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General => Other => Topic started by: alexgt on May 02, 2015, 06:58:49 PM

Title: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 02, 2015, 06:58:49 PM
Today there was an earthquake (http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2015/05/earthquake_south_of_galesburg.html) in Michigan close to where I live and I wanted to share it

Did you have any encounters with the such in your life?
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Unicorn on May 02, 2015, 07:12:25 PM
oh, my gash

There's an earthquake where I live like every 20 minutes. (Hawaii)
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Snektron on May 02, 2015, 07:13:08 PM
You live on hawaii? Awesome :D
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 02, 2015, 08:09:10 PM
Yeah earthquakes are rare here so it really felt out of the ordinary but in Hawaii there is a lot more stuff going on since it is a volcano... alexgt wants to take a vacation :P
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 02, 2015, 09:09:34 PM
Quote from: alexgt on May 02, 2015, 06:58:49 PM
Today there was an earthquake (http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2015/05/earthquake_south_of_galesburg.html) in Michigan close to where I live and I wanted to share it

Did you have any encounters with the such in your life?

Yes in 1997. Although only 5 with the epicenter pretty far, it was kinda scary as kid. We had a 5.9 earthquake in 1988 but I was too young to remember it. Neither caused any damage. My mom didn't realize it until it made the headlines because when the neighboors went downstairs it was like a 5.0 earthquake.

Quebec gets 100 earthquakes a year but they are so small we rarely feel any.

We occasionally get hit by remnants of hurricanes which causes minor flooding in remote areaslike where juju lives.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Snektron on May 02, 2015, 09:20:13 PM
I live in holland so there are not really any earthquakes. Rarely there are some small waterspouts over on the Ijsselmeer but thats quite far away from where i live.
we do have some storms in the spring and fall, though they are not really bad (though the ones in fall can be quite nasty)
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Unicorn on May 02, 2015, 09:21:52 PM
Yeah, well there are not many quakes that we can feel, but they are still there.

I can't believe what happened in Nepal. O.O
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Snektron on May 02, 2015, 09:23:51 PM
Yeah :-/. And it's bound to happen in constantinople sooner or later too...
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 02, 2015, 10:18:25 PM
Quote from: Unicorn on May 02, 2015, 09:21:52 PM
Yeah, well there are not many quakes that we can feel, but they are still there.

I can't believe what happened in Nepal. O.O
Yeah I feel bad for the people who live there. The worst part is that this country isn't hit that often by big earthquakes, so their buildings and infrastructure was most likely not done to resist earthquakes. In Quebec we now have earthquake policies for the construction industry and public buildings like hospitals. But I doubt the buildings are as strong as in California or Japan. Charlevoix-Kamouraska area once got hit by a 7.3-7.9 earthquake in 1663 and that area is like 1.5 hours drive from here. I hope we don't get hit by that anytime soon >.<

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlevoix_Seismic_Zone
http://earthquaketrack.com/p/canada/quebec/biggest

EDIT: Actually that 7.3-7.9 earthquake used Mercalli scale. It's probably lower than that on Richter scale, but there were some 6.0-6.5 ones in the last 200-300 years.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 03, 2015, 12:20:48 AM
Quote from: Unicorn on May 02, 2015, 09:21:52 PM
Yeah, well there are not many quakes that we can feel, but they are still there.

I can't believe what happened in Nepal. O.O
Apparently there were over 20 after shocks that were above 6.0 so the buildings that were still standing weren't for long :(
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 03, 2015, 01:52:42 AM
Wow, that's terrible. Just after you had to go through the initial event and scared for life, you end up having to deal with 20 more earthquakes that are still destructive. The small 5.1 earthquake here had two noticeable aftershocks just a few minutes after the initial thing, and we were standing close to the exit door just in case an even bigger one would occur (I heard that sometimes the aftershocks can be even stronger). If we had an even bigger earthquake we would probably either run for our lives or I would be stunned in shock.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Yuki on May 03, 2015, 03:46:51 AM
Yeah, as DJ said, unlike some other parts of the world, earthquakes above 4-5 are pretty rare and we hardly feel it. Floods are way more common. I live on my little neighborhood's main street, which is pretty much next to the river (I live on the other side) and last year the river flooded, there was water until the middle of the street at some points, roads were closed, quite a lot of homes were flooded, well, that was quite the natural disaster. Again this year, the water is usually at its high around April when snow finishes to melt, the water level was dangerously high, some houses and terrain flooded (like this house built literally next to the river, they could literally open the back door and step on a boat from there), but it wasn't as bad as last year.

