6.3 Earthquake strikes Christchurch, New Zealand (pics)
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unluckyseventeen
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Actually I'm fairly positive that this is a myth. Fault lines just need to release energy (in the form of slippage) at some time or another and there have been several small quakes over the past x number of years, releasing said energy. There's no reason to believe it'll all of a sudden go ape ****, other than pure hearsay.
PearlWatson
Well-Known Member
It is a myth the science/discovery channel perpetuates then.
Not all faults that slip "just a bit" relieve pressure on a larger fault. In fact, they may, due to their movement create more tension on a larger fault thereby exacerbating the potential release. The Wasatch or San Andreas faults going off in a substantial manner at any time is a very real possibility.
unluckyseventeen
Well-Known Member
Indeed. My stance is more than it's a possibility as opposed to an inevitability, which you hear Utahs state constantly that it's GOING to happen, just a matter of when. And I disagree.
anyhow, very very sad, Christchurch is a beautiful city (NZ is a gorgeous country all the way around)
sort of ironic; they had a slightly bigger quake some months ago that caused very little damage and no serious fatalities
too much bad news today
:-(
sort of ironic; they had a slightly bigger quake some months ago that caused very little damage and no serious fatalities
too much bad news today
:-(
unluckyseventeen
Well-Known Member
Seems unlikely that it'll be in our lifetime. Besides, a lot of the city's planning and structural codes have been in lieu of a potentially huge earthquake. If it happened, the damage would be fairly significant (I'd guess most of the significant damage would be to things like water mains and power lines), but I don't think you'd see many toppled buildings and whatnot. The US being a fairly new country bodes well for the quality of structures they put up in comparison to countries that get decimated by earthquakes... no disrespect to any of these other countries, of course.
LogGrad98
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If/when it does hit think about this. Most of the wasatch front is built on ancient seabeds, composed largely of gravels and sand, ancient beaches so to speak. Now read this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_liquefaction
unluckyseventeen
Well-Known Member
Oh, and I should also mention that the Wasatch fault line spans much further than just the Salt Lake Valley. The chances of a large earthquake hitting right in the Salt Lake Valley are actually fairly low, and if it hit anywhere else a lot of the shock would be absorbed by the time it got to the valley. So, again, more signs to a "if it happens, it'll likely not be that bad" theory that I am posing based on my limited knowledge and research done about the fault line at random times throughout life.
Yeah, I'm aware that we're on a rather active fault line, and yeah, it could be potentially disastrous and whatnot. But I think a potential natural disaster is assumed no matter where you live and that our potential isn't standing out more than most places in the US. And what we see on the news about earthquakes is such a different scenario than what it'd be here, I don't know that you can compare the two.
Just my little opinion.
Yeah, I'm aware that we're on a rather active fault line, and yeah, it could be potentially disastrous and whatnot. But I think a potential natural disaster is assumed no matter where you live and that our potential isn't standing out more than most places in the US. And what we see on the news about earthquakes is such a different scenario than what it'd be here, I don't know that you can compare the two.
Just my little opinion.
The quality of structures put up in the US? I think you forgot about San Francisco in 1989:
Those are just a couple I found in about 30 seconds.
The quality of structures put up in the US? I think you forgot about San Francisco in 1989:
Those are just a couple I found in about 30 seconds.
Pics of the 94 Northridge quake aftermath (of which I "participated")
This was a 6.8 quake. In SoCal there is a premium placed on earthquake damage prevention during the construction process. Utah has nowhere near the building codes regarding earthquakes. If a similarly sized quake were to hit anywhere between Ogden to Provo the structural devastation would be astounding.
To defend US building codes a bit, I personally experienced a 5.5 earthquake during the bar exam and pretty much nothing happened of any consequence even though I was quite close to the epicenter. Everything in my car was all reordered though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chino_Hills_earthquake
The best part was when the California State Bar hired a consultant to determine how people's scores were affected by being present during an earthquake and handed out some nominal number of points (worth, in most instances, less than a single question) to make people feel better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chino_Hills_earthquake
The best part was when the California State Bar hired a consultant to determine how people's scores were affected by being present during an earthquake and handed out some nominal number of points (worth, in most instances, less than a single question) to make people feel better.
Archie Moses
Well-Known Member
Having previously worked with a seismic company that manufactures products that allow buildings to vertically deflect and horizontally drift (curtain wall) during seismic activities, the ICC, OSHPD and TSN, I can tell you new building techniques do more than what most people think/know. Seismic technology has come a long way. Pretty much every building that falls is built poorly and with old technology. In other words, it's not ICC approved.
