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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric who wrote (50654)	5/4/2014 11:41:01 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86356

Maybe you won't need a wetsuit by then.

To: Eric who wrote (50654)	5/4/2014 11:58:40 AM
From: miraje	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86356

If things get bad I'll put on my gear! Won't do you much good when the big one happens. The Juan de Fuca Plate is aptly named, because when it lets go again, this whole region will be royally "Fuca'd" geology.about.com The Coming Big One Magnitude-9 quakes differ from smaller ones in two distinct ways: they last longer and they have more low-frequency energy. They don't shake any harder, but the greater length of shaking causes more destruction. And the low frequencies are more effective at causing landslides, damaging large structures and exciting water bodies. Their power to move water accounts for the fearsome threat of tsunamis, both in the shaken region and on coastlines near and far (see more on tsunamis). After the strain energy is released in great earthquakes, whole coastlines may subside as the crust relaxes. Offshore, the ocean floor may rise. Volcanoes may respond with their own activity. Low-lying lands may turn to mush from seismic liquefaction and widespread landslides may be triggered, sometimes creeping along for years afterward. These things may leave clues for future geologists. We've seen enough recent M 9 earthquakes to have a good idea of what the next one will do to Cascadia: they struck inhabited regions in 1960 (Chile), 1964 (Alaska), 2004 (Sumatra) and 2010 (Chile again). The Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup ( CREW) recently prepared a 24-page booklet, including photos from historic quakes, to bring the dreadful scenario to life: Strong shaking will last for 4 minutes, killing and injuring thousands. A tsunami up to 10 meters high will wash over the coast within minutes. Much of coastal Route 101 will be impassable due to wave and landslide damage. Parts of the coast will be cut off from inland cities when the roads are buried. Roads through the Cascades may likewise be blocked. For rescue, first aid, and immediate relief most places will be on their own. Utilities and transportation in the I-5/Highway 99 corridor will be disrupted for months. Cities may have "significant fatalities" as tall buildings collapse. Aftershocks will continue for years, some of them large earthquakes in themselves. From Seattle on down, Cascadian governments are preparing for this event. (In this effort they have much to learn from Japan's Tokai Earthquake program.) The work ahead is enormous and will never be finished, but all of it will count: public education, setting up tsunami evacuation routes, strengthening buildings and building codes, conducting drills and more. The CREW pamphlet, Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake scenario, has more.