Though California has long been talked of as the earthquake-prone part of the West Coast, scientists say it is possible that “the big one” is just around the bend for the Puget Sound area, a notion that Bellevue residents say scares them.

“Seeing the news about a really big earthquake really shook us,” said resident Hims Jan. “It was a trigger for us to try and learn more.”

A July 20 New Yorker article  that spread over social media recounted the theory that an earthquake around the Cascadia subduction zone that runs just west of the Washington shoreline is overdue. In the midst of the science around that theory, the article’s author Kathryn Schulz describes the devastation a very big earthquake (between 8.7 and 9.2 on the richter scale) will have between the Seattle area and Portland, Ore.

In addition to the subduction zone, the Seattle Fault, one of the three major faults in the state, runs from along the I-90 corridor from Bremerton to Lake Sammamish.

“This is all in follow-up to the New Yorker article,” said Sophia Le, the Office of Emergency Management’s Emergency Coordinator in charge of Public Education & Outreach. “People were asking a lot of questions about what to do during an earthquake, so we saw this as an opportunity.”

More important than when an earthquake would hit, wrote Schulz, was the region’s preparation, or lack thereof. Residents said that issue had been on their minds.

“I want to be ready for an earthquake. We watch the news, terrible things happen all of the time. It’s bound to happen sooner or later,” said resident Alina Rose.

To ward off fear and prepare residents, Le and Sean Cox and Barbara Houplin Garcia of the Citizen Corps Council traveled throughout Bellevue this week to teach locals how to prepare themselves and their neighborhoods for a disaster.

The group focused on preparation for the secondary hazards and effects of an earthquake, such as landslides, dam and lock failures, extended power outages and more. Even on a smaller scale, homes in areas like Factoria sometimes don’t have foundations that are up to current code and could cause partial structural collapses.

Emergency kits with basic supplies are recommended, as are fire extinguishers and hand-crank radios.

But some neighborhoods, such as Somerset, have created contingency plans in the event of an emergency so they can pooled resources, identify skillsets and have good communication.

Many of the 17,000 homes in Somerset have broken into groups of 20-40 and created phone trees. Cox’s group holds an annual block party to touch base and get to know new neighbors, he said.

“By getting neighbors together, it really helps you be prepared,” he said.

Despite the scientific theory that the region is long overdue for a major earthquake, the state has experienced several notable events in the past several decades, said Cox. There were three major earthquakes in 2001, including the 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake in February of that year.

Bellevue and surrounding communities also experience power outages and other events that can leave residents without resources.

“Even doing small steps… will really help you feel empowered and give you a peace of mind,” said Houplin Garcia.

More information can be found on the city’s Office of Emergency Management website at http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/emergency_preparedness.htm.