The strongest earthquake to affect Napa, California since 1989 struck at 3:20 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2014. This magnitude 6.0 earthquake injured more than 170 people and damaged about 100 homes leaving them unsafe for people to live in. One survivor was  a 13 year old boy who was in his home sleeping beneath the fireplace when suddenly the bricks from the  fireplace fell on top of him; leaving him in critical condition. Currently, he has recovered and is now receiving therapy for his injuries.

There is an estimated $1 Billion dollars in damage due in part by the many fires caused by ruptured gas lines all over the city. Not only were gas lines ruptured but so were the water lines! So in some cases fire fighters didn’t even have water to fight the fires. Due to the lack of water, 6 mobile homes were completely destroyed by the fire that started from the ruptured gas lines. Thankfully everyone living there were able to evacuate their homes in time thanks to caring neighbors who made sure everyone was safe.

Napa Valley is well known for its many vineyards which were also damaged by this earthquake. Countless barrels filled with wine were knocked over resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of wine to go to waste. It is very unlikely that the damage to some vineyards caused by this record breaking earthquake will effect wine production in the USA.

Luckily Miami does not get earthquakes due to its location on Earth’s tectonic plates.  In this case, many of us living here have never experienced an earthquake and even fewer know what to do during an earthquake.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if an earthquake like that happened here in the middle of the night. I think I would stay away from things that can fall on top of me like a book shelf.” said sophomore Kylie Wang.

Needless to say earthquakes are very dangerous and it is amazing that no lives were lost due to this disaster. Reviewing basic earthquake saftey tips that can also be used in other natural disasters like hurricanes and tropical storms is one important step to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws our way.