Earthquakes
A few weeks ago I mentioned I had read on another blog a comment from a woman who thought food storage was foolish and she commented that disasters and earthquakes never happen in NYC. Has she really forgotten 9/11?
Last week I wrote an article for an online magazine and I wanted to post part of it here. I hope this will help to assure you disaster do happen everywhere and we need to take responsibility for our own family’s safety.
During the 20 years from 1975 to 1995 there were only four states in the United States that did not have any earthquakes: Florida , Iowa , North Dakota , and Wisconsin . The 1906 San Francisco earthquake registered 7.9 on the revised Richter scale. In 1954 a 7.3 magnitude hit Dixie Valley Nevada . The year 1959 saw a 7.3 at Hebgen Lake , Montana . Prince William Sound in Alaska had the biggest quake recorded in the United States : 9.2 in 1964. The 1983 Idaho Borah Peak earthquake had a magnitude of 7.3. And the 1994 Northridge quake was a 6.6.
Most people know earthquakes occur in California and Alaska , however, earthquakes are not unique to these regions. From December 1811 to February 1812, a series of the greatest earthquakes in history with an intensity at the top of the earthquake scale struck—not in California—but in a one million square mile area of the Midwest and southeastern portion of the United States: Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, and South Carolina. These quakes occurred along the New Madrid fault. Because of the limited population in the area at the time, the quakes resulted in only one death. If a quake of this size were to occur in these areas today the loss of life could be 50,000 or more.
On August 10, 1884 an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale had its epicenter in New York south of Rockaway Beach . It caused chimneys to crumble and rang church bells in Connecticut and Pennsylvania . According to experts, a similar quake would cause major damage because of a much larger population today and the enormous buildings, bridges, and tunnels which were constructed without thought of earthquakes. New York , New Jersey , and Connecticut all sit on ancient geological faults.
The Wasatch Range runs north to south through Utah and like all mountain ranges it was produced by a series of earthquakes. The 240 mile long Wasatch Fault is made up of several segments, each capable of producing up to a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The last great quake 400 years ago, rate of occurrence every 200-300 years, way over due.
January 17, 1994 residents of Northridge , California were jolted out of bed at 4:31a.m. Apartment buildings pancaked, freeway overpasses fell, and fifty-seven people died—all in eight seconds. Seismologists consider Northridge to be only a strong quake, two steps below the magnitude 8 “big one.” Scientists believe the “big one” will cause an earthquake rupture which will extend ten to fifteen miles deep and 200 to 250 miles long, maybe more. It will be the size of twenty Northridge earthquakes laid end to end.
In October 2007 a 5.6 earthquake rocked the San Francisco Bay Area. This quake occurred on the Calaveras fault which runs adjacent to the Hayward Fault. The Hayward Fault moves about every 140 years producing catastrophic quakes. Experts fear the recent Calaveras quake could actually trigger the “big one” on the Hayward Fault. The Hayward fault last moved 140 years ago.
On January 26, 1700 a great earthquake shook the Pacific Northwest . This quake, with an estimated magnitude of 9.0, produced shaking which continued for several minutes and dropped the coastline of Washington State by nearly five feet.
Yes, several areas of the country are due for a “big one”, but the United States is not alone. Each day there are approximately 2,600 earthquakes somewhere in the world, or two per second. On October 14, 1968 a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit east of Perth , Australia . The greatest recorded earthquake occurred in Chile on May 22, 1960. It was recorded as a 9.5 on the Richter scale and caused tsunamis in Chile , Japan , Hawaii , Philippines , New Zealand , Australia , and Alaska .
When a sizable earthquake occurs, there are many potential disasters that may follow during the next few days or weeks. With broken natural gas lines, fires are inevitable; dam failures, hazardous materials spills, power outages, natural gas leaks, landslides, loss of clean water supplies, road and bridge collapses, and even tsunamis may occur. Infrastructure may be destroyed: police and fire stations may be damaged or destroyed; hospitals may suffer severe damage just when they are needed most; jobs will be lost; banking and grocery store deliveries interrupted; gasoline may become scarce; telephone and internet services may be inoperable and garbage may pile up. With mail delivery spotty or nonexistent, bills will still need to be paid but might not be delivered.
While people are dealing with all of these hardships, first responders will have to choose between meeting the needs of their families and reporting for work. Who are first responders? We automatically think about fire fighters, police officers, and health care professionals but here are also many others. Utility workers will be needed immediately to restore power and water. Those who run your waste disposal plants will need to get those facilities up and running again.
Yes, earthquakes can happen where you live.
With all this to be concerned about, questions arise:
Can earthquakes be predicted? The answer is no. Scientists have never predicted a major earthquake. Scientists can, however, estimate the probability of an earthquake occurring by examining the records of past quakes.
Is there earthquake weather? Again, the answer is no. There is no connection between weather and the likelihood of an earthquake occurring. Earthquakes are not capable of altering the weather either.
Will California eventually fall into the ocean? Oh, I love that one! No. Earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault are a result of slip plate motion. The plates are moving horizontally past one another, so California is not going to fall into the ocean. Over thousands or millions of years Los Angeles could end up a neighbor of San Francisco , but the entire state will not fall into the ocean.
This week I read a report that scientists have discovered another fault in the New York City area and they are now very concerned about a quake. Read about it for yourself : http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2008/08/22/study_finds_new_earthquake_dangers_for_nyc/
If you have family and friends who are still in denial please send them a link to this post, place a link on your blog and mention to everyone you know what you are doing to prepare. Earthquakes should be a concern for all of us, either because we live in an area where one may happen or because we have friends and family who do.
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I love this blog. You need to be on Oprah. We should start a movement to get you on.
With everything else going on in the economy, the last thing I would want to do is borrow a payday loan to fix my drywall after some unplanned earthquake tremors. Charleston, South Carolina is adding to the grief of local residents after a 3.6 magnitude earthquake shook the place last week. The only thing hurt by the small quake was the drywall on the homes in the area and residents’ pocketbooks, which they will have to compensate for, come next payday. Fortunately there wasn’t anybody hurt. It came at a good time as the supervisor for the Charleston county school district was apparently trying to invest money into the local schools partly as precautionary measures for future earthquakes. I bet he won’t have a problem getting what he wants now! It seems South Carolina is about as bad as California when it comes to earthquakes. I had no idea they have had so many over the years. Apparently in 1886, they had one that cost $103 million in today’s currency and killed more than a hundred people. It measured a big 10 in magnitude according to some estimates. Hopefully this isn’t a warning of something bigger to come. Earthquakes remarkably are a science that we have not mastered yet. There is a nice timeline outlining South Carolina’s history of earthquakes in the article I read. You can read the article called “Charleston Earthquake | Payday Will Be Spent Fixing Drywall,” on the payday loan news blog at personalmoneystore.com.