My hubby just told me that there was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered on Chino Hills. That is the small suburb east of Los Angeles where his parents live. We got in touch with his parents and they were both pretty far from their house, but we are unsure if their house was damaged in any way. His friend who lives in a town about ten miles away said that a lot of picture frames in his house fell and the glass shattered and he actually ducked for cover. Currently there aren’t so many damage reports coming out of Chino Hills because most people are probably at work. We’re hoping that their house isn’t damaged in any significant way. Most of the homes there are built post 1980 and they should be engineered and reinforced for earthquakes so hopefully the only damage is on some frames and other wall hangings.
The crazy thing about earthquakes is that you can’t really run away from them. It is not like a hurricane, tornado, or fire where you actually see it coming and take the appropriate actions. An earthquake just hits and leaves destruction in its wake. Earthquake insurance is also extremely expensive in California so most homeowners do not have it. I think the best preparation against earthquakes is really cash that’s readily accessible. As long as you have a bit of an emergency fund and can afford shelter and food then it would be okay.
Disasters can really strike anywhere at anytime, but it really is impossible to worry about every possible thing that could happen. Right now we are just waiting to hear back from the hubby’s parents on the condition of their house, and if they need any kind of help we would definitely contribute.
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6 comments ↓
agreed
Yep, read the news in Google “Researchers say there is a tangle of small faults in the area and it will take time to identify the one involved.”
Good thing your hubby’s parent are safe.
I had a personal disaster about a month ago. I was getting ready to leave the house for the afternoon, when I heard the crack of wood- a neighbor’s tree had fallen on my car, just grazing my house and garage as it fell. The damage could have been worse – my car was totaled, but the house and garage escaped except for minor repairs.
My car, a Honda Civic, had 90,000 on it, and was in great shape. Rather than driving it for another 3 years like I’d hoped, I got a very skimpy insurance settlement (seems they don’t give you enough to replace the car, just what it’s worth in your yard. This amount is about $3,000 less than the cost to replace.) That, plus the deductibles for the house and car insurance, put me out about $4500. AND I had decided to purchase a new car rather than used.
No luck.
Glad your parents are ok, and hope their house is ok, too.
Lisa
Things like this only reinforces the need to set an emergency fund BEFORE anything else.
Sam
Fix My Personal Finance
http://fixmypersonalfinance.com/
first of all I have to say that I really hate california.
Second is the state sucks allot and thirdly is that I will never in my life return back to kkkalifornia.
I am right now having a good time right hare in Atlanta Georgia. I currently live close to downtown Atlanta. Compare to Ca, Georgia has way more frienldier people then CA. In Ca everything is about corruption, proverty, missery and ignorance. If you want to escape that missery enviroment, do what many people are now doing today and leave CA. I did a few weeks ago and now I own a house closed to downtown Atlanta and I have a job that pays alot more then any orher job I had in california. For me CA is hell.
My house was burn in the San Bernardino fire in 2003. The destroyed everything I owned. Accouple of months later, I was in a tornadoes in Ventura county California. Then I decided to moved to Nashville Tennessee. Tennessee does have California climate but not natural disasters. Will life in Nashville TN is just like live in California because it’s true that Californians do have Nashville TN in control.
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