Posted on 03/15/2011 7:29:56 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
California will experience unthinkable damage when the next powerful quake strikes, probably within 30 years, even though the state prides itself on being on the leading edge of earthquake science.
Modern skyscrapers built to the state's now-rigorous building codes might ride out the big jolt that experts say is all but inevitable, but the surviving buildings will tower over a carpet of rubble from older structures that have collapsed.
Hot desert winds could fan fires that quakes inevitably cause, overwhelming fire departments, even as ancient water pipelines burst, engineers and architects say.
Part of the lesson from the disaster that hit Japan on Friday is that no amount of preparation can fully protect a region such as California that sits on top of fault lines.
Even so, critics fear the state may have long skimped on retrofitting older buildings. Yet the cost of cleaning up after a big quake is likely to be much higher than the cost of even the most expensive prevention, they warn.
"Everybody is playing a gamble that something like this won't happen," said Dana Buntrock, associate professor of architecture, at the University of California, Berkeley.
Buntrock, like many others, sees California's past as a present danger. The university is spending more than $300 million to retrofit and renovate its ancient sports stadium, tucked into the hills overlooking the bay.
"There are places where two walls that were aligned in the 1920s have moved a half meter apart," she said.
But the steps that the school is taking are not as common in California as the overwhelming risks might suggest.
The concrete high-rises that rose in the years after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake were made without adequate reinforcing steel,
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Doesn’t matter.
It’s all supposed to end next year anyway!/s
Complete first aid kit.
Camping gear.
Store what you eat and eat what you store.
One gallon of water per person per day for at least two weeks.
Thanks, Reuters, but my cat could have predicted a quake will hit CA.
Oooh, oooh, and when Charlie Sheen has his next meltdown, y’know, like he crashes his car into something, that’ll be the start of the new era in television and GDP will come screeching to halt while everyone watches to see if his next show is like, y’know, cool.
Some news outlets might sit on such explosive information for fear of creating a panic. I applaud Reuters for their courage in bringing this important, hard-hitting information to light before millions die.
Bravo, Reuters. Bravo.
Reuters article.
Read with caution.
Keep all the libs there, don’t tell them about any dangers, PLEASE.
The sky IS falling. To the basement for the duration. There COULD be an earthquake in my back yard and dinosaurs COULD emerge to eat me. OMG!
My guess is less than 30. Much less. Let’s see, massive earthquakes in Chile, New Zealand, and Japan. We need just one more corner to complete the Pacific Rim.
That'll depend on whether Obummer is reelected.
Don’t laugh. Yesterday, I overheard two people at the post office contemplating the coming Great Quake that will obliterate our local nuclear power plant, kill us all and make our county uninhabitable.
This was in suburban Philadelphia.
I sh*t you not.
The two pre-existing nuclear plants that are in significant earthquake zones are Diablo Canyon (PCG) near San Luis Obispo north of Santa Barbara, and San Onofre (EIX) between San Diego and Los Angeles.
WE HAVE TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THESE TWO ESPECIALLY.
I heard someone say that there was a “46% that the next quale would occur within 30 years”.
I also heard that 38.7% of all “statistics” are made up on the spot. Just like this one.
I heard someone say that there was a “46% that the next quake would occur within 30 years”.
I also heard that 38.7% of all “statistics” are made up on the spot. Just like this one.
I knew a statistician who drowned in a river whose average was 1 inch deep, such a tragedy ...
Or sooner...
Oh Yeah..
Forgot about May 21st!
:0)
But my daughter wants me to go on a trip with her to CA next year! Nooooo! I want to stay in OK and take my chances with tornadoes.
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