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Obama Issues Disaster Declaration For Napa Quake

Obama Issues Disaster Declaration For Napa Quake

By Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times

President Barack Obama declared California a major disaster site Thursday, unlocking federal funds for recovery efforts in the areas affected by the 6.0-magnitude earthquake near Napa last month.

The Aug. 24 quake resulted in one fatality and more than 280 injuries, devastated more than 100 wineries, and damaged at least 1,000 buildings, many of which were historic properties.

The declaration comes after an official request from Gov. Jerry Brown last week.

According to Brown, the California Department of Insurance estimated that fewer than 5 percent of businesses and homeowners in Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties have earthquake insurance.

Federal aid would cover areas affected by an earthquake from Aug. 24 to Sept. 7, the White House said in a statement.

Even though the earthquake occurred on Aug. 24, the region sustained additional damage from aftershocks, said Veronica Verde, spokeswoman with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The funds are available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments, as well as certain private nonprofit organizations, to help pay for emergency work and to repair or replace facilities damaged by the earthquake.

Federal funding is also available to supplement hazard mitigation measures statewide.

FEMA said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas. More counties and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are completed.

AFP Photo/Josh Edelson

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The Vast Majority Of Californians Shun Quake Insurance

The Vast Majority Of Californians Shun Quake Insurance

By Steve Johnson, San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite California’s ever-present risk of major earthquakes, the number of homeowners in the state with insurance coverage for quake damage has dipped significantly over the last several decades, from 33 percent in 1996 to just 10 percent today.

The reason, say experts and some homeowners: the high cost of coverage, the quarter century lapse in a major quake until Sunday’s shaker in Napa County, and for some people the expectation that the state or federal government will step in to reimburse homeowners when the Big One hits.

“You think about it after the earthquakes,” said 44-year-old Robert Jordan of Napa, who has avoided getting quake insurance despite living through the 1989 Loma Prieta quake and another shaker near his home in 2000. “But it’s amazing how quickly we go back to our normal ways.”

Despite having major damage to glassware and other breakable items in his kitchen during Sunday’s quake, he added, he’s still probably not going to get a quake policy because “it’s expensive and major quakes happen so infrequently, it seems like a luxury more than a need.”

Many other people share that view, said Glenn Pomeroy, CEO of the California Earthquake Authority, a public agency that provides about 70 percent of all of the residential quake policies in the state.

“It’s out of sight, out of mind.” Because it had been so long since a major temblor rocked California, he added, “A lot of people just fail to realize it could happen to them.”

Less than 6 percent of homeowners in Napa had the insurance, the authority said.

Aside from the length of time since the last major quake, the cost of coverage is another big reason many people shun insurance.

To be covered for earthquake damage other than fire, homeowners typically need an earthquake policy in addition to their homeowner’s insurance, and the average annual cost of earthquake premiums statewide is $798. The cost varies depending on whether the insurance comes with a standard 15 percent deductible or a 10 percent deductible. Either way, the deductible could leave homeowners with a sizable bill even if they are insured.

For example, if a person with a 10 percent deductible has insured their home for $400,000 — excluding the value of their land, which typically isn’t affected in a quake — and they suffer $100,000 worth of quake damage, they’d be responsible for $40,000, with their insurance covering the rest. Similarly, that same homeowner with a 15 percent deductible would be responsible for $60,000.

If a person assumes their house might never sustain more than $60,000 in damages, they might figure quake insurance isn’t worth the annual premium. But state officials say that could prove a risky gamble, since a home’s damage could total well above the deductible, depending on a variety of factors, including the temblor’s size, duration, and proximity, as well as the home’s age, type of construction, and number of stories.

“If they make a decision to not purchase earthquake insurance, they will be on the hook themselves for what may be their most valuable asset and will be responsible for 100 percent of the cost if a damaging earthquake struck,” said the Earthquake Authority’s Pomeroy.

Another common reason people avoid getting quake insurance is because they figure federal officials will come to the rescue with financial assistance after a major shaker. But even if the federal government offers help to those affected by the Napa quake, there is no guarantee it will cover everything.

“Federal and state funds alone are unlikely to be enough to get your life back to its pre-disaster condition,” warns an Earthquake Authority brochure.

One more factor in the relatively low rate of homeowners who buy earthquake insurance might be confusion, said San Francisco lawyer Robert Berg, who specializes in insurance issues.

“The earthquake policies are complicated,” he said. “So people will read them and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m getting out of this.'”

Even so, the Napa quake — where the damage has been estimated by some experts at $1 billion to $4 billion — could prompt more people to reconsider buying a quake policy.

“Most definitely,” said Michael Barry, a spokesman with the Insurance Information Institute, a non-profit industry group. “I’m sure insurance agents in Northern California will be getting a number of calls inquiring about how to go about buying earthquake insurance.”

AFP Photo/Josh Edelson

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Napa Valley, Shaking Off Earthquake, Says It’s Open For Business

Napa Valley, Shaking Off Earthquake, Says It’s Open For Business

By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times

Only hours after the shaking stopped from the biggest quake to hit Napa Valley in 25 years, the phones at Mike Noel’s Napa, Calif., travel agency began to ring. Anxious clients wondered whether the magnitude 6.0 shaker would derail their visit.

“I’ve been telling them that it’s business as usual,” said Noel, who specializes in arranging high-end wine country tours.

Across the valley north of San Francisco, other travel agents, hotel managers, and winemakers are declaring Napa Valley open for business in hopes the quake doesn’t frighten off the 3 million annual visitors who spend $1.4 billion in the region.

