Off the Richter Scale
City Journal,
by
Michael J. Totten
Original Article
Posted By: Pluperfect,
3/12/2019 6:11:50 AM
Americans have long dreaded the “Big One,” a magnitude 8.0 earthquake along California’s San Andreas Fault that could one day kill thousands of people and cause billions of dollars in damage. The Big One, though, is a mere mini-me compared with the cataclysm forming beneath the Pacific Northwest. Roughly 100 miles off the West Coast, running from Mendocino, California, to Canada’s Vancouver Island, lurks the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where the Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding beneath the North American Plate, creating the conditions for a megathrust quake 30 times stronger than the worst-case scenario along the notorious San Andreas,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Aud 3/12/2019 8:21:24 AM (No. 1961)
After reading this article, the mid-continental weather here in North Dakota (blazing-hot summers, bone-chilling winters, and one week-long springs and autumns) seems just fine.
41 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
jeffkinnh 3/12/2019 8:32:26 AM (No. 1953)
Very interesting read.
It sounds like the only practical thing to do is start planning and rework on existing structures and systems and hope nothing happens for 50 years or so when they can be as ready as you can be for such a disaster.
For a different perspective, about 60 people are killed by tornadoes a year. In a hundred years, that´s 6000. A thousand a year are injured. That´s a million over 100 years. $8 billion of damage is done annually, $8 trillion over 100 years. So comparatively, we are facing a similar, steady destructiveness from tornadoes and also hurricanes compared to one catastrophic event sometime in the future.
MANY people will die, that much is guaranteed. A large part of the landscape will be destroyed with little change of re-habitation. If I lived there, might have a "vacation home" well out of the danger zone that I could retreat to and stocked for survival.
One question I had, how much time would be required to evacuate the danger zone and are warning systems possible that might give that time?
21 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
F15 Gork 3/12/2019 9:17:21 AM (No. 1952)
One person’s “dread” may be another person’s “dream”....
15 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Newtsche 3/12/2019 9:46:16 AM (No. 1956)
I need a break, let me read something not dripping with political doom. Oh wait...
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/12/2019 9:48:21 AM (No. 1951)
No requests for donations yet? Don´t forget about Yellowstone which could be just as devastating.
18 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Pepper Tree 3/12/2019 9:52:44 AM (No. 1955)
The Cascadia Subduction is no Chicken Little situation.
I attended a county first responders meeting in coastal Oregon a few years ago. The discussion was to alert Sheriffs, police and fire chiefs of what areas will be most affected and what it will look like.
When the subduction lets go it will start around Eureka, CA and run like a zipper to Vancouver BC. The unzipping is estimated to take about 45 minutes. In some places the subduction is less than three miles off shore.
I saw the last tsunami that hit the West coast tearing up harbors and sinking boats. It was a slow motion event that left even the ‘old salts’ befuddled and inactive.
The Cascadia will be exponentially worse and without warning.
28 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
chance_232 3/12/2019 10:13:42 AM (No. 1957)
Ive lived through several earthquakes, and Im pretty sure you really cant "build" for a 9 earthquake. The earth moves tens of feet up and down and side to side. Water, gas and sewer lines will rupture. Telephone poles will fall. Dams, bridges and roads will collapse. Buildings will fall and scores of people will die. You dont want to be in a building taller than 2 stories.
Small towns and communites will survive. Major cities will be a catastrophe.
16 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
ROLFNader 3/12/2019 10:16:24 AM (No. 1960)
Imina wait for a while before commenting on this......
15 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 3/12/2019 10:35:32 AM (No. 1948)
Not really mentioned is most businesses will be damaged or destroyed, so most people will be unemployed and quickly run out of money. Even if you survive you may be reduced to having the clothes on your back and little else.
19 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
bpl40 3/12/2019 11:21:39 AM (No. 1949)
Looking at the sinful ways of the City of Portland, it could be the next Sodom/Gomorrah.
