Posted on 02/21/2011 6:15:03 PM PST by Nextrush
The quake was right under the city and the city is built on sand, gravel and dirt with a water table below it. Liquification is a fact there. The shaking that the city felt would have been tremendous, more than just the Richter Scale would suggest. There are other scales which quantify the severity in terms of the shaking felt and damage done. Those scales will better reflect what Christchurch is experiencing.
I lived in Simi Valley across from the Reagan Library from 1993 to 1997, so I went through the 6.7 Northridge quake.
I went through the 6.8 Nisqually quake up here in Seattle in 2001.
I've seen a whole lotta shakin' goin' on.
Masonry buildings are deathtraps. They really are, inside and out.
God bless you, but I don’t want to live anywhere near you!
Our daughter has pointed out numerous buildings in San Luis Obispo going through new reinforcement processes and has described the detail of all the codes they have to satisfy (She’s a brand new architectural engineer just out of Cal Poly).
Actually, according to your FReeper home page, you do.
Not to mention tsunamis....Cannon Beach, Ocean Shores, etc.
I live in the South Sound area. I don’t want to be here if The Big One hits. And it’s not only the Cascadia Subduction Zone...
The Seattle Fault runs right beneath the city center. Geologists say the last time that sucker let go, the ground moved SIX FEET. That would rip Seattle apart.
Wow!
TV 3 in New Zealand (via the Australian internet feed up-thread) reporting at least 17 confirmed dead so far, number expected to rise much higher. The Christchurch cathedral has partially collapsed. A four-story office building pancaked, 30+ still trapped inside. Two tour buses crushed by falling rubble in the central business district. This is a bad one, much worse than the September earthquake; even though it was “only” a 6.3 magnitude, they’re saying the epicenter was extremely shallow, only about 3 miles deep, which made it more violent at the surface.
}:-)4
It’s just been updated to 65 dead.
Per TV3, Christchurch mayor has announced (as of 0020 EDT) the death toll is now 65 and still expected to rise. :(
}:-)4
As if that jerk didn’t know that.
There’s a helicopter video of the damage here...
You can also view other videos at that site.
If I remember correctly the 7.1 was off shore away from the island and deeper depth. The pics I`ve seen are devestating....
prayers for sure
Thanks for that - not many names on their yet and she doesn’t work in the City so I am gunna wait for news from my brother.
Cheers
Mel
1949 - 7.1 8 dead - As a kid I was outside playing and remember running like hell.
1965 - 6.5 7 dead - Just sat down at work and dove under desk.
2001 - 6.8 - Nisqually quake. I was 180 mi. away in Portland, OR at a red light and felt the swaying.
Glad I wasn't around for the January 1700 event on the WA coast estimated around 9.0+. Caused a tsumami that struck Japan's Honshu island.
Just found out my niece is fine - she said it was terrifying “like the end of the world”
Mel
Seattle's small 1965 6.5
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