Oakland LHMP Hazard Detail

Earthquake

Earthquake is Oakland's most serious natural hazard in the LHMP. Strong shaking, liquefaction, and building failure can harm people across the whole city.

High risk 10/10 priority earthquake
Personalization

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Current Oakland location: No location selected

Current location
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Hazard pages use your saved address and ZIP first. This override only helps fine-tune guidance for neighborhood context like hills or shoreline.

Why Oakland Flags This

Why this is a real threat in Oakland

Oakland sits in a high-risk Bay Area earthquake setting. The plan models major losses from Hayward, Calaveras, and San Andreas scenarios and notes that the whole city is vulnerable.

Location Context

What this page is using

This hazard page is using your saved Oakland location: No location selected.

This page is still grounded in the JSON dataset, but this hazard does not yet have ZIP-specific scoring in the current risk CSV.

What This Means

Why it matters for your situation

Earthquake risk is not limited to one neighborhood. Everyone in Oakland is exposed, but older buildings, soft-story buildings, unreinforced masonry, and liquefaction areas face bigger danger.

Realistic Impact

What could happen

You could lose power, water, and phone service. Roads may be blocked, older buildings may be unsafe to enter, and many households could need shelter after a larger Hayward-fault event.

A major earthquake could damage homes, apartments, schools, roads, and utilities at the same time. Recovery could take a long time, especially in older buildings and liquefaction-prone areas.

Action Steps

Interactive checklist

Earthquake Preparedness: 0/5 complete

High risk
App Flow

Where to go next

This page is the deep-dive layer of the app. Once you understand this hazard, use the map to see spatial context or return to the dashboard to compare it with the rest of Oakland’s hazard priorities.

Open Unified Map Back to Ranked Hazards
Top Risks

Main dangers

  • Strong shaking that damages or collapses vulnerable buildings.
  • Liquefaction and ground failure that damage roads, utilities, and foundations.
  • Hazardous materials releases and utility breaks.
  • Mass displacement and shelter needs after a major event.
  • Large debris volumes that slow response and recovery.
Priority Reason

Why this is ranked here

Earthquake is the LHMP's highest-ranked hazard. It affects the whole city, has a high regional probability, and produces the largest modeled damage, debris, and displacement totals in the plan.

Locations

Areas mentioned in the dataset

  • Citywide.
  • High and very high liquefaction susceptibility areas.
  • Hayward fault scenario area.
  • Calaveras fault scenario area.
  • San Andreas Peninsula scenario area.
At-Risk Groups

Who may need extra planning

  • People in unreinforced masonry and soft-story buildings.
  • People with disabilities or mobility limitations.
  • People who may not receive or use ShakeAlert because of technology or communication barriers.
  • Equity Priority Communities.
History

Historical examples

  • 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (M6.9), FEMA DR-845, included Alameda County.
  • 2014 South Napa earthquake (M6.02).
  • 2025 Berkeley earthquake (M4.29).