7.2 Easter Earthquake

I wasn't going to post anymore today but my reverie was interrupted by a large earthquake near Mexicali. Cal Tech has it at 7.2 which is a sizable quake capable of doing a lot of damage. The area this hit is not known for a lot of quality construction so there's no telling what they'll find once they get looking around.

There's never a good time for a big earthquake, but this location and timing is not good for a lot of churches in Southern California. Every Spring Break churches send hundreds of kids down to the Mexicali area to work on missions projects. Since Spring Break is going on right now in many school districts most of those kids probably arrived down there yesterday. I'm sure there are some anxious parents right now.

I used to handle church insurance in Imperial County which borders the part of Mexico where this quake occurred. I would expect to see a some of damage in the Calexico/El Centro/Brawley areas due to the relatively poor construction you find in a lot of older buildings in that area. I recently wrote about one church I had looked at in Calexico and I'd be surprised if that building didn't sustain major damage.

Aftershocks will probably occur for years, and based on normal earthquake behavior we can expect at least one aftershock in the 6.2 range and many in the 5 range.

This area is also troublesome for seismologists...and Southern California residents...because this area is not that far from the southern end of the San Andreas Fault and the area where the next "Big One" is expected to start. We've had a pretty quiet 15 years around here, but it looks like we may be heading into a busier period.

UPDATE: I'm reading the cities on the quake map as aftershocks start adding up and I had church clients in every one of those Imperial County cities: Seeley, Westmorland, Brawley, El Centro, Ocotillo, Calexico, Niland...all of them.

By the way, earthquakes aren't covered on most church insurance policies sold in California. There was a time when you could buy it, but that pretty much ended after the Northridge quake. My advice, if you have significant damage be sure to set it on fire before you call the insurance company. Fire is always covered.