When Nature's Wrath Is History's Reminder

[cowboyangel]

here's a video from Phuket shot by an amatuer...don't know if this made it on the TV because I don't watch TV:
http://www.brightpathvideo.com/video/tsunami.wmv

[Rian Jackson]

I always worry about the Maltese houses. They're actually in a quake zone (but get little action so far) and have Etna right next door. And the houses are stone. Not so very earthquake proof.

My apartment has earthquake cracks in the closet. Good to know the old buildings hold up. (who was here during that one? i missed all the fun, 7000 miles away... but i was worried about ya'll. There's nothing like having bar patrons ask if your family's ok when you haven't heard about a mini-disaster yet...)

[theCryptofishist]

Re: the Midwest, most houses built to resist high wind are likely to be okay wrt earthquake.

Cites?

[theCryptofishist]

I always worry about the Maltese houses. They're actually in a quake zone (but get little action so far) and have Etna right next door. And the houses are stone. Not so very earthquake proof.

"Unreinforced Masonry." A phrase to make the a californian quake in her boots. I wonder if they, having lived in the area for generations, may build with thick walls and single stories. Which may make a difference. Or maybe it's like those poor turks and iranis where it's the available material and life is cheap anyway. California adobes--which is sort of like masonry--are actually fairly well adapted to the quakes as well as the climate. The thick walls stay up. (damn someone's gonna make me chase sites. Well, I have it on authority of a builder friend who's spent a lot of time reading and thinking on these issues.)

[Rian Jackson]

fishy, the older houses are just stones cut to fit each other - limestone, actually. there's no mortar whatsoever. generally the oldest farmouses are 2 stories high. the newer ones are made of newer materials, and are also many stories.

of course, there are still buildings there from 3500 BC so maybe i shouldn't worry. it's just that i KNOW they get quakes sometimes... maybe they are far enough west not to be effected by the iran turkey europe faults.

BTW fishy, you can't poof. you left your bird suit at home.

[Simply Joel]

Re: the Midwest, most houses built to resist high wind are likely to be okay wrt earthquake.

Cites?

this link does not make the comparison, yet provides information on wind basics and construction requirements.
http://www.state.il.us/iema/comp_ch1.pdf?Cache

[theCryptofishist]

Thank you, Joel.
I'm not real sure (I don't have the technical background to really understand this) but a ""Wind Proof Room" would be nasty if it fell over (I'd guess chimneys are bad news in either scenario) and it's not clear to me either way that building to resist the wind will resist shock waves. I would guess that solid connection to the foundation would be called for in either case. A lot of the houses I remember from St. Paul seemed to have cripple walls--don't know how they do in tornados but that's a potential half pancake in a quake.
Food for thought.

[Simply Joel]

i imagine we shall have an opportunity to see.

[theCryptofishist]

Us personally? Maybe, maybe not. (hey thirty years ago we were facing a better than even chance of having "the Big One" in thirty years or less.) In 250 years? almost certainly.

[unjonharley]

in Al. old homes were built on log sleds. the permafrost moves the ground. this styel should do well in a quake.

[BlueBirdPoof]

fishy, the older houses are just stones cut to fit each other - limestone, actually. there's no mortar whatsoever. generally the oldest farmouses are 2 stories high. the newer ones are made of newer materials, and are also many stories.

of course, there are still buildings there from 3500 BC so maybe i shouldn't worry. it's just that i KNOW they get quakes sometimes... maybe they are far enough west not to be effected by the iran turkey europe faults.

BTW fishy, you can't poof. you left your bird suit at home.

Poof.

[stuart]

well, my aged cal bungalo has survived some serious shakers in it's history so I feel pretty good. Damnit though, the chronic cracks in the plaster around door frames and the like piss me off though.

[theCryptofishist]

I suppose that's Northridge and San Fernando. (Yeah, I know la existed before that--but they didn't have earthquakes) I would say that a bungalow is okay--if it falls there's not much of it. Again, it depends on the foundation and attachment thereto. I hope you're not on fill. (more of a problem up here, I think.)

