Bracing for the next big earthquake | CNET News.com

Bracing for the next big earthquake | CNET News.com: "'The problem is that since 1906, the Bay Area has grown from about 700,000 to about 7 million (people),' said Tom Brocher, a seismologist at the USGS. 'Our building codes are much more up to snuff for earthquake hazards, but the amount of damage today would be about the same as it was.'

Among scientists' predictions are more than 5,000 deaths, 18,000 hospitalized, and as many as 160,000 flattened homes, rendering half a million people homeless. That likely includes damage to roads, water systems, cell phone networks and even the partially retrofitted Golden Gate Bridge. Silicon Valley, a largely rural area in 1906 but now America's high-tech mecca, would also be hard hit. All in all, researchers predict losses in the range of $60 billion to $300 billion."