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#271423 - 08/25/14 01:52 AM Earthquake in Napa
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
I hope all of our CA members are OK and have not had extensive damage to their homes & businesses!

Damage From California Quake Could Top $1 Billion

Quote:
A magnitude-6.0 earthquake hit the Napa Valley at 3:20 a.m. Sunday — the strongest temblor in the San Francisco Bay Area in a quarter century — destroying both opulent and modest homes, rupturing dozens of water and gas mains and causing injuries — mostly minor — to more than 100 people.
------------snip---------------
At least 120 people had been treated at the emergency room at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, said Vanessa deGier, a hospital spokeswoman. Most of the injuries were minor lacerations or abrasions caused by falling debris. But three patients were in critical condition, including a child who had been crushed by a falling fireplace. No deaths had been confirmed as of Sunday evening.
-------------------snip---------------
Despite the widespread damage, scientists said California was fortunate to escape greater devastation from the earthquake, which exposed gaps in the state’s preparedness. The historic 1906 San Francisco earthquake was about 500 times larger than Sunday’s temblor.

“It is truly small — small compared to what California has experienced in its recorded history,” said Ross S. Stein, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey.

What is particularly disturbing is that some buildings that had been retrofitted to withstand earthquakes still failed in this M 6 event. This is not encouraging for when an even stronger event occurs, which will happen sooner or later. As most ETS readers are aware, the earthquake Magnitude Scale is logarithmic with respect to deflection on a seismograph. Thus an M 7 event has 10 times bigger amplitude. However, in terms of energy release, an M 7 event releases almost 32 times as much energy as an M 6! See the USGS earthquake calculator.
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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
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#271424 - 08/25/14 02:00 AM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: AKSAR]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz

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#271425 - 08/25/14 02:32 AM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: AKSAR]
Pete Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/20/09
Posts: 1372
Im in L.A. ... did not feel it. But they are right.
This is a relatively small quake by our standards.
Much bigger ones coming soon :-)

Pete

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#271426 - 08/25/14 03:25 AM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: Pete]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Magnitude 6 is not small when it's under your feet. That having been said, a 6.0 is not the big one, not even close.

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#271428 - 08/25/14 03:33 AM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: AKSAR]
Meadowlark Offline
Member

Registered: 10/05/08
Posts: 154
Loc: Northern Colorado

500 times stronger...wow. And the Japanese one in 2011 was about 9.0 on the Richter scale, wasn't it? I don't know how you coastal folk handle it. (although we're at risk in the Rockies, as well.)

--M
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Along the mountain track,
And as I go, I love to sing,
My knapsack on my back


Current kits: http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=241840

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#271429 - 08/25/14 03:49 AM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: Russ]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
Originally Posted By: Pete
This is a relatively small quake by our standards.
Much bigger ones coming soon :-)
Originally Posted By: Russ
Magnitude 6 is not small when it's under your feet. That having been said, a 6.0 is not the big one, not even close.

Pete & Russ,

Yes, M 6.0 is not "the big one", however with earthquakes there are several other factors that can make even a moderately strong quake very dangerous. The depth at which the quake occurs is important, as well as the local geology.

This M 6.0 quake under the Napa area was at a depth of about 11.3km (7.0mi). By way of comparison, the 2011 M 6.3 under Christchurch New Zealand was at a depth of only about 5km (3 mi). Apparently Christchurch is also underlain by relatively soft sediments. There were 185 deaths in Christchurch, at least 220 major trauma cases, and about 6000 people were treated for various less severe injuries.

In many situations, even a "relatively small by our standards" quake can be quite deadly.
_________________________
"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz

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#271432 - 08/25/14 08:10 AM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: Meadowlark]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
" I don't know how you coastal folk handle it."

Let's just say that mirrors on the ceiling is not a very good idea...The threat of earthquakes tends to make one think preparedness.
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#271445 - 08/25/14 08:14 PM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: hikermor]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
Just don't sit below old brick walls to sip your latte or glass of wine! Or else it might be the last time you "seize the day"!

Even buildings with seismic retrofits damaged in Napa earthquake

Quote:
So city officials required brick structures such as the landmark Alexandria Square building to get seismic retrofitting — bolting brick walls to ceilings and floors to make them stronger. The work was completed years ago on the 104-year-old property.

But when a 6.0 earthquake struck Sunday morning, the walls on the top floors crumbled, showering brick and mortar onto the sidewalk and outdoor café.

The destruction highlights one of the greatest fears of seismic engineers — that the retrofitting of unreinforced masonry buildings still leaves weak joints between bricks. Whole chunks can fall, sending bricks crashing down.
-------------snip------------------
When the quake struck at 3:20 a.m. Sunday, part of the third-story cupola collapsed onto the sidewalk below. A restaurant, Carpe Diem Wine Bar, has outdoor seating under broad awnings during the warm summer months. If the earthquake had struck at any other time, DeSimoni said, “we could have lost lots of people.”

“You can’t replace people, but you can put new brick on a building,” DeSimoni said. “We’re pretty fortunate that it happened when it did.”
_________________________
"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz

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#271446 - 08/25/14 08:21 PM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: Pete]
ireckon Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/01/10
Posts: 1629
Loc: Northern California
During this quake and the 1989 quake, I was near the epicenter each time. Both quakes shook me hard enough to make me think "this is the end". By the way, I have consciously felt at least 40 quakes in my lifetime.

As far as I'm concerned, any earthquake that kills people is "The Big One". A quake that kills you or a family member will certainly be the The Big One to you. It doesn't get any bigger than death.
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If you're reading this, it's too late.

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#271448 - 08/26/14 12:09 AM Re: Earthquake in Napa [Re: AKSAR]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Years ago the National Park Service was in the process of purchasing a portion of Santa Cruz Island and I was on the island, spending the night in one of the historic buildings that graces the island. The last thought that went through my drowsy brain was "I hope there is no earthquake - there must be at least forty feet of unreinforced masonry above me. I wonder if that will affect the sale"

Bringing the subject up later at a meeting, I learned that indeed it did, and great was the wailing and gnashing of teeth thereof. A similar building has been reinforced and retrofitted at significant expense and now serves as an island visitor center, but this building, at Smuggler's Cove, is still off limits to Park personnel for sleeping overnight.

On a more positive note, I and many others have watched the construction of a significant addition to our local hospital. The first step was significant excavation of an immense hole and the pouring of a very large concrete plug - I believe to serve as a sub-foundation. The most prominent feature of the multi=story framing now rising is beefy steel X-bracing. We've learned a lot in the last century.

Retrofitting is expensive, a real hassle, and it won't necessarily ensure the survival of the building, but the occupants are more likely to live. In that sense, the Napa quake retrofit was successful.
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