[theCryptofishist]

Earthquake survival list googled and copied off the University of Memphis site.

Earthquake Survival
What to do before, during and after an earthquake, and preparing an earthquake survival kit for your home, automobile, and office.
WHAT TO DO
PREPARE YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY NOW

* Have an earthquake survival kit on hand.
* All family members should know how to turn off gas, water, and electricity.
* Plan family emergency procedures, and make plans for reuniting your family.
* Know emergency telephone numbers (doctor, hospital, police, 911, etc)
* Anchor heavy objects to walls (bookcases, wall units, mirrors, cabinets, etc.)
* Never place heavy objects over beds, and keep heavy objects lower than head height of shortest member of family.

DURING AN EARTHQUAKE STAY CALM

* Inside, stand in doorway, or crouch under a desk or table, well away from windows or glass dividers.
* Outside, stand away from buildings, trees, telephones and electrical lines.
* On the road, drive away from underpasses and overpasses; stop in safe area; stay in vehicle.

AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE

* Check for injuries-provide first aid.
* Check for safety-check for gas, water, sewage breaks; check for downed power lines and shorts; turn off appropriate utilities.
* Check for building damage and potential problems during aftershocks.
* Clean up dangerous spills.
* Wear shoes
* Turn on the radio and listen for instructions from public safety agencies.
* Use telephone for emergencies, only.

Earthquake Survival Kits
SURVIVAL SUPPLIES:

# Water-2 quarts to 1 gallon per person, per day.
# First Aid Kit-ample, and freshly stocked.
# First Aid Manual-know how to use it.
# Food-canned or individually packaged;precooked, requiring minimum heat and water. Consider infants, pets, and other special dietary requirements.
# Critical medication, extra eyeglasses
# Can opener
# Blankets
# Radio-portable battery operated, spare batteries
# Critical medication and eyeglasses, contact cases and supplies
# Fire Extinguisher-dry chemical, type ABC
# Flashlight-spare batteries and bulbs
# Watch or clock-battery or spring wound. COOKING:
# Barbeque-use outdoors ONLY-charcoal and lighter, or Sterno stove
# Plastic bags-various sizes, sealable
# Pots-at least two
# Paper plates, plastic utensils, and paper towels SANITATION
# Large plastic trash bags-for trash, waste, water protection
# Ground cloth
# Large trash cans
# Hand soap, liquid detergent, shampoo
# Toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss
# Deodorant
# Feminine supplies
# Infant supplies
# Toilet paper
# Powdered chlorinated lime-to add to sewage to disinfect and keep away insects.
# Newspapers-to wrap waste, garbage; may also be used for warmth.

SAFETY
# Heavy shoes for every family member
# heavy gloves for every person cleaning debris
# candles
# Matches-dipped in wax and kept in waterproof container
# Knife-sharp, or razor blades
# Garden hose-for siphoning and fire fighting
# Clothes-complete change kept dry

TOOLS
# Axe
# Shovel
# Broom
# Crescent wrench-for turning off gas main
# Screwdrivers
# Pliers
# Hammer
# Rope or bailing wire
# Plastic tape
# Pen and paper

Mini Survival Kit for Automobile
# Non-perishable food-store in coffee cans
# Boiled water
# First aid kit and manual
# Fire extinguisher
# Blanket
# Sealable plastic bags
# Flashlight-spare fresh batteries and bulb
# Critical medication, extra eyeglasses
# Tools-screwdriver, pliers, wire, knife
# Short rubber hose
# Pre-moistened towelettes
# Feminine supplies
# Sturdy shoes and gloves

Your emergency supplies should be adequate for at least 72 hours (3 days).

A 10-day supply of water, food, and medicine is recommended.

The standard around here seems to have been recently changed to "Duck, Cover and Hold" and doorframes may be more problemmatic than previously thought--go for heavy furniture.

Powerlines--I've seen the melt scar from where a powerline hit the sidewalk. I have respect for them.

Turning off the gas. When I was growing up it was what you were supposed to do automatically. NOw it's only if you smell gas leaking. Yours could be the only intact kitchen in the area and serve as grand central food preperation for the neighborhood. Some of the local neighborhood readiness groups have an annual potluck where they rotate their old survival food.

