Posted on 05/12/2008 12:27:28 AM PDT by Lijahsbubbe
An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale has hit China's Sichuan province. The tremor was felt across the entire region - shaking buildings in the capital, Beijing, as well as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. US Geological Survey said the quake struck 57 miles north-west of the city of Chengdu at 2.29pm local time (6.28am GMT).
Some 10 million people live in Chengdu.
Please believe me when I say we thank you for spending the day putting down your thoughts and sharing them with us.
I consider you to be a breath of fresh air, or perhaps a bright ray of morning sun.
Please continue to share your thoughts.
Please keep reading. You will find far more posts of caring, compassion and prayers to you and your countrymen. The poster who made those rude comments has been suspended. Most of the people here did not agree with his comments and humor. Most Americans have a spirit of love.
Please stay in contact. We welcome your thoughts.
Prayers for all in China suffering through this massive earthquake.
You are good and will continue to improve. Stay in touch even after this natural disaster is past.
Hi, DoughtyOne,
Yes, you are correct on all counts. If you follow some of those links to some of the accounts of the time, well, suffice it to say that until very recently, some of those accounts were regarded as too fantastic to be true, but modern research has proven that in fact many were quite accurate.
One thing not well known is that these were a series of heavy earthquakes over a 2 month period - one paper* postulates 6-9 events of 7.0 or more, with one at 7.9, another @ 8.0, and another @ 8.1. At least 18 quakes were felt all the way to Washington, DC, or on the eastern seaboard. Many of these were long duration quakes, and they were in winter, to make it worse for the local inhabitants. I would speculate that only the best modern earthquake resistant buildings would survive such extended trauma without significant damage.
A good prayer would be that such a scenario does not occur in China — maybe someone more familiiar with the seismology of the affected area in China could weigh in on that?
*Link to the article: http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/compendium/enigma.pdf
Your pictures are so graphic. They really tell the story of this devastating quake.
Prayers for you and all who are suffering.
Hope you will post again on a happier subject.
Thanks for another good link Paul. I appreciate it.
If you get a chance, look at a space shot of the New Madrid fault region. You’ll note the plains there are very smooth, surrounded by Ozark Mountain. IMO, it’s a liquifaction ripe area.
Someone the other day linked me some photos of (I believe it was) limestone, sand or salt deposit blow holes. They were rings with blow holes at the center. That area is problematic, where it doesn’t have a solid base under it.
just got up... almost no sleepin last night worrying about my friends there... latest news say that there are still 3 towns of the Wenchuan district remained to be unreachable for rescuers...one of the reached town-—Yingxiu only 2000 out of more than 12000 people survived...ToT
So sorry to hear about that loss of life Dave. That’s terrible.
That scares me. I am north of Nashville and felt the recent quake. Well I slept through the first one and felt the aftershocks. My house made noises and the computer screen shook a bit. Scared me. If a big one hits, I read at the USGS site, there could be damage in 20 states.
It is something to think about. Having lived on the west coast for 40 years, I give it thought.
If I were living back there, I’d give it thought too.
You might want to look up earthquake retrofitting or some of the things the west coast does in preparation.
“IMO, its a liquifaction ripe area.”
It’s more than just your opinion! One of the effects was that so much water was squeezed out of liquified ground that it considerably increased the flow of the Mississippi River for a while. The parts that weren’t running backwards, that is.
“IMO, its a liquifaction ripe area.”
It’s more than just your opinion! One of the effects was that so much water was squeezed out of liquified ground that it considerably increased the flow of the Mississippi River for a while. The parts that weren’t running backwards, that is.
first 150 airborne soldiers bailed out under thunder storm trying to reach the areas.4 confirmed deaths,10 more missing.
Thanks for the valuable posts. I am not seeing much news on cable. Continued prayers to China.
first 150 airborne soldiers bailed out under thunder storm trying to reach the areas.4 confirmed deaths,10 more missing.
That is terrible.
Good Lord... It’s one thing to try to study these things in a scientific / “detached” manner. It’s another to hear such sad news, and see such pictures, that I have to fight back tears.
“If you get a chance, look at a space shot of the New Madrid fault region. Youll note the plains there are very smooth, surrounded by Ozark Mountain. IMO, its a liquifaction ripe area.”
Actually, I drive on one part of those plains or another, every few months or so. They look so benign .. and hide a terrible monster.
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