One of the major disasters we had here in Québec was the infamous 1996 Saguenay Flood which pretty much destroyed a whole neighborhood of the town of Chicoutimi, save for a little white house, for some reason, as a result of massive rain. Note that I have family living there. So yeah, they survived the worst flood of the 20th century in Canada.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 03, 2015, 06:38:30 AM
It's sad that they had to go through this D:. I still remember that flood. They had like 7 inches of rain in one day IIRC after 2 weeks of rain and then the dams failed, right?


Also now that you bring this up, the Ice Storm of 1998 which crippled most of Montreal area's power grid infrastructure and left 3 millions of people in the dark. But the worst part is that following the storm, the usual period of extreme cold that occurs mid-january started occuring, and 1 million of people didn't get power until 1 month later. Many had to be evacuated from their home because with no other safe source of heating they would not have survived. In my case, all we got was 1 week of snowstorming and winds so we were safe.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Yuki on May 03, 2015, 04:52:18 PM
Pretty much, Chicoutimi had 11 inches of rain in a few hours, it's pretty much more rain in a day than what we usually get in a month. And then the dams failed. Thinking of that, similar stuff happened with category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the US, I think of New Orleans during Katrina, among others, where the dams had a hard time keeping it up, so imagine if we had such hurricanes this far in the north...

And yeah, the infamous Ice Storm of 1998. The big of the damage was more in the Montreal and Ottawa area, though.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 03, 2015, 06:35:46 PM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on May 03, 2015, 01:52:42 AM
Wow, that's terrible. Just after you had to go through the initial event and scared for life, you end up having to deal with 20 more earthquakes that are still destructive. The small 5.1 earthquake here had two noticeable aftershocks just a few minutes after the initial thing, and we were standing close to the exit door just in case an even bigger one would occur (I heard that sometimes the aftershocks can be even stronger). If we had an even bigger earthquake we would probably either run for our lives or I would be stunned in shock.
The closer the earthquake is to the surface the more aftershocks and more damaging.

Quote from: Juju on May 03, 2015, 04:52:18 PM
Pretty much, Chicoutimi had 11 inches of rain in a few hours, it's pretty much more rain in a day than what we usually get in a month. And then the dams failed. Thinking of that, similar stuff happened with category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the US, I think of New Orleans during Katrina, among others, where the dams had a hard time keeping it up, so imagine if we had such hurricanes this far in the north...

And yeah, the infamous Ice Storm of 1998. The big of the damage was more in the Montreal and Ottawa area, though.
11 inches of rain would flood California because the ground doesn't seep up the water that fast, at least they wouldn't be in drought anymore  :-\
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 05, 2015, 03:14:11 PM
Aah I didn't know there were higher risks of aftershocks if the earthquake epicenter was closer to the ground surface. Also the type of soil doesn't help sometimes, since earthquake shockwaves travel easier through some of them.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 05, 2015, 07:48:00 PM
Why larger earthquakes are so rare in MI is because the loose sand and pebbles lower in the ground, they act as a spring and absorb the shock but sometimes at the surface they will travel quicker with less stuff in their way so more energy is released on buildings so they are good and bad. The after shocks are just waves that come when the ground settles or that are slower waves that take longer to travel through rock. (I just got done with earthquake stuff in science)
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 07, 2015, 07:18:37 PM
Yeah this is why the new Quebec City arena had hundreds of concrete or steel pillars inserted underground because the ground was similar and while shockwaves travel harder in there, buildings are less resistant on it. There is higher chances of soil movement as well I guess.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 08, 2015, 03:52:59 AM
Well not much is going to tear those buildings up. Have you ever thought about gravity reversing directions but instead of up it pulled side ways O.O?
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 08, 2015, 04:00:53 AM
I am definitively curious about how resistant the building would be against such stuff. In any case, if most newer buildings go through a 6.0 earthquake fine in Quebec City area, they would still need to check the structures for any crack and potential damage, in case buildings would collapse during a much smaller earthquake.

