Earthquake in New Zealand today.

[Mike B]

I love 'em, you hate 'em. That's cool.

Yeah, you almost got killed, I can see your point. I have respect, I can assure you. I buy earthquake insurance in case my house gets turned into rubble. I have a couple weeks worth of food and water here, a generator, battery powered radios, batteries, gas valve and water shutoff wrenches, all the stuff they tell you to have. The house is built to code with the frame bolted to the slab.

I'm prepared. You have to be if you are going to live here eh?

 

[scotto-]

Let me see......earthquake or an erupting volcano? I'll take the earthquake. Earthquake or a tornado? I'll settle for the earthquake. Earthquake or a giant tsunami? Don't really want to drown, I'll take the quake.

An earthquake or a monstrous hurricane? Umm, the earthquake. A really bad car accident not caused by an earthquake? I'm sticking with the quake.

I live on a fault and it's not my fault.....it's San Andreas.

Hang in there Intrepid Wheelwoman.....ride that storm out!



haven't had a bad quake yet......

 

[Kioshk]

Look out! There seems to be some rumbling in this thread.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

We're supposed to be getting some more gale wind conditions tonight that are supposed to last through until about 5.00am. Unusually for this area the winds will be coming from the West so the Coromandel Ranges won't shelter us so much this time.

My daughter and I do the emergency preparedness thing with candles, functional torches, battery inverter for extra lighting & etc. Even though it's Summer we have firewood and we have a camp stove and extra gas bottles. The Hauraki District isn't an area known for earthquakes, but we do get some bad floods and storms from time to time. The volcanoes on the central high plateau country are too far away from us to be a worry when they go bang; - but then on the other hand they're in a wilderness area which is miles from anywhere so they don't cause too many problems anyway.

As to the earthquake thing I lived in Christchurch for around two years and I loved that city because it had so many beautiful heritage buildings, parks and gardens. Well after the 2011 earthquake it doesn't have very many left now which is a real tragedy. Fortunately the death toll was relatively small considering what it could have been, but the city itself is changed forever. Even stands of magnificent trees dating from colonial times have had to be removed because the earthquake damaged their root systems so much that they were likely to fall over in even a moderate wind.
I went back to Christchurch for my uncle's funeral about six months after the earthquake and I was shocked at the level of damage and just how many of the city's heritage buildings had been lost. For the three days that I was there aftershocks were a daily occurrence, - something which was a test of everyone's nerves as you couldn't be sure if they were going to be severe or not. Many of Christchurch's residents have simply moved out and will never come back. Businesses have either closed or relocated, all of which means that the city is never going to be what it was before the quake.

Yes earthquakes do make you feel small in the face of the power of nature and the elements, - and sometimes we do need the reminder that we're not as great as we might think we are, BUT for a small country like New Zealand the Christchurch earthquake was devastating. Everyone in the country either had relatives and friends who lived there, or knew someone who had died in the quake or else had some other kind of personal connection to the city.

 

[xseler]

My parents travel extensively, and they were in Christchurch just a couple of weeks before the earthquake. They both thought that it was a wonderful city that deserved a return visit. It's certainly sad that it'll never be the same.

 

[scotto-]

When it comes to the great forces of nature that man has no control of, it really shows you that mankind is rather powerless.....no matter what.

I like that IW....functional torches (flashlights) I spent two weeks in Christchurch back in 1980 and it was so beautiful back then.....I will remember it that way, like a patchwork quilt from the sky outside the city and the smell of coal in the air in the winter. Queenstown, Mt. Cooke and the whole South Island is amazing!

 

[Ludwig II]

Isle of Skye and trees, well, the landscape is post glacial which means the soil is generally a thin skin of peat and rock dust over a bed of granite, so there's nothing for big roots to grow into, even if it can stand up to the wind in the first place. Add to this the great many sheep struggling to find anything worth eating, and trees really don't stand much of a chance.

One often reads the phrase "rugged grandeur". I hear, with the voice of reality, "miles and miles of joyless rubble".

 

[bluegoatwoods]

I wasn't in San Francisco for the North Ridge quake. But I visited about a week later. The damage was an eye-opener and I could tell that I would not want to have been there when it was happening.

It was a strange feeling to think that, among other things, large parts of the city and Oakland, etc, were truly inaccessible.

City Hall was so obviously damaged that I couldn't help the feeling that this was a building that really shouldn't have been open for business. My assumption was that this was true, but that they also couldn't afford to shut it down and that we had to take our chances in there. No doubt the same was true in plenty of other buildings as well.

While I do agree that a moderate earthquake is interesting (and could almost be viewed as kinda fun), a serious earthquake is no laughing matter at all.

