have to evaluate the risks. the risk of a blackout occurring almost anywhere in this country is pretty realistic. a squirrel legally drunk, al qaeda or has the law. they may eventually figure out you want to bring the country to its knees have a coordinated assault on substations and take the grid down. or better yet this is a brilliant. do a cyberattack. how many of you could go three or four d

. >>> there's some shaking on the san andreas fault last night a magnitude 2.9 quake around 12:19 this morning. the epicenter offshore from san francisco. two miles southwest of the city's zoo. it was felt mostly in san francisco and the northern peninsula. a few people in the north and east bay areas also reported feeling that quake. >>> hurricane irene may be gone but the damage it left behind has left hundreds of people in the eastern u.s. stranded still this morning. vermont and upstate new york are among the hardest-hit areas. lot floodwaters are receding, hundreds of roads are impassable because of fallen trees and damaged bridges. the storm is blamed for at least three deaths in vermont and at least 40 total deaths in the states affected by irene. we want to take live pictures. these are aerials in the new jersey area and you can see just how widespread that flooding has been. from carolina to maine, 5 million homes and businesses are still without power today. >> that's a problem because you're trying to get on with your life again. you have all that water to get rid of and you

by contrast, the sierra, nevada, mountains, associated with the san andreas fault.hows, it's still capable of causing earthquakes and i was speaking to dr. arthur lamb, the head of earthquake science at columbia university's observatory who said that the term wake-up call is, of course, an overused term, but this is a wake-up call. that there are earthquakes in the east. there are areas, throughout the united states, including the east, and throughout the world, that are not associated usually or mindful of earthquakes but are very capable of causing earthquakes. he said this will make us take a second look at our buildings because there's an old saying in earthquake service that earthquakes themself seldom kill people. what kills. see badly constructed buildings. if we look at buildings that are old that have bricks on them or structures like tunnels and bridges that can cause a lot of damage if they're severely damaged, we should make sure that they are in shape and take some kind of shaking of this magnitude, bay it's not unexpected. there was an earthquake of th

for example, in turkey, we've seen the north anatolian fault zone, which is very similar to the san andreaset large earthquakes that are building up the stress in the next area, you see a sequence of earthquakes occurring. >> sreenivasan: so i've got to is ask ask, you felt this in virginia, as a seismologist or geologist, what goes through your mind? >> i was on theth floor of the u.s.g.s. headquarters just outside of washington, d.c. and on the first rumble you're thinking about different causes but as it keeps going and you're feeling that rolling motion you pretty quickly know what it is. and i dutifully dropped, covered and held on. i got under a solid desk. since i wasn't too concerned the building was going to be coming down, but it's really the non-structural damage. it's the fact that light fixture cans fall, you can have books, bookcases, that sort of thing. >> sreenivasan: help put this in perspective for folks in the few seconds we have remaining here. for people who might not have been there to feel a japan or haiti. how much more powerful were those? >> the haiti earthquake wa

of course, it wasn't always like that, not with the san andreas fault running just to the east of hereof earthquakes like the one that decimated the city of san francisco 30 miles to the south back in 1906. back then when it struck, this entire peninsula moved 18 feet to the north in just under a minute. still, despite that violent past, now it is simply extraordinary. as a proud californian, i've been hiking the trails around point reyes national seashore since i was a kid. in this park there are plenty to choose from, over 140 winding through 71,000 acres of landscape. 81 miles of protected coastline and i couldn't wait to get back. so much of the beauty of point reyes is like all of the california coastline, the sweep and panoramic as the pacific spills as far as the eye can see and it's such a sensory experience here. when you come down out of the trails and you can hear the cries of the sea birds and the salt air mixes with the scent of all the fir and pine and eucalyptus, and for me it sounds and smells and looks like home. but while point reyes' beauty lives in the quiet calm, 2

. >>> you may spot some changes at the crystal springs reservoir and san andreas lake.are retrofitting the regional water system to withstand a 7.5 earthquake. the county times reports divers have placed yellow booms in the water to minimize the impact of work beneath the sur ifs. the booms protect plants and animals by keeping sediment from floating out. the seismic retrofit is slated to be completed in two years. >>> the time is 8:41. it's been around as long as some people can remember, the technology that is just turning 20 years old today. plus, a texas city is facing a lawsuit for not paying a design firm. first here's the traffic on the golden gate bridge. so little foggy. see you back here in just a bit! [ male announcer ] this... is the montrose pet hospital -- montrose, california. in here, anarchy meets order. working with at&t, doctors set up a broadband solution to handle data and a mobility app to stay connected with their business. so they can run the office... even when they're not in the office. call at&t and see what we can do for you. with unlimited v

andrea zacker will plea place that individual -- will replace that individual. >>> here at home san franciscoce officers reportedly are handing out fewer traffic tickets. "the examiner" reports a number of citations of -- the number of traffic cry tases are down 1% -- citations are down 18%. another reason they say this has dropped, drivers are apparently putting counsel their -- putting down their cell phones. in the first five months of this year, they've only hadn'ted out 795 tickets -- handed out 795 tickets. >>> on saturday, 11,000 gallons of a high concentration bleach mixure of bleach and chlorine leaked from the napa county hennessey water treatment plant. they were able to contain it and say this did -- it did not get into a nearby creek or water supply. >>> about 30 minutes, richard cav -- last night mourners gathered for a memorial service for richard chavez. he was the -- he was the brother of the late cesar chavez. they both formed the farm union in the 1960s -- -- dash in the 1960s. -- in the 1960s. >>> reportedly a million californians every week already play online poker on si

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andrea. appreciate that. >>> coming up, jane fonda live. >>> what's the most beautiful place in america? you sent us thousands of entries. now, we will reveal the top ten. . >>> san a bid to run for mayor for a full term without public campaign funding. he is expected to list himself as a candidate this morning. he was city administrator until january when he was an pinned to fill newsome's term. -- after saying for months he won't run lee says he wants to do what is best for the city. >> what is best for your commute? >> traffic out of the central valley. westbound 580 earlier accident now gone. speeds slowing and picking up towards the 680 junction. cal tran running southbound 20 minutes behind schedule. toll plaza traffic slow backed up. >> tempepepepepepepepepepepepepe >> temperatures mid to upper 50s, 60s in mountain view, a lot of clouds around the bay area. flight delays into sfo. 1:00 upper 50s to low 60s. mid to upper 60s san francisco, oakland, richmond 70s until you get to the east bay valley. slight warming [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >>> we go to the most beautiful places in america. you told us your favorites. we have narrowed it down to ten. and we'l