18 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Catherine 3/12/2019 11:41:08 AM (No. 1947)
Been through hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. Hurricanes never scared me as I never lived near a large body of water and I love windy storms. Tornadoes are here and gone before you even realize what happened. Earthquakes scared the bejeezus out of me. The one I was in was 5.something. The house was roaring and shaking and the scary part is you don´t know when it will stop so do you stay in the doorway or run outside. Hope to never deal with that again.
16 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Plex 3/12/2019 12:12:48 PM (No. 1962)
Unmentioned is that much of California will be without power as after shutting down its nukes gets much of its power from the Northwest
14 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
AltaD 3/12/2019 12:22:37 PM (No. 1950)
One of my cousins was in Kobe on business when the 1995 earthquake struck. He didn´t talk about his experience other than to say he could no longer live in CA after having lived through the Kobe earthquake, so he and his wife relocated to Atlanta.
16 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Nevadadad46 3/12/2019 1:11:16 PM (No. 1959)
When I was a kid, we lived through a tornado in Arkansas- It was unbelievably destructive. We had a storm cellar and food and supplies - we were so ready. My dad had been through them as well and was terrified of them and so our prep was solid. But, this thing struck with no warning in the middle of a stormy night. by the time dad got everyone up and my step mom had rushed around collecting her pricelss things, it was already over. It just missed our house, but our neighbors were absolutely destroyed. Lives were lost, cattle, hogs, crops, barns, rich people, poor people all suffered equally. If the thing had been a hundred feet close, we would have died. My dad was furious with my stepmom for not immediately getting to the storm cellar. Her actions could have killed us because no way he would leave her alone. But, no amount of shouting would hurry her- That´s the way people are, though.
I can´t imagine how much those North West coast libtards will be in denial over this. To them, fantasy "feelings" of security are far more critical than any reality of nature.
16 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Ken M. 3/12/2019 1:11:44 PM (No. 1954)
Here´s a map and explanatory article. Everyone´s familiar with the Pacific Plate and North American Plate, but the Juan de Fuca Plate is stuck in between. Devastation waiting to happen ...
https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-at-a-Plate-Boundary/Tectonic-Plates-and-Plate-Boundaries
11 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
DVC 3/12/2019 1:38:39 PM (No. 1963)
Planet Earth throws various levels and frequencies of tantrums. Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. This one appears to be coming up on "the schedule", but may not happen for a century, or could happen tomorrow.
I think I´ll be fine 1200 miles inland, but if you live in the northern Left Coast, a bit of thought to how you would deal with no roads, no comms, no stores, no bridges, no police and worse for a couple of weeks to a month or more might be in order.
Many people are nearly overwhelmed dealing with their daily needs, so will ignore this. If you are not, maybe give some thought to this low probability/extreme outcome event.
FTA:
"The real soft spot is the lack of individual preparedness. Only a tiny percentage of families will be able to fend for themselves for as long as they’ll need to."
13 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Sandpiper 3/12/2019 3:01:37 PM (No. 1958)
I appreciated the article and I don’t believe the author was engaging in hyperbole. I live in a big metro area on the Left coast and my biggest fear is the mass hunger/thirst when a big one hits. Take out our transportation infrastructure and how do you possibly get food and water to millions of people?
My only complaint is the author’s quote on “cheap” earthquake insurance, that is purchased on top of homeowner’s. I live in an inexpensive home for the Bay Area and my premium is double the quoted amount and my deductible (before a dime in repairs is paid) is over $90,000, plus $2500 in living expenses. This is for the basic plan. A better plan is many hundreds more and only incrementally increases coverage. Additionally there is the threat that in a “big one” there might not be enough money to cover widespread losses so there may not be any payout at all. I realize I seem to be quibbling but there is a reason so many people in Cali don’t carry earthquake insurance - you don’t get a lot for what you pay for.
11 people like this.
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