In any case I think I can wait for a big earthquake. Same for tornadoes. Back in 2008 I remember coming back from the doctor on a stormy afternoon and under the storm clouds we could notice cone-shaped things that seemed to rotate a little bit. It was a bit scary. Also last Summer a big storm cloud that went over my home seemed to rotate, so I paid closer attention to it (there was barely any wind, though).
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 08, 2015, 04:04:32 AM
Tornadoes are what I would fear most because you anticipate them since you can see then sucking up your house O.O that would be scary. I have had a lot of thunder storms but no tornadoes have actually touched down in MI for a while.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 08, 2015, 05:16:34 AM
For tornadoes don't you have to go in the basement or in the very center of the house in an enclosed place like the bathroom? I kinda forgot, but I definitively wouldn't want to be close to windows or outside if one would hit over here. That said, even a bit windy storm could be scary since it could blow stuff through my window.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Unicorn on May 08, 2015, 05:20:18 AM
The baement I think,but if Iwas in the bathroom a toilet would be my choice.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 08, 2015, 05:24:54 AM
Also break the window and stick glass in you OUCH!
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Unicorn on May 08, 2015, 05:31:58 AM
Luckily, the only tornado here was a waterspout that destrayd a super market way back when.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Snektron on May 08, 2015, 08:39:43 AM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on May 07, 2015, 07:18:37 PM
Yeah this is why the new Quebec City arena had hundreds of concrete or steel pillars inserted underground because the ground was similar and while shockwaves travel harder in there, buildings are less resistant on it. There is higher chances of soil movement as well I guess.
Isn't normally done on homes? I mean where i live they also slam pillars in the ground, but only when they're building a house or something on it. Since im in The Netherlands the ground is quite soft and we use the pillars to reach the harder sand layers :)
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Unicorn on May 08, 2015, 06:39:56 PM
Oh, cool. I always figured it was for the taller newer skyscrapers that are in earthquake zones.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 08, 2015, 07:35:35 PM
I just hope no one has to go through a major natural disaster like a big tornado or something :)
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Duke "Tape" Eiyeron on May 09, 2015, 07:05:06 PM
Technology marches on and allow us to have epic skycrapers ignoring earthquakes. I remember a building having a central structure joined by springs or something like that that would balance the effect done by a quake. Amazing.
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Ivoah on May 09, 2015, 07:06:36 PM
There was an earthquake in Maryland while we were visiting my aunt an uncle (in maryland), but I didn't know about until after because I was swimming in their pool and didn't feel it at all :(
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Unicorn on May 10, 2015, 06:39:47 AM
lol, does anyone know about that 2000? year old church near turckey that has withstood hundreds of quakes on that fault line?
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Snektron on May 10, 2015, 08:41:25 AM
Wow... thats pretty impressive O.O
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: alexgt on May 10, 2015, 02:28:28 PM
I would want to live in that old church
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 12, 2015, 12:49:12 PM
Quote from: Cumred_Snektron on May 08, 2015, 08:39:43 AM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on May 07, 2015, 07:18:37 PM
Yeah this is why the new Quebec City arena had hundreds of concrete or steel pillars inserted underground because the ground was similar and while shockwaves travel harder in there, buildings are less resistant on it. There is higher chances of soil movement as well I guess.
Isn't normally done on homes? I mean where i live they also slam pillars in the ground, but only when they're building a house or something on it. Since im in The Netherlands the ground is quite soft and we use the pillars to reach the harder sand layers :)
In Quebec they sometimes do it on larger buildings too, depending of the soil underneath. If I recall correctly, this, along with the fact they can't do much during Winter due to frozen ground, is why the arena took a while before it really started coming out of the ground.


Also regarding Nepal, they apparently got hit by another large Earthquake today! O.O
Title: Re: Natural disasters!
Post by: Unicorn on May 12, 2015, 11:01:03 PM
I heard it was a 7.4 magnitude O.o TRippy!