In December, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey reported the discovery of active fault zones in the Cupertino basin. The oval-shaped basin extends 35 miles from Palo Alto to Los Gatos. It extendes to the Santa Cruz Mountains in the west and includes Sunnyvale on the east. Its center is in Cupertino.

Cupertino resident Deborah Jamison said she was not particularly surprised by the news, but still reflective. "With all the major natural catastrophes in the world right now," she said, "it does make one pause."

Marsha Hovey, Cupertino's Emergency Preparedness coordinator, said she is working with the Menlo Park-based Geological Survey to keep up to date about possible seismic activity. She also said she was working hard to prepare and urges residents to do the same.

Jamison said she keeps a container of emergency supplies in her home in case of an earthquake or other natural disaster. "We are sort of prepared," she said, "but there is always more we can do."

Such emergency supplies could prove helpful. In the worst-case scenario of an earthquake or emergency, Hovey said, residents are on their own for the first three days while the city works to return to normalcy. "Neighbors have to help one another," she said. "We have only five pieces of fire apparatus in the city, so all of the other problems have to wait." The fire apparatuses include one truck with ladder, three fire engines and one Hazmat vehicle.

Hovey said, "It takes the Red Cross up to three days to set up shelters. The city will be working with the police and fire departments to put out small fires and take care of emergencies. We want to make sure water and sewer lines are working. All of our energy is going to go towards community safety."

In the case of wide-scale evacuation, the city is also currently rewriting its evacuation plan, Hovey said. The plan should be done in the next few months. An evacuation could prove necessary, for example, if the Stevens Creek Reservoir suddenly proved unstable. However, Mike Di Marco, a spokesman, with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, recently told the Cupertino Courier the earthen dam is built to withstand earthquakes.

In case of earthquakes or other emergencies, Cupertino also has a network of amateur radio operators to help the city communicate information.

However, Hovey encouraged more residents to become involved, and take the necessary steps to prepare. For example, she said, there are only 75 amateur radio operators registered out of 300 such operators listed in the city.

"We have plenty of hands out there," Hovey said. "We just need to make sure people are aware of what we have available."

And the city offers that information to everyone through monthly classes in emergency response and first aid. The training prepares individuals to serve as volunteers with the Community Emergency Response Team. CERT members serve as first responders during emergency. The city also has extensive emergency preparedness tips on its website. The tips include supplies to keep on hand in case of emergency, ways to turn off gas and water and tips for children and the elderly.

In January 2004, Cupertino also received a $150,000 grant enabling the city to offer residents further training in emergency response and first aid.

All of this should help in case of earthquakes or other emergencies.

"Very little happened here in 1989," said Hovey of the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. "There was one fire and I think one fatality from a heart attack. We haven't had our big one yet. That's the scary part. What we can to do to prepare makes the difference. And the Cupertino community also has to educate themselves."

For more information, visit www.cupertino.org and click on the emergency preparedness link in the lower left corner, or call 408.777.3335.