Again we're being told to have food for 5 days--it takes a while for supplies to be brought in.

Have an agreed upon out of area contact. If every one calls Aunt Masie in Bonneville then she can relay who's checked in. Sometimes it's easier to call out than in.

And hey, remember to check your fire alarms Saturday while you're hungove and it will have the most effect.

[stuart]

if it falls

I will cry. I have put a lot of work into the place. Not to mention the loss of much wine. Still, the lot is worth way more than the structure. Nah, we aint on fill but liquifaction is theoretically an issue in our area. Foundation is rock solid. The guy who built this home was a freak of a mason in the builder and mystical sense. The design of the living room makes no sense until you start measuring the proportions of centerline of features on walls and come up with the golden mean every damn time. Sucks to have a fireplace not centered in the room. Fucking masons.

[theCryptofishist]

Sucks to have a fireplace not centered in the room. Fucking masons.

OOoooh. Those are dangerous. they fall in shaky shaky. But otherwise, good.

[stuart]

hasn't yet. Certainly I would not make plans to be anywhere near it if we started to jiggle though.

[Rian Jackson]

oh, it's an earthquake! let me stand by this chimney of stone!

probably smart, stuart.

[stuart]

my past is littered with overwheling stupidity

[stuart]

and typos

[theCryptofishist]

My present and future are fiddled with typoes.

No worries.

[Bob]

Re: the Midwest, most houses built to resist high wind are likely to be okay wrt earthquake.

Cites?

Code design procedures for typical one- to two-story residences for both give similar results, AFAIK. Wind and seismic forces are mostly lateral, and strong wind forces are of similar scale to typical earthquake forces.

Note: "typical" =/= straw bale, fake brick, odd shapes, unreinforced muck, etc. But it's all a crap shoot in the end.

[stuart]

I have experienced the high 5 pointer aftershocks of Northridge and 70mph winds in a couple of locales. The latter pales in comparison to the former.

[theCryptofishist]

I remember hearing that the building codes in Seattle and New York and maybe even New Madrid weren't up to the potential for area quakes, but it's in the sort of "recieved wisdom that maybe I should check out" catagory of information. That's why I asked.

[Rian Jackson]

it used to be that every time we got an earthquake i was home alone. i also remember the floor very distinctly rippling... but we get a couple different types of the shakes around here.

[RingO'Fire]

it used to be that every time we got an earthquake i was home alone. i also remember the floor very distinctly rippling... but we get a couple different types of the shakes around here.

There are two types of waves propagated through the earth by earthquakes, "P" waves and "S" waves. "P" waves are compressional waves, essentially sound waves traveling through the Earth. "S" waves are shear waves, like the wave traveling down bullwhip or a wet towel when you're snapping it - first whipping it forward and then pulling it back to create the shear wave.

I'm not sure how the two different types of waves "feel", although we did have a magnitude 4.5 quake here this past spring. My bed starting hopping up and down on the floor at around 3:00 a.m. In my semi-awake state, I thought, "What the fuck is that damn cat doing?!"

[Rob the Wop]

In my semi-awake state, I thought, "What the fuck is that damn cat doing?!"

Yes, but were the downstairs neighbors saying, "What the fuck is RingO'Fire doing to that damn cat?!"

[AntiM]

Ring o' Fire wrote:

I'm not sure how the two different types of waves "feel", although we did have a magnitude 4.5 quake here this past spring.

One's a sway and one's a jolt. Fun stuff in a traditional japanese house.

Now I live in Utah near the Wasatch Fault; quiet now but all I have to do is look at the vertical shearing on the mountain faces to see the potential for disaster. I live in a brick veneer over cinderblock house, aka Utah Box Home. I'll probably fall into the basement along with the roof and walls.

[Simply Joel]

January 1, 2005
A Time to Mourn
By DAVID BROOKS

I have this week's front pages arrayed on the desk around me. There's a picture of dead children lined up on a floor while a mother wails. There's a picture of a man on the beach holding his dead son's hand to his forehead. There are others, each as wrenching as the last.

