Posted on 04/26/2008 12:09:21 AM PDT by skippermd
Just happening now.
I'm not going to ask about pictures. :-) (ObShowergirl reference)
It said 2008 before the quake, but there was left-lateral slip.
yup. sorry about that, I am in denial that we are 6 mo from the election and subliminally hoping we still had a year for another primary...
Then just say they don’t know. Don’t need a list of hypothetical scenarios. Anyone can do that.
“Mt. Saint Redneck!”
Priceless.
You don't understand why they said what they did?
Reno urged to prepare for worse as earthquakes continue
By MARTIN GRIFFITH – 2 hours ago
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Scientists urged residents of northern Nevada’s largest city to prepare for a bigger event as the area continued rumbling Saturday after the largest earthquake in a two-month-long series of temblors.
More than 100 aftershocks were recorded on the western edge of the city after a magnitude 4.7 quake hit Friday night, the strongest quake around Reno since one measuring 5.2 in 1953, said researchers at the seismological laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The latest quake swept store shelves clean, cracked walls in homes and dislodged rocks on hillsides, but there were no reports of injuries or widespread major damage.
Seismologists said the recent activity is unusual because the quakes started out small and continue to build in strength. The normal pattern is for a main quake followed by smaller aftershocks.
“A magnitude 6 quake wouldn’t be a scientific surprise,” John Anderson, director of the seismological lab, said Saturday. “We certainly hope residents are taking the threat seriously after last night.”
But Anderson stressed there was no way to predict what would happen, and said the sequence of quakes also could end without a major one.
Reno’s last major quake measured 6.1 on April 24, 1914, and was felt as far away as Berkeley, Calif., said Craig dePolo, research geologist with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.
A rockslide triggered by Friday night’s quake was blamed for causing a 125-foot breach in a wooden flume that carries water to one of two water treatment plants in Reno, a city of about 210,000.
A backup pump was used to divert water to the plant, and the breach was not expected to cause any water shortages, said Aaron Kenneston, Washoe County emergency management officer.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday night’s quake was centered around Mogul, just west of Reno. The area of upscale homes along the eastern Sierra was rattled by more than 100 quakes the day before, the strongest a magnitude 4.2 that caused high-rise casinos to sway in downtown Reno.
The strongest aftershock measured 3.7 and was recorded early Saturday.
Mike Lentini of Reno said Friday night’s quake felt “like a big truck hit the building” and awakened his family.
“It’s the unknown. It’s shaking, and when’s it going to stop?” he said Saturday. “And when stuff starts falling off the shelves it’s a whole other ballgame.”
Jars of mayonnaise and bottles of ketchup and shampoo fell from shelves at a Wal-Mart store in northwest Reno. Overhead televisions swayed at a sports bar in neighboring Sparks, 11 miles east, where bartender Shawn Jones said the rumble was significantly stronger than Thursday’s event.
“The bottles were shaking, so I sent everybody outside,” he said.
Hundreds of mostly minor quakes have occurred along one or possibly more faults since the sequence began Feb. 28, said Ken Smith, a seismologist at the Reno laboratory. The quakes have occurred along an area about 2 miles long and a half-mile wide.
“We can’t put a number on it, but the probability of a major earthquake has increased with this sequence,” Smith said Saturday. “People need to prepare for ground shaking because there’s no way to say how this will play out.”
Among other things, scientists urged residents to stock up on water and food, to learn how to turn off water and gas, and to strap down bookshelves, televisions and computers.
“It’s getting a little bit frightening,” Daryl DiBitonto of Reno told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I’m very concerned about this increase in not only activity, but also in magnitude.”
The quakes around Reno began a week after a magnitude 6 temblor in the northern Nevada town of Wells, near the Utah border. The Feb. 21 quake caused an estimated $778,000 in damage to homes, schools and historic downtown buildings, dePolo said.
Scientists said they’re unsure whether the seismic activity at opposite sides of Nevada is related.
Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S. behind California and Alaska. The Wells quake was the 15th of at least magnitude 6 in the state’s 143-year history.
A magnitude-7.4 quake south of Winnemucca in 1915 is the most powerful in state history.
Associated Press writer Scott Sonner in Reno contributed to this report.
i wonder what the line is in vegas if these are going to lead to a major seismic event...
where is the money riding on this one...
teeman
Eh, only the English randomly put lines on a vast assortment of non-sports things. (Incidentally, Las Vegas is also surrounded by faults, but they’re somewhat less active and the threat is a bit lower than Reno.)
Once I read about the 1948 quake and how it apparently was preceeded by a swarm, I really became convinced the chance of a M6+ quake was high. Clearly the statements by the people from the Seismological Lab indicate they’re worried.
Off the top of my head I’d say 20% chance of an M6+ within the next two weeks.
I notice the swarm is slacking off the last few hours; like I said, though, in 1948 the M6 quake was after the swarm stopped for about 36 hours.
“Just things settling down after the quake in the midwest with the Madrid fault. IMHO.”
I don’t think it was the New Madrid Fault.
This was higher up on the map. Up towards St. Louis.
The Cabon Fault?
Reno urged to prepare for worse as earthquakes continue-(?)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007542/posts
Thanks. I’m curious if these two zones are connected????
Because they felt they had to say something? That's my guess.
Yes, it does look like a caldera, but with a small elevation in the center, is it possible that it was a meteor/asteroid strike? Does anyone know anything about the geology and ages here?
Nope. I used to drive over to Reno every now and then to the casino's but, that's all.
Nice graphics on New Madrid region. I would not be surprised if either or both areas experienced some larger quakes, making these foreshocks, not aftershocks. I am looking forward to some CSI episodes using these quakes. I have been studying earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteor/comet strike disasters. I have come to the conclusion that every 90 or 100 years there is a pattern of more severe activity that goes on for around 30 years.
I think that we are nearing the end of another major cycle which included Pinitubo, and the great Indonesian quakes. If the pattern holds up we would have another major quake or volcano in the next few years, after which things would calm down.
You are spot-on; do not neglect the damage-causing effects of duration, and depth (proximity to the surface and therefore, infratructure) which are contributors to relative intensity.
A.A.C.
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