Napa Valley is famous worldwide for its bucolic setting, striking topography, rare wildflowers, and, of course, wine. But in 2014, Napa Valley became famous for something else: a destructive earthquake that claimed at least one life, injured hundreds, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Damage from the M 6.0 temblor was so severe it prompted then-president Obama to declare parts of the region a disaster area.
This August marks ten years since the Napa earthquake, making the celebrated California locale the perfect setting for some reflection on life-safety and other lessons learned that day, August 24, 2014. That was the focus of a recent Earthquake Country Alliance workshop in Napa. Attendees included CEA Advisory Panel member Daniel Homsey and CEA Senior Media Officer Ben Deci.
The workshop included a look at the seismology of the region with Mike Oskin, a UC Davis professor who directed a team studying the earthquake, and presentations from Napa County’s disaster response team focused on incorporating geographic information systems in emergency damage assessments. Then, to cap it off, it was time to talk wine.
Sixty gallons of wine (or just shy). That’s how much a wine barrel holds. Full, it will weigh upwards of 550 pounds. And if you’re a busy vintner, you’ve got those barrels stacked five or six high in your cellar. It would take severe shaking of the earth to move, much less topple, that weight. But if you’re a busy vintner working in your cellar, and the earth does start shaking that severely, you want to give yourself every second you can to get out of the way before those barrels come crashing down.
The Earthquake Country Alliance workshop concluded with a tour of a nearby wine cellar for a first-hand look at the steps winemakers are taking to make their stock more resilient to earthquakes. From strapping barrels down to storage racks that can withstand vigorous shaking, the hardships suffered in Napa a decade ago are being put to good use there today as lessons learned.