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I specialize in all of coastal Orange County including: Newport Beach, San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Newport Coast, Corona del Mar and Newport Beach. Many of the sales that we do are never on the market. Please call me either to find out more about these private opportunities or for a complimentary and confidential market evaluation of your home.

Real Estate in Laguna Beach and Orange County

In today's challenging Laguna Beach real estate market, selecting the right real estate agent is crucial. It can make all the difference in the world. Whether you're planning on buying, selling, or you just have a question, feel free to call Nancee Swensson.

Japan Earthquake Raising Hope for Predicting Earthquakes

The single most asked question we hear is if there is any way to predict an earthquake.

The latest news on this topic is that MIT Technology Review reported that according to scientists, the infrared emissions above the epicenter increased dramatically in the days before the devastating earthquake in Japan. This theory is currently under investigation with a hope of a report due by the end of 2011.

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Several other ideas are keeping scientists busy trying to develop relationships that can help to predict earthquakes. One area of study is the relationship between magnetic and electrical charges in rock material and earthquakes. Some scientists have hypothesized that these electromagnetic fields change in a certain way just before an earthquake. Seismologists are also studying gas seepage and the tilting of the ground as warning signs of earthquakes.

For example, in 2009 a technician at Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics claimed that he was able to predict the L'Aquila earthquake by measuring the radon gas seeping from the Earth's crust. Emission of radon as an earthquake precursor has been studied since the seventies, but the research has not resulted in successful prediction methods. The claim by Giuliani was investigated by the International Commission on Earthquake Forecasting established by the Italian government, but was not substantiated in their report.

One traditional method used by scientists to predict where major earthquakes are likely to occur has been based on the movement of the plates in the Earth and location of fault zones and studying the history of earthquakes in the region to detect the pressure point along fault lines.

Another way listed in USGS is to estimate the likelihood of future earthquakes is to study how fast strain accumulates. Scientists measure how much strain accumulates along a fault segment each year, how much time has passed since the last earthquake along the segment, and how much strain was released in the last earthquake. This information is then used to calculate the time required for the accumulating strain to build to the levels that result in an earthquake. In the United States, only the San Andreas Fault system has adequate records for using this prediction method.

According to the USGS website, based on scientific data, probabilities can be calculated for potential future earthquakes.In 2003, scientists forecasted that by 2032, the probability of a major EQ occurring in the San Francisco Bay area is 67% and 60% in Southern California.

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Your Biannual Reminder Checklist is Below!

Headline

Preparedness Checklistyou have everything ready, but have you remembered to check it lately?

Predicting Earthquakeswhat to look for, what we know, and what we hope to know in the future

Whose Fault is it?

Are residents along the San Andreas fault due for another major earthquake?

They Aren't All Bad

Heart-warming stories of earthquakes and the people that step up to help out

Heart-warming Stories of Earthquakes

In 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the newly built post office building (still standing today) was saved by the superhuman efforts of the 46 men who worked there, all of whom refused military orders to leave in advance of the fires. Instead they battled back the blaze, covering the windows with mailbags soaked with water. It took them all day and most of the night to keep the blaze at bay. Once safety was assured, they picked up the toppled furniture and returned to endless racks of sorting mail. By day break, only 2 days after the San Andreas Fault had ruptured, the U. S. Post office was open for business.

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Since all wires were down, there was no telegraph system in place. A major effort was mounted to see that outgoing letter mail was collected properly and on time and that it was sent across the Bay to catch outbound postal trains.

Temporary tented post offices were set up in the refugee camps, to ensure that those without either homes or addresses were able to send letters to their loved ones. Bits of cardboard, cuffs, pieces of wrapping paper, newspapers with an address on the margin, pages of books and sticks of wood were all accepted with or without the two cent stamp.

Due to their incredible efforts, not even one piece of mail went missing after the 8.25 earthquake.

Please call Disaster Solutions Services if you or someone you know is in need of the following:

School Safety Program
Disaster Supply Kits
Commercial Plans
Residential Plans
Seismic Study
Schematic Site Plans
Business Continuity of Operation Plans

and more!

Remember- with DSS, every plan is a custom plan. · (949) 833-9900

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The “Big One” just got bigger………

State of California straddles on Pacific and North American plates. The earthquakes of California are caused by movement of these two large blocks of earth’s crust past each other. The Northern American plate extends east to Iceland and the Pacific plate extends west to Japan. The Pacific plate is moving northwest, scraping horizontally past North American plate at a rate of about 2 inches per year. About two thirds of the 2 inch movement occurs on the San Andreas Fault and some parallel faults such as San Jacinto, Elsinore and Imperial faults. Over time, theses four faults are responsible for almost half of the major earthquakes in the region. In geology language, this is considered fast, unique and dangerous.

While generations of Californians have knowingly elected to live in the earthquake stricken lands as close as a few miles away from Fault lines, only a few have experienced a major San Andreas earthquake.

The last major earthquake on this fault line was in 1906 in San Francisco. In Southern California, the last major earthquake was over 150 years ago with a magnitude of 7.9 rupturing the central California to San Bernardino. Damage from this earthquake was not substantial since only a few people lived in the area.

As published in the Los Angeles Times report in October 2010, the new research showing the section of the fault is long overdue for a major earthquake. Now, according to U.S. Geological Survey seismologist, Lucy Jones, it is entirely possible that all 340 miles of the southern San Andrea could be ready to erupt at any time: “All of it has plenty enough stress for it to be ready to go: The biggest implication being the increased likelihood that when the big earthquake hits, it will grow into the “wall-to-wall” rupture.

One of the critical areas between San Bernardino through Coachella Valley to Salton Sea has not had any activity for over 300 years. Accumulating centuries’ worth of strain, experts believe another major earthquake is likely to happen on this section of the fault within our life time that will shake all of Southern California and many areas will be heavily damaged. The same report indicates that according to Lucy Jones “if the rupture has been made ….that’s a lot of momentum that will keep the rupture moving down the fault”

Whose Fault is it?

Since there will definitely not be enough resources to deal with the aftermath, Whose Fault is it if you and your family are not prepared to deal with it?

HOM Real Estate Group
1200 Newport Center Drive 100 • Newport Beach, CA 92660
Direct: (949) 813-6883 • Office: (949) 478-7727
Fax: (949) 478-7727
DRE# 00861443