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About 600 Without Water After Napa Quake

  •  Bob Moffitt 
Monday, August 25, 2014 | Sacramento, CA
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Noah Berger / AP
 

Noah Berger / AP

The magnitude 6.0 quake hit just over 24 hours ago and a number of buildings are damaged and unsafe to enter. 

Capital Public Radio's Bob Moffitt is in Napa following the story. 

Update 11 a.m. Officials Provide An Update On Napa Earthquake Cleanup

City officials gave an update on the situation in Napa in the wake of Sunday's temblor.

Officials are advising residents to use bottled water or to boil water for cooking. There are 16 more buildings red tagged as of Monday morning, including the city's Senior Center. 

Some road closures in downtown Napa are still in effect and crews fielded 90 calls for gas leaks. Meanwhile, the number of those injured is at 208, with one person still in critical.

Update 9:30 a.m. Residents Make Use Of Emergency Water Stations

Crews in Napa are still cleaning up and assessing damage from yesterday's earthquake. One major issue has been access to water. About 600 people have been without water since the quake hit a little over 24 hours ago.

The city has set up emergency water stations for residents to fill up bottles and jugs. Diane Sarant lives in a housing complex for seniors in Napa. She walked four blocks this morning to fill up her container. 

"We have no water rand this is where public works - they advertised on television that we could water at two stations, so I thought I should get here as early as I could to get in line," says Sarant.

A handful of people stayed overnight at shelter operated in Napa by the American Red Cross. The aid agency also says it has helped hundreds of others with food and health care. 

City of Napa Website

 

600 people without water #napaquake. Hose connected to fire hydrant. pic.twitter.com/IvBU9WCzNF— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) August 25, 2014

Meet Diane. Out of water. Worried about seniors ability to walk blocks for water after #napaquake pic.twitter.com/JjabLz0OOu

— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) August 25, 2014

Update 9 a.m. Roadway Closures In Downtown Napa

Access to water is an issue this morning for some people in the Napa area, after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit the region a little over 24 hours ago.  170 people were injured, gas lines were ruptured, and buildings and water lines were damaged. 

Steve Milne: Where are you and what is the situation with the water supply?

Bob Moffitt: We're in Pearl and Coombs Street, where Diane Sarant is filling up her water jug. She's one of 600 people without water since the earthquake. Getting around town by the way is really difficult, they have streets blocked off, some are closed. There are caution signs everywhere. Driving around downtown is next to impossible. This is basically a day off. People are trying to get to water, the rest are hoping everybody gets cleaned up. 

Milne: Wine is such a huge part of the Napa region's economy. Any word on whether many wineries were affected by the quake?

Moffitt: A lot of wine stores had issues with bottles flying off the shelves. I think it depends on where you are. A lot of the downtown area was severely hit, that could be just because the buildings weren't retrofitted. 

Update 8 a.m. Napa Region's Geology Softened Quake's Impact

Governor Brown has declared a state of Emergency in Napa due to the quake. 

Capital Public Radio's Capitol Bureau Chief Ben Adler is covering that part of the story.

Steve Milne: What does the State of Emergency mean for Napa?

Ben Adler: It means that state aid can flow more freely, that all state agencies and departments are coordinating, you’ve got at the emergency operations center in the Sacramento area, the national guard, CHP and the Office of the Emergency Services, the emergency management agency, everyone’s coming together and a whole bunch of other agencies, the state geologist is there and they’re all working collaboratively together in trying to find the best aid for the Napa region. It paves the way for federal financial assistance. 

Milne: You talked with Office of Emergency Management Officials.  What are they saying about the situation there?

Adler: As of yesterday afternoon, they felt they had a handle on things. It wasn’t always that case. After every earthquake, there’s the “dark period.”  Where there’s a lot of people without power, you’re looking to see if there’s fires, are there water main breaks, road, bridge, pavement breaks and you’re trying to size up all of the damage. It took them half a day to size everything up and say, "You know what as bad as it was, it could’ve been a lot worse." The state geologist credited the soft mud the geology of the Napa region for cushioning a lot of impact of the quake.

Update: 7:45 a.m. About 600 Without Water In Napa

Steve Milne: What are the big priorities today? 

Bob Moffitt: The priorities are assessing what’s damaged, what are the structural damages. Inspectors red-tagged 30 buildings 33 buildings saying they were unsafe to occupy. There are a number of other buildings that have been yellow-tagged meaning that they have to be cleaned up. Some of the damage is obvious, some other damage you have to look for a little bit before you see it.

Also 600 people are without water right now, the city is providing water for them at two different dispensaries.

