Article on how the Christchurch destruction is relevant to the U.S. west coast -- including Oregon's Willamette Valley.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222152504.htm

"The latest New Zealand earthquake hit an area that wasn't even known to have a fault prior to last September, it's one that had not moved in thousands of years," Yeats said. "But when you combine the shallow depth, proximity to a major city and soil characteristics, it was capable of immense damage.

"The same characteristics that caused such destruction and so many deaths in Christchurch are similar to those facing Portland, Seattle, parts of the Bay Area and many other West Coast cities and towns," Yeats said. "And it's worth keeping in mind that New Zealand has some of the most progressive building codes in the world.

They are better prepared for an earthquake like this than many U.S. cities would be."



NYC more vulnerable than previously thought?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...ne-2223545.html

"Cities like Christchurch, which are only known to lie on a fault once an earthquake occurs, are much harder to protect against. Recent seismological studies have suggested that major cities like New York and Beijing, which are situated far from tectonic plate boundaries, may in fact be more vulnerable than previously thought to seismic shifts."