los angeles
earthquake
lucy jones
interview by EMILIEN CRESPO
Seismic studies agree that major earthquakes occur on the San Andreas fault in California about every 100 or 150 years, and the Big One is overdue. No one, including the public administration, seems to really take this threat so seriously. But Lucy Jones does… She’s the voice of earthquakes and safety in Los Angeles. We met her in her Pasadena office.
EMILIEN CRESPO — What drew you to the study of disasters and, in particular, earthquakes?
LUCY JONES — It was a combination of factors: I liked the science better, it solved problems, and I could play in the mountains! When I first talked to MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] about grad school, they said, “Do you want to go to Afghanistan this summer?” “Sounds good!” So, I spent a summer in the mountains of Afghanistan recording earthquakes in 1976. It’s…