Few Bay Area Homeowners Retrofit Houses For Quake Safety

Monday marked the anniversary of the Great Quake of 1906 along with the small quake near Pacifica served as reminders that another big one could strike at any time.

But experts say most Bay Area residents are unprepared.

At 5:12 a.m. on Monday morning, sirens sounded at the same time the ground began to violently shake in San Francisco 105 years ago.

Danielle Hutching of the Association of Bay Area Government said the yearly celebration serves not only as a historical commemoration, but as a reminder to get ready for the next major earthquake in the Bay Area.

Polls show only about 22% of Californians said they're prepared the next big one. But engineers claim an earthquake kit is not enough. Retrofitting your house is the only way to protect what is often a person's biggest investment.

Bay Area engineer Danielle Hutchings is spending $10,000 to retrofit the 1920s-era house she recently bought in Alameda.

As the earthquake program coordinator for the Association of Bay Area Governments or ABAG, Hutchings argued that between $5,000 and $15,000 of prevention could save hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage.

ABAG estimates 350,000 people are going to be without homes after a major earthquake.