Quake Prep

Like many of the other earthquake hazards, a lot of people don't associate flooding to an earthquake...until they really think about it. When earthquake hazards are discussed, it's not just the obvious shaking of the ground, it's what the shaking of the ground can potentially cause. I'm not sure if the actual shaking of the earth even kills anyone. It's the effects caused by the earthquake that are the hazards.  For example, buildings collapsing are caused by the earth shaking. Similarly, if you have water near your home, you could experience earthquake-induced flooding.  Earthquake-induced tsunamis, seiches , and dam failures can all lead to flooding. Debris in flooded street at Uranohama Port, Japan, on 1 April 2011, in aftermath of earthquake and subsequent tsunami.  Thankfully I live far enough from any large body of water that I'm not concerned with a earthquake-caused Tsunami, like the 2011 Tohoku, Japan earthquake that shook at magnitude 9.1 and caused a...

Most people don't think about this; fires can break out in the aftermath of an earthquake.  Damaged fuel tanks or leaking gas pipes can contribute to the fire danger. Fallen electrical lines and damaged transformers are only a couple of potential spark producers that can ignite fires. Some fires could be ignited by stoves tipping over or a flammable object igniting on a stove left on during an earthquake. Gas stoves, water heaters, furnaces, and other appliances can also pose an increased fire risk if the gas isn’t shut off completely. It's not just gas appliances. If something flammable lands on an electric stove that's on, it's likely to catch fire. Similarly an electric space heater that falls over, shakes over against a bed, couch, curtain or other flammable item could also ignite into flames. To make matters worse, water availability, specifically through the municipality’s water supply, may be limited or non-existent due to water main damage caused by the earthqua...

 Here's a touch on some world events of the past week.  Oct 25 - giant lava fountains with emissions of gasses, ash, and lava from a partial cone collapse at Cumbre Vieja volcano. Oct 24 - an avalanche on Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador killed 3 people Oct 24- A magnitude 6.5 earthquake shoook Yilan county Taiwan. The region is used to earthquakes so most structures are resistant to this level of quakes. However, if that same quake shook under the Salt Lake valley there would be considerable damage to many of the older unreinforced masonry buildings. Oct 22 - the 17th named tropical storm of the eastern Pacific hurricane season strengthened into a hurricane Oct 22 - rainfall in Spain's Alicante Province damaged homes and stranded vehicles Oct 22 - heavy rains resulted in flooding in the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast Oct 22 - a tornado touched down and damaged the Brisbane, Australia airport Oct 20-21 - volcanic activity increased on Italy's Etna's southeast crater, leading...

A slight deviation from earthquakes. During the several seasons I worked on staff at a high adventure camp above 9,000 feet elevation, I loved it when storms came through. The normal hail--the pellet or up to marble-sized stuff was fun, and intimidating, when it pounded on the roof of the lodge. After one storm where there was larger than normal (up to 1 inch) hail, I was walking through the large alpine meadow and came across a vole that had died when it had been struck by a hailstone. Over the years I've read and seen pictures of large hail. You've probably seen images of some of them. Sizes range from golf ball to grapefruit. In Australia the record hail size is 14 cm (5.5 inches). On October 19 a storm in North Queensland dropped large hail. A 16 cm (6.3 inches) hailstone was reported. This article  BOM says 'Australian record'-sized hailstones have fallen on North Queensland  reported that hail that large has a terminal velocity of 100 km per hour. That's about...

 Damaged buildings are what most people expect in the aftermath of a strong earthquake. However, roads, bridges, water supply, electrical grid, railways, airports, and other structures and facilities that support our modern life--the infrastructure and backbone of our society--are all at risk.  What happens when damaged infrastructure makes life anything but normal? The first effect is when damaged infrastructure--including various modes and systems of transportation--delays response time by first responders, medical assistance, fire fighting, and other assistance. This delay not only affects local help but also hinders aid from outside sources. Transportation of food and supplies will be slowed or even stopped. Damaged roads, airports, train stations, and ports will all affect the flow of aid, materials, food, and outside assistance to the area of impact. To make matters worse, the harder hit areas will have their infrastructure hit harder, further complicating rescue, assist...

Every earthquake has aftershocks, which are essentially earthquakes of lesser intensity than the original mainshock. Although they could technically be argued as separate earthquakes with their own related hazards, aftershocks are a hazard. The main earthquake may not have been expected, but you can expect these additional quakes and you should be wary around any damaged structure or building that has not be identified as safe. The biggest aftershocks generally occur within the following 30 days, with the intensity of the aftershocks decreasing over time. Think of it this way, these are earthquakes you can actually expect, and, to some extent, plan for, even if you don't know the exact day or time when they will strike. More about Aftershocks and Foreshocks and Aftershocks on this page Aftershocks - mathematical formula I won't pretend to understand the mathematics behind aftershock prediction and modeling, but here's a oversimplification of the idea. When you through a pe...

What are earthquake hazards? There are more than the obvious. The most obvious hazards of earthquakes are the earth shaking and damage to buildings. Included with the ground shaking are the hazards of objects falling down and injuring (or killing) you. Most people expect damaged and collapsed buildings after an earthquake, although, unless you’ve actually seen the aftermath of a large earthquake it can be hard to visualize as videos don’t provide the same impression.  Besides the main earthquake, the single biggest earthquake hazard most people face is entering into an unsafe building. Buildings damaged by earthquakes can increase your risk of injury or death, particularly if an aftershock strikes and causes the already weakened structure to partially or fully collapse. Incidentally, the risk of falling debris is the biggest reason you shouldn't go running (or walking) out of a building during an earthquake. And, if you're near a structure during a quake, particularly if it...

 If you live downstream, a dam failure should be a concern for you. While many dams are built to a high seismic rating, there are many which are not. The only way to discover a dam’s seismic rating is to do some investigating as you probably won’t find it stamped anywhere on the dam structure itself. There may be some plans in place in case of a failure, but most of the time these contingencies are based more on minor failures and not a catastrophic, complete failure, which could cause widespread flooding devastation. The following image is of a dam failure (not earthquake caused) in Iowa.  Dam failure in Iowa. Photo by Josh deBerge, FEMA, public domain Dam Fails However, it seems that some dams may be overrated on the integrity of the dam’s superstructure, and don’t give much credence to the possibility of complete failure. It’s true that most of the time dams do not suffer a complete failure. But there are been unexpected failures. While not caused by a seismic event, the Te...

One of the many additional hazards an earthquake may cause is a seiche.  A seiche is a standing wave of water that moves back and forth across a semi- or fully-enclosed body of water. On a small scale, the sloshing movement of waves across a pool or bathtub is a seiche. These same wave movements can be found on a larger scale in bays and lakes. When I experienced a 7.9 earthquake (from 65 miles away), I witnessed these waves in our pool. The pool was below ground and there was a small ledge about 12-14  inches high around the pool. The water was always at or below ground level, so there was more than 12 inches from the top of the ledge to the water.  When we ran out the back door of your house and under the grape arbor (which was dropping grapes) I looked towards our pool. What I saw was about 3-foot waves cresting and sloshing around the pool. I'm not sure if anyone else in the family even saw it, but the memory is vivid. I even wondered if what I remembered was real, un...