Dear Mercalli Family,

I would like to first thank-you for your interest in moving into one of my properties in beautiful Los Angeles, California. I am hopeful that the home you have chosen will surpass your standards and you will have a flourishing life living in it. Our city is magnificent in many of its own rights. It should be brought to your knowledge that you are moving near the San Andreas Fault. California happens to be one of the more seismically active areas in the U.S. This is a very exciting idea to want to live and experience seismic activity. Minor quakes are common occurrences for this area. Often quakes lead to tsunamis which can cause a lot of structural damage. Living on certain soils is an important factor in where you choose to live. Soils that are sandy due to water saturation are a type of which you should steer clear of. It would be a better choice to find solid rock as they are more stable during a quake. Rebuilding costs may come in the form of very high numbers The beauty of the fault is that it has created what Los Angeles is today. The weather is lovely year round, the ocean is so close you can smell, the view is breathtaking and although a potential earthquake can happen at any given moment a massive quake isnt expected for another 100 years or so. So it would be best to enjoy what you have now and not the little things. Live out your dream and see it through. There is a number technological methods of which scientists have come to trace earthquakes. Creepmeters warn us when there are movements in the earths soil while strainmeters measure seismographic activities for actual tremors in the earth and sizes of the quake. Magnetometers measure magnetic field changes; GPS is a newer technology that has been used to track the movement of earth. The results can predict future change, a better knowledge of how we are being affected by earthquakes and most importantly it helps surveyors in their building techniques. The Richter scale or the Mercalli scale measures the aftermath of earthquakes. While Richter scale measures the released energy, Mercalli scales can measure the felt intensity at a certain location. Here are a few links that you can look through to get you better acquainted with your new living: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ http://www.quake.ca.gov/ http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/awareness/follies.html http://www.scec.org/education/public/allfacts.html

I hope this have provided you with a great basis for what your new life will be like; living in your dream home, in the most exciting way possible. Sincerely, Your Real-Estate Agent,

Chelsea Eugene