Alameda County Ranked Among Least Prepared for Disasters: Why This Training (and Your House) Matter
San Francisco Bay Area
June 25, 2026
Alameda County just got called out again – and not in a good way.
A 2024 analysis by ClaimGuide, covered by SFGATE and other outlets, ranked California as the riskiest state in the nation for natural disasters, and put Alameda County as the 5th least prepared county in the entire U.S. when you combine disaster risk, social vulnerability, and community resilience. (sfgate.com)
At the same time, another 2026 study highlighted that California ranks third in the nation for costly natural disaster risk, with huge expected annual losses from wildfires, floods, storms, and earthquakes. (edhat.com)
In plain language:
- We live over the Hayward Fault, in a county with serious earthquake, flood, and wildfire risk. (sfgate.com)
- And we’re statistically under‑prepared for what’s coming.
That’s why Assembly member Liz Ortega’s FREE Emergency Preparedness Training this Saturday is worth your time – and why you should think beyond go‑bags to what’s actually under your house.
Alameda County: High Risk, Low Preparedness
The ClaimGuide study that made the news last year used FEMA data to rank over 3,000 counties on:
- Inherent disaster risk (earthquakes, wildfire, flood, etc.)
- Social vulnerability
- Community resilience – how well a community can adapt and recover
California ended up with five of the top six least prepared counties. Los Angeles County scored worst, but Alameda County landed at #5, largely because:
- It sits on the Hayward Fault,
- It’s dense and built‑up, and
- FEMA data project roughly $1.2 billion in average annual losses here. (sfgate.com)
Other risk tools, like Augurisk, show the same story: Alameda County carries elevated earthquake, flood, and wildfire exposure compared to many other parts of the country. (augurisk.com)
So when surveys say that 61% of Bay Area residents admit they aren’t prepared for a disaster, that’s not just a vague feeling. It shows up in the data. (axios.com)
A Free Local Training (Right in Cherryland)
Against that backdrop, Assembly member Liz Ortega (AD‑20) is hosting:
Emergency Preparedness Training – FREE
- Saturday, June 27
- 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
- Cherryland Community Center – Main Hall
- 278 Hampton Road, Hayward, CA 94541
At this event, you’ll get:
- An overview of earthquake and disaster risks for Alameda County
- Practical advice on family plans, communication, and supplies
- Local resources you may not know exist
You can RSVP here:
- Official registration page: (acgov.org)
https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/rsvp_main.php?district=AD20&rsvp=2587
And you can browse county‑level preparedness materials at:
- Alameda County “Be Informed” page:
https://www.acgov.org/ready/informed.htm (acgov.org)
This training is a great starting point. But it’s only one half of the equation.
Kits and Plans Are Essential – But So Is Your Structure
Most public trainings (rightly) focus on:
- Go‑bags and water
- Communication plans
- Alerts and evacuation routes
That’s the life‑support side of preparedness. You absolutely need it.
What often gets less airtime is the building side:
- Is your house or small apartment building actually set up to ride out shaking?
- Is the crawl space, soft‑story, or foundation a weak link?
- Is water slowly undermining posts and piers under your feet?
Those questions decide:
- Whether you can stay in your home or not after a quake
- How much damage you’re likely to face
- Whether your insurance and savings have any chance of being enough
We built three big homeowner guides for exactly this reason:
- Under Your Home: The Bay Area Crawl‑Space & Foundation Guide
- Your Home vs The Next Earthquake: A Practical Guide for Bay Area Owners
- Beyond Foundation Bolts: The California Seismic Load Path Guide for Bay Area Homes
If you attend a county preparedness training and read these, you’ll be ahead of most residents in that “least prepared” ranking.
Turning a County Statistic Into a Personal Plan
Alameda County’s “least prepared” label is based on averages. You don’t have to be average.
Here’s how to turn that statistic into something useful:
Step 1 – Fix the basics (what the training will cover)
- 3–7 days of water and food
- Medication, important documents, backup power/lighting
- Family plan (where to meet, who to call)
- Alerts: Wireless Emergency Alerts, MyShake, local Nixle / AC Alert
The training at Cherryland and county resources will help you with these.
Step 2 – Decide what you want your house to do
Ask yourself:
- “In a big Hayward Fault quake, do I only want my house to not collapse, or do I want it repairable and livable?”
That decision drives how far you go with:
- Seismic retrofit
- Foundation and drainage corrections
- Nonstructural safety (gas, water heaters, furniture, etc.)
We walk through those choices here:
How to Set Earthquake Performance Goals
Step 3 – Get a real evaluation, not just a free estimate
If you don’t know what’s under your home, you’re guessing. That’s how Alameda County stays near the bottom of preparedness rankings.
For Bay Area houses and small buildings, our evaluations focus on:
- Full crawl‑space / basement walk‑through
- To‑scale drawings
- Photos
- Written findings
- Clear options and costs
Those are packaged in:
If your home was already “retrofitted” and you’re not sure how good it is, this is the right tool:
Alameda County Is in the Spotlight. That Can Be a Good Thing.
Being ranked as one of the least prepared counties in the U.S. is not flattering. But it does have an upside:
- It makes it harder to pretend risk is low.
- It brings attention (and hopefully funding) to local training and hazard‑mitigation work. (fremont.gov)
- It gives homeowners a nudge to act before the next major event, not after.
Assembly member Ortega’s training is one visible response – an effort to move people from “I’ll get around to it” to “I took the first step.”
The second step is yours:
- Don’t stop at kits and checklists.
- Learn what’s actually happening under your floors and around your foundation.
- Make a plan that matches your risk and your budget.
If you live in Alameda County and want help understanding how your structure, foundation, and drainage fit into your disaster‑preparedness picture, that’s what we do every day:
Seismic, Foundation & Drainage Services
You can’t change the county’s ranking alone. But you can make sure your house and your family are no longer part of the “least prepared” statistic.
