what if an earthquake with the same magnitude of Chilean earthquake hit California?
Mar 01, 2010
in
Earthquake Questions
I am curious how buildings in California would withstand the same earthquake. The buildings here were built with stronger materials according to a building code, but the Northridge quake did some damage and knocked a layer of freeway down. The Northridge quake wasn’t nearly as strong as Chile’s.
The California state insurance program would like to collect 0.00 for an earthquake insurance plan. They must be thinking something big right?
The California state insurance program would like to collect 0.00 for an earthquake insurance plan. They must be thinking something big right?
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5 comments
Beverly on March 1, 2010 at 7:02 pm
It depends on the location of the quake. Chile’s earthquake is one of the largest on record, right up there in the top half dozen. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was about a 7.8 and the worst of the damage was liquifaction of the soil — it turned to something akin to jello during the event — which broke water lines and collapsed buildings. Then the fire broke out and there was no way to stop the fire. Southern California could easily go up in flames as well, if gas lines break, power lines fall, and there is no water to fight fires. As for building codes, don’t count on them saving your house, apartment, or life. There is more variance than the taxpayers are led to believe, and again, it depends on soil, time of day (rush hour versus night time).
Suggestion: put together a backpack or duffel bag for each family member, with a set of clothes, first aid kit, water bottles or packets, canned fruit and a few MRE’s. Make a plan to call one person who lives "out of the immediate area/state", and make sure your family knows that number by heart. This is so that they can keep tabs on you and you aren’t making a whole bunch of calls when your electricity is out and you can’t charge your cell phone. When my husband and I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, we had put together three "earthquake bags" (one in each car and a slightly larger one beside our bed) and we did this just one month before the Loma Prieta quake hit. We had piece of mind, at least a little, although we were right down the road from the Cypress Structure…and could hear the sirens and feel the aftershocks.
Drtyrty on March 1, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Hundreds of thousands of residents will be brought to the FEMA camps. Many will refuse to go, and they will die from starvation.
thewisegenius on March 1, 2010 at 7:02 pm
It won’t happen. The earthquake that was in Chile was caused by a subduction zone, which causes LARGE earthquakes. The earthquakes that are in California are all caused by transform plate boundaries (think, the san andreas fault), which won’t cause much more than a 7.5 earthquake.
So, you shouldn’t worry about it.
Living Legends. Still Rockin On! on March 1, 2010 at 7:02 pm
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/wg02/WG_summary.pdf
Sheryl on March 1, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes are a part of Mother Nature. We should never get a false sense of security that severe ones won’t affect us.As a lifelong Californian, I am very proactive about earthquakes. Our family has an earthquake (good for all types of emergencies) kit= http://tinyurl.com/ydjqs7f
and water stored. Our kit has a transistor radio and flaslight, but we also have the American Red Cross radio with flashlight:http://tinyurl.com/yg2q69h