October 17 was the 18th anniversary of the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake that struck the Bay area.  But a recent story by the Bay Area's local ABC affiliate, ABC7, chose to focus on another earthquake, a 1868 earthquake of about the same magnitude that occurred on the Hayward Fault. According to the USGS, the Hayward Fault has a return period of about 140-years and  "It's the most heavily urbanized fault in the U.S. and it's just waiting to go off..." Next year will be the 140-th anniversary of the last earthquake on the Hayward Fault. At some point it has the potential to be a very bad earthquake there. More after the break. (Photo by sanbeiji)

ABC7News story. 

It has been estimated that only 10-percent of the Bay Area's population is ready for the "big one." If that "big one" hits on the Hayward fault, it may leave 100,000 people homeless, 58 buildings destroyed and more than 200 buildings heavily damaged. Total losses may number $28 billion dollars and several thousand deaths. Those statistics are from the U.S. Geological Survey.

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