 

[Mike B]

San Francisco was hit by the Loma Prieta quake, the Northridge quake was in So Cal.

I was in Fremont for the Loma Prieta, we were rockin' & rollin' good.

 

[oldtimer54]

San Francisco was hit by the Loma Prieta quake, the Northridge quake was in So Cal.

I was in Fremont for the Loma Prieta, we were rockin' & rollin' good.

Iam with you with the rock & roll I just don't like it when the rocks start to roll!?

 

[CTripps]

I've felt only a few quakes, and all minor, when I lived in southern Ontario. I only noticed one because I was sitting on a milk crate with my back against a doorframe waiting for an order to be ready to deliver. Harley noticed the same one, since she was sitting a friends kids on the 8th floor of thier building.

Now that I live in Vancouver, I'll admit we're underprepared but always paying attention to info regarding siesmic activity. When the 'Big One' hits here, we're probably screwed. Depends on how much I can get out of the garage or what's left of it; that's where all the camping gear is. I do have a spare, full 20lb gas bottle for my BBQ at all times stored in a steel locker outside and the adapter 'tree' that goes on it and lets you connect three objects to the tank (two off the sides of the post, lantern on top).
That may not help though. If that quake comes it should crack the plate through, dropping Vancouver Island into the Pacific. The resulting tsunami headed for Japan and Russia will be bad. I live on a hillside looking over Richmond, much of which is below sea level (only a little, not like New Orleans). If the hillside doesn't slide down, we'll be lucky.

On the other hand, I could get hit by a bus or whatever any day of the week. I try not to stress about either.

 

[Mike B]

Pacific "rim of fire" baby. All kinds of seismic activity. Even volcanos.

There's some really intense stuff in Wyoming / Montana too, the whole Yellowstone park area. All kinds of heat there really close to the surface.

 

[CTripps]

Pacific "rim of fire" baby. All kinds of seismic activity. Even volcanos.

There's some really intense stuff in Wyoming / Montana too, the whole Yellowstone park area. All kinds of heat there really close to the surface.

Yep.. The volcanoes don't stop at the border, we have a few here, too. One of the last quakes in the area changed the underground structure enough that some of the hot springs have dried up.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

New Zealand used to get called 'the shaky isles' in colonial times. We're very much part of the Pacific 'ring of fire' which is certainly a worry when our piece of it wants to start moving around.
We'd been told for years that 'the next big one' would be in Wellington our capital city, so we were all shocked when it happened in Christchurch instead. Mind you when I was living in Christchurch over twelve years ago now we had a couple of minor shakes which had the boffins scratching their heads and then it all went quiet until the quake in 2010 and the bigger one in 2011.

Personally I don't spend much time worrying about possible future disasters. All you can do really is be prepared with a basic emergency kit and then simply get on with living life. Living in the country I know I'm much more aware about changes in the weather, shifts in the wind & etc than I was in the city so it's not very difficult to sense bad weather on the way before I even check the weather forecast. Earthquakes though, unfortunately you can't sense those by casting your eyes over the sky and sniffing the wind.

 

[fasteddy]

After the earthquake in N.Z. they posted this yesterday. As usual we'll find out if they are right after it's over.

Steve.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...5syMC1h5pxE4RVA&bvm=bv.59568121,d.aWc&cad=rja

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Steve, liquefaction was a major problem during the Christchurch earthquakes as most of Christchurch is built on ancient alluvial soil deposits. In some areas roads and houses just plain sunk into the ground during the quake which has resulted in those area being declared as no build zones for any future reconstruction.

I would imagine that it's this type of seismic effect that is concerning researchers when it comes to the Vancouver Basin.

 

[Mike B]

Yup, liquefaction caused major damage in SF during the Loma Prieta. Same thing, close to the bay.

If the ground is not real firm, the shaking lasts longer.

 

[fasteddy]

My brother and sister in laws house is situated two long blocks and about 150' above the ocean and I have long said that if we are lucky we will be the new water front.
Given the dampness in the earth around us it will be at water level as well.

We are on a small bay and I'm sure that won't help when the earthquake hits either. There have been earthquakes both north and south of us and it's only a matter of time before it's our turn.

Steve.

 

[scotto-]

My brother and sister in laws house is situated two long blocks and about 150' above the ocean and I have long said that if we are lucky we will be the new water front.
Given the dampness in the earth around us it will be at water level as well.

We are on a small bay and I'm sure that won't help when the earthquake hits either. There have been earthquakes both north and south of us and it's only a matter of time before it's our turn.

Steve.

I'm thinkin' we're next down here in the southwest corner of the US. We have a few here and few there but the BIG one has yet to come......

hang on!