Another Earthquake/California

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,844
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I feel bed for the people in Ridgecrest. Two strong quakes in as many days.
I just watched the lamps and my monitor sway. It was definitely stronger, with more vibration in addition to the swaying that just went on forever. Some measure it at 6.9, others at 7.1. Having gone through a few of these that were centered only a few miles from where I was living at the time, I have a pretty good idea what the folks in Ridgecrest experienced. The question is whether another one is going to hit soon and whether it will be stronger still.

Guess I'll pack another pipe with some Off The Rails. Seems appropriate considering.

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Haven't the geology guys said The Big One wasn't "if" but "when" for a long time?
The good news is that SoCal's building codes reflect that. A Mexico City, Haiti, or turn-of-the-century San Francisco situation is literally impossible.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,844
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Haven't the geology guys said The Big One wasn't "if" but "when" for a long time?
All of my life. But remember that they're speaking in geological time, so soon could be any second, or a hundred years from now.
SoCal's building codes have been revised several times as the science improves. When I retrofitted my house in Glendale I looked at the insurance requirements and far exceeded them, same with the houses I partnered in. It can be useful to have ties to Caltech's geology and seismology departments.
This appears to be the beginning of an earthquake sequence, but no one knows for sure.

 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,246
Alaska
Can absolutely relate to what people are going through from our 7.0 (and thousands of aftershocks) mere miles away and only a few miles deep in november. We still have people rebuilding. Thankfully since the 9+ in 1964 engineering in Alaska has always had earthquakes in mind. Living on the ring of fire definitely has it's benefits and detriments. Hope everyone near the epicenter in California is getting by as well as they can. It sucks now, but it is always quite an experience to have lived through in hindsight.
Best of luck to any CA pipers out there near the epicenter.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
If anyone ever read Simon Winchester's excellent "A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906" then they would not choose to live in California!
Regards,
Jay.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
sable', thank you for your first-hand reportage. Am I correct that this is NOT the San Andreus Fault, but another? I visualize that the San Adreus is more parallel to the coast. Is there any comfort in the idea that a series of strong but not so destructive or injurious quakes release some of the energy of faults? According to my now ancient course in geology in college, the strongest known earthquakes in North American history happened in the Midwest before it was settled by Europeans. These would have been in Illinois, Kansas, that general area. These are charted by the damage they did to rock formations and old surviving trees. I think these happened mostly in the 1700's or early 1800's without any European records. I'm not sure if Native American accounts have been recorded in lore, seen in pictograms, or otherwise survive.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,844
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Am I correct that this is NOT the San Andreus Fault, but another?
Correct. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of vault lines across the state.
Is there any comfort in the idea that a series of strong but not so destructive or injurious quakes release some of the energy of faults?
Not really. A release at one point can result in increased pressure somewhere else. There is an inexorable movement of plates, raising the western part of the continent, and putting downward pressure on the eastern part. There was an huge quake along the New Madrid fault that runs through Missouri in 1811 that was of a much greater magnitude than either of these.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
sable', thank you for the tutorial. Stay safe ... though i don't know what you are supposed to do. Keep a pipe, blend, pipe cleaners and pipe tool ready at the door(s).

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
Haven't the geology guys said The Big One wasn't "if" but "when" for a long time?
The good news is that SoCal's building codes reflect that. A Mexico City, Haiti, or turn-of-the-century San Francisco situation is literally impossible.
As Jesse mentioned above, the when could be tomorrow or a millennium from now.
But I wonder what is the basis of the SF statement. Yes, there are old brick buildings that have been retrofitted that may not survive a large shaker. Most houses of wood have also been retrofitted with sway bars, so to speak. New buildings should fare pretty well.

 

ron123

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 28, 2015
541
984
Park Ridge, IL
There was an huge quake along the New Madrid fault that runs through Missouri in 1811 that was of a much greater magnitude than either of these.
I'd heard of a fault that went into parts of IL, but haven't heard anyone talking about it lately. I googled the New Madrid and found this. Anyway, I think (hope) we're ok up around Chicago, but wtf something's gonna get us sooner or later anyway...something catastrophic doesn't end much different than passing in your sleep, so why fret :?



It’s not just the West Coast that needs to watch out for tectonic obliteration. The New Madrid Seismic Zone spans southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois. It’s the most active earthquake zone east of the Rocky Mountains.
Between 1811 and 1812, this zone experienced some of the largest quakes in history. And although they originated in the Mississippi Valley, they rang church bells in Boston and shook New York City — over 1,000 miles away! Even then-President James Madison and his wife Dolley reportedly felt shaking at the White House.
After one particularly large rupture in the fault, the mighty Mississippi River was forced to run backward for several hours, devastating acres of forest and creating 2 temporary waterfalls. Fortunately the Mississippi Valley was sparsely populated back then. Today millions of people live in densely populated urban areas like St. Louis and Memphis, making this zone one of the biggest concerns for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.


 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
I watched a BBC documentary tonight on earthquakes by Scottish geologist Iain Simpson Stewart MBE FGS FRSE and he stated that Los Angeles would likely be the next major Californian city hit and would do over $2 billion at least damage with countless loss of life!
Regards,
Jay.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,844
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I watched a BBC documentary tonight on earthquakes by Scottish geologist Iain Simpson Stewart MBE FGS FRSE and he stated that Los Angeles would likely be the next major Californian city hit and would do over $2 billion at least damage with countless loss of life!
Hi Jay,
Thank you for that cheerful report.
As of yet, no one can predict with much certainty the when or where of an earthquake. The models are still being developed that may allow for that.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
Misread gorged's post. Was thinking prospectively. And, yeah, it was grim in 1906, when my mom snatched up my crib and made for the East Bay..
San_Francisco_1906_earthquake_Panoramic_View.jpg


 
Status
Not open for further replies.