Strong Quake Hits Napa Valley
August 25, 2014
A magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck Napa Valley—a famous wine-growing region of California—early yesterday morning. It was the most powerful earthquake to affect the area in 25 years. There were no fatalities in the quake, but more than 100 people were injured. A score of buildings in the older, central area of the town of Napa were badly damaged. In addition, water mains were broken, and thousands of people were without electric power.
Napa Valley specializes in wineries, some of which lost valuable inventory to an earthquake on August 24. (Fred Lyon)
The worst-hit segment of the region was Napa Valley’s wineries. There are hundreds of wineries in the valley, producing some of the world’s premium wine. California’s wine industry was already struggling because of weather-related conditions. The drought of 2014—California’s worst in decades—led to a premature harvest of wine grapes this year.
The earthquake caused a number of Napa wineries to lose a substantial portion of the wine they held. Barrels collapsed and bottles smashed; some of the region’s top-of-the-line, premium wines were spilled out. Some experts estimated that the economic cost of the earthquake to Napa Valley could reach $100 million.
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