+ 1: don't build major cities on fault lines.

Although you may want to consider incorporating a fault scarp into your city defences:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Gate

Someone should have told David Burnham before he built SF.

I wonder, if a catastrophe is to be expected, is it cynical, to create replacement infrastructure (sewage, waterpiping, streets, electricity) at a safer location nearby and once the disaster strikes to reroute the refugee streams too that location?

I'd call that responsible instead of cynical. If you know in advance that an asteroid is about to hit Earth, except the exact location you'd do the same.

In the case of SF, an entire continent is approaching very-very-very slowly.