Human beings have always told stories to explain deluges such as this. Most cultures have deep at their core a flood myth in which the great bulk of humanity is destroyed and a few are left to repopulate and repurify the human race. In most of these stories, God is meting out retribution, punishing those who have strayed from his path. The flood starts a new history, which will be on a higher plane than the old.

Nowadays we find these kinds of explanations repugnant. It is repugnant to imply that the people who suffer from natural disasters somehow deserve their fate. And yet for all the callousness of those tales, they did at least put human beings at the center of history.

In those old flood myths, things happened because human beings behaved in certain ways; their morality was tied to their destiny. Stories of a wrathful God implied that at least there was an active God, who had some plan for the human race. At the end of the tribulations there would be salvation.

If you listen to the discussion of the tsunami this past week, you receive the clear impression that the meaning of this event is that there is no meaning. Humans are not the universe's main concern. We're just gnats on the crust of the earth. The earth shrugs and 140,000 gnats die, victims of forces far larger and more permanent than themselves.

Most of the stories that were told and repeated this week were melodramas. One person freakishly survives while another perishes, and there is really no cause for one's good fortune or the other's bad. A baby survives by sitting on a mattress. Others are washed out to sea and then wash back bloated and dead. There is no human agency in these stories, just nature's awful lottery.

The nature we saw this week is different from the nature we tell ourselves about in the natural history museum, at the organic grocery store and on a weekend outing to the national park. This week nature seems amoral and viciously cruel. This week we're reminded that the word "wilderness" derives from the word for willful and uncontrollable.

This catastrophic, genocidal nature is a long way from the benign and rhythmic circle of life in "The Lion King." It's a long way from the naturalist theology of Thoreau's "Walden" or the writings of John Muir.

The naturalists hold up nature as the spiritual tonic to our vulgar modern world. They urge us to break down the barriers that alienate us from nature. Live simply and imbibe nature's wisdom. "Probably if our lives were more conformed to nature, we should not need to defend ourselves against her heats and colds, but find her our constant nurse and friend, as do plants and quadrupeds," Thoreau wrote.

Nature doesn't seem much like a nurse or friend this week, and when Thoreau goes on to celebrate the savage wildness of nature, he sounds, this week, like a boy who has seen a war movie and thinks he has experienced the glory of combat.

In short, this week images of something dark and unmerciful were thrust onto a culture that is by temperament upbeat and romantic.

In the newspaper essays and television commentaries reflecting upon it all, there would often be some awkward passage as the author tried to conclude with some easy uplift - a little bromide about how wonderfully we all rallied together, and how we are all connected by our common humanity in times of crisis.

The world's generosity has indeed been amazing, but sometimes we use our compassion as a self-enveloping fog to obscure our view of the abyss. Somehow it's wrong to turn this event into a good-news story so we can all feel warm this holiday season. It's wrong to turn it into a story about us, who gave, rather than about them, whose lives were ruined. It's certainly wrong to turn this into yet another petty political spat, as many tried, disgustingly, to do.

This is a moment to feel deeply bad, for the dead and for those of us who have no explanation.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[Donita]

January 1, 2005 -- A Time to Mourn -- By DAVID BROOKS
<<snip snip snippity snip>>
Human beings have always told stories to explain deluges such as this. Most cultures have deep at their core a flood myth in which the great bulk of humanity is destroyed and a few are left to repopulate and repurify the human race. In most of these stories, God is meting out retribution, punishing those who have strayed from his path. <<snip snip snippity snip>>

The hospital I work in is Catholic-based. I'm not. The other day I was talking with a woman in the department about the devistation of the tsunami and all those poor unfortunate souls that have died, 33% of which were children, and she commented, "God has a reason for punishing them. They must have done some really bad things in their lives."

My fucking jaw dropped. I was speechless. I was in such shock (at her obvious stupidity) that I was unable to converse with her for even another second. I thought this kind of thinking and believing went out with the Dark Ages. Apparently it has not, which really baffles me.