With the peak summer season winding down, Napa Valley tourism officials say the effect of the quake should be minimal. Some experts said television footage of broken wine bottles and damaged hotels might even pique long-term interest in the region.

“I wouldn’t underestimate the impact of giving tons of mentions in the news about the area,” said Carl Winston, program director for San Diego State University’s school of hospitality and tourism management.

When Mammoth Mountain was struck by volcanic tremors in 1998, it did little to scare off skiers and snowboarders, Winston said. “In the short term, it is inconvenient but it is far from catastrophic,” he said.

Napa Valley hotel managers say many rooms are booked for the harvest season already and the grape crush in October.

“The crush is about to happen and people are going to come,” said Jeff Perry, general manager of the 59-room Napa Winery Inn, which sustained only cosmetic damage and remains open.

The quake, which struck at 3:20 a.m. Sunday, closed only two of nearly 150 hotels in the valley and damaged about a dozen of the valley’s 500 or so wineries, according to Napa Valley tourism officials. About 90 to 100 homes were labeled unfit to enter, and half a dozen people suffered serious injuries.

Many travelers with upcoming trips to Napa Valley have been calling hotels and wineries to check on the extent of the damage, but few if any have canceled plans, according to hotel managers and local tourism officials.

Ashley Cote, a food and travel blogger from Florida, said she will go ahead with her vacation next week after confirming that her hotel was open and that the quake damage around the valley was minimal.

“The only way we would cancel is if it was unsafe for us to travel,” Cote said. “I have been looking forward to this trip for months and would hate to pass up the opportunity to visit Napa Valley.”

The effect on tourism may be muted because most people visit Napa Valley for only a few hours.

Of Napa Valley’s 3 million annual visitors, about two-thirds drive in for the day from other parts of California, such as San Francisco, according to a 2012 economic impact study by Destination Analysts Inc. The rest of the visitors stay in local hotels and inns.

Visitors spend an average of $459 a day, with overnight guests spending an average of $708 a day, according to the study. Visitors staying with friends or relatives spend an average of $447 a day, while day visitors spend $350.

Tourists spend the biggest share of their money, 35 percent, on shopping, followed by lodging (24 percent), and restaurants (22 percent), the study found. Wine tasting rooms and dining are the most popular activities.

Those worried about quake damage centered around downtown Napa can go to hotels, wineries, and restaurants in towns such as Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga, said Clay Gregory, president and chief executive of Visit Napa Valley.

“There are plenty of things to do in the towns up and down the valley,” he said.

Napa Valley Vintners, a nonprofit trade association, said this year’s weather has been ideal for grapes, marking the third straight year of supreme growing conditions.

The quake did not harm the vineyards or the grapes on the vine, the association said.

“While some individual wineries may experience inventory shortages as a result of the earthquake, it is not expected to have a significant impact on Napa Valley wine inventory in general,” the group said.

Photo via WikiCommons

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Napa Earthquake: Power Restored To Thousands; Cleanup Continues

Napa Earthquake: Power Restored To Thousands; Cleanup Continues

Los Angeles Times

Power has been restored to nearly all of the approximately 70,000 customers in Napa County whose lights went out after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck early Sunday, utility officials said Monday.

The approximately 150 customers who remained without power were expected to have their service restored later Monday morning, according to Pacific Gas & Electric officials.

The quake — centered about nine miles south of the city of Napa — struck at 3:20 a.m. and damaged buildings, cut off power to tens of thousands, sparked fires, broke water mains, caused gas leaks, sent more than 120 people to a hospital, and led Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.

As of early Monday, there were 20 earthquake-related gas-distribution outages, PG&E said. The utility said crews were also in the process of responding to “several hundred” gas-odor calls.

Meanwhile, officials said 90 to 100 homes in the area have been red-tagged — that is, labeled unfit to enter — as a result of the quake, and a severed gas line was being blamed for a fire that destroyed six mobile homes.

Thirty-three buildings in the city of Napa proper were red-tagged as of 5 p.m. Sunday, and numerous others were yellow-tagged, which means people were being granted only limited access.

Of Napa’s 60 water-main breaks, 20 had been isolated as of midday Sunday, but it “may take a full week to get everything restored,” Jack LaRochelle, the city’s director of public works, told reporters.

The earthquake was the largest to strike the Bay Area since the 6.9 Loma Prieta temblor of 1989, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and it lasted 10 to 20 seconds, depending on location.

Napa bore the brunt of the quake’s destruction, as did the downtown area of nearby Vallejo.

Jennifer Patefield, 47, who runs the Mariposa Ice Creamery store in Napa, said she was “jolted” awake and counted to 40 before the motion from the quake stopped. Her refrigerator emptied its contents and the china cabinet was “gone,” Patefield said.

“I surf, and it was like riding a big wave,” Patefield said as she assessed the damage to her home.

Tourists were out in force, some of them startled.

“We just have snowstorms where we come from,” said Cheryllyn Tallman, 56, of New Hartford, N.Y. She and her husband were in the area for the scheduled GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma race. She said her husband was sound asleep when the quake hit.

“For a man who never uses inappropriate language, I heard some colorful words come out,” said Tallman, who added that she took a tip from what she’d seen on TV and headed for a doorway when the shaking began.
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Staff writers Lee Romney and Christine Mai-Duc reported from Napa, and Ryan Parker and Lauren Raab from Los Angeles. Staff writers Evan Wagstaff, Maura Dolan, Paige St. John, and Marisa Gerber in Napa and Rong-Gong Lin II, Hector Becerra, Laura J. Nelson, Cindy Chang, and Amina Kahn in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

AFP Photo/Josh Edelson

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