600 people without water #napaquake. Hose connected to fire hydrant. pic.twitter.com/IvBU9WCzNF

— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) August 25, 2014

Update 7:30 a.m. Crews Continue To Survey Damage

Steve Milne: What kind of damage are you seeing?

Bob Moffitt: Some areas of town are harder hit than others. But here at the corner of 2nd and Brown, the damage is most extensive. We have three separate buildings that have some serious damage. They’re all older than nature. Some of them have new brick facades, but they cover old brick buildings. Other buildings, there are bricks all over the street, and parts of buildings have collapsed. Red tags up and down the street, one lone exception, the Molinari Tea and Pastry shop, that’s the only building that doesn’t have any major damage.

Milne: What kind of work will crews be doing today?

Moffitt: Access to water definitely is a problem. The water main ruptured yesterday, and some people are without power. They are having to go water dispensing stations in town, other crews in the city will be out assessing checking out buildings, to make sure they are free from issues.  Some of the buildings, if you walk by you don’t see it at first, and you look down the side or an alleyway, you’ll see a large crack. Not all of the damage is really noticeable at first glance. 

NPR Report On How The Earthquake Are Impacting Napa Wineries

33 buildings red tagged #napaquake Yellow tagged businesses need to cleanup. pic.twitter.com/OyOoqWPJfN

— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) August 25, 2014

.@redcross says it will reevaluate #napaquake shelter today. Possible people who spent night at home will come here pic.twitter.com/HHJ3AZ5Les

— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) August 25, 2014

Update 7 a.m. Water Still An Issue In Napa

Steve Milne: What’s the situation there?

Bob Moffitt:  Eight people spent the night, about 240 people or so needed service from the Red Cross, that’s about 70 families. The damage downtown seemed to have been limited to older buildings, many of those were old brick construction that had not been retrofitted for earthquake safety. The Red Cross thinks there may be more people that may decide to take advantage of the shelter  tonight and come in for help if they spent an uncomfortable night at home. Many people are still without water because water main breaks.

Milne: What happens next?

Moffitt: Well, that’s the thing, there have to be inspection of roads and bridges, there are many buildings around town. There are also other communities that sustained damage, Vallejo being one of them. Inspectors are going to be out looking at roads, bridges trying to figure out what exactly was damaged, make sure they don’t have any surprises.

Milne: What's the greatest challenge right now?

Moffitt: Right now, water is the biggest one. Power was out to a substantial amount of people immediately after the quake yesterday. PG&E says they’re back up online to a tune of about 99 percent. Water is the big thing. There are a couple of stations where people can go. The last thing that I read from the city is that the water is safe to wash with but not safe to drink.

Update 6:30 a.m. -- Hundreds Require Assistance From Red Cross

Dozens of buildings are still unsafe to enter in and around Napa, after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the region yesterday morning.  Crews are still inspecting the damage, and clean-up continues today. The quake led to damaged gas and water lines, and fires that burned several mobile homes.  A handful of people spent the night at a shelter.  

Woody Baker-Cohn is with the American Red Cross, which is operating the shelter. He says hundreds of people have required other assistance.

"It's everything from people came to get a hot meal. We've got health services people.  A number of people have chronic diseases and were without their prescriptions, things like that, due to the earthquake. We've got crisis counselors here, so it's everything from food to health," says Baker-Cohn.

More than 170 people were injured in the quake, including two adults and one child who were critically hurt. Storefront windows were also blown out, and some historic buildings sustained major damage. The earthquake is the largest to shake the Bay Area since the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta quake in 1989.

Update 6:00 a.m. -- More aftershocks expected in Napa area

(AP) - Scientists say there could be aftershocks for several weeks following yesterday morning's 6.0-magnitude earthquake that shook Napa, California. The quake struck the heart of the state's wine country.

The damage assessment continues today -- but the initial assessment found that dozens of homes and buildings in the region were unsafe to occupy. They include an old county courthouse, where a 10-foot wide hole opened a view of the offices inside.

The quake was the largest to shake the San Francisco Bay Area since 1989.

State Geologist John Parrish is warning that buildings damaged in the quake will be more susceptible to collapse from aftershocks. The quake caused gas and water lines to rupture, sparking fires. Four homes in a mobile home park were destroyed.

A Napa hospital treated more than 170 people in the emergency room, though hospital officials couldn't say how many of them were there for injuries suffered in the quake. Twelve more people were admitted for broken bones and other medical problems directly related to the quake, including an adult who remained in critical condition last night.


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 earthquakeNapaSouth Napa Earthquake

Bob Moffitt

Former Sacramento Region Reporter

Bob reported on all things northern California and Nevada. His coverage of police technology, local athletes, and the environment has won a regional Associated Press and several Edward R. Murrow awards.  Read Full Bio 

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