Study: Megaquake looms over Seattle

updated 7:23 p.m. ET, Tues., Oct . 27, 2009

The Cascadia thrust fault, one of the most dangerous and powerful faults on Earth, will hit even closer to home than anyone thought possible, according to a new study.

If the new findings are accurate, the fault will rupture within 68 miles of downtown Seattle, pouring seismic energy into a densely populated urban area, threatening to knock down buildings both large and small, and endangering the lives of the city's nearly 10 million residents.

The threat of earthquakes is just a part of life for those living in Seattle, Vancouver and throughout the Puget Sound region. Scientists know it is just a matter of time before Cascadia lets loose a devastating quake on the order of magnitude 9.0.

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[edit on 27/10/09 by DontTreadOnMe]

Interesting find on the heels of another study that says SW washington is the site of a massive caldera that qualifies it as a supervolcano because of the size of the magma chamber.

reply to post by Pauligirl


Scary, I live in Washington State, but on the east side of the state. Thank goodness. Seems like Seattle / Puget Sound area has a few different possible natural disasters to worry about. But yeah a quake would be bad in Seattle.

If a huge quake hit, shaking in the city would be strong but low-frequency, the thinking went. There's a risk that buildings might collapse under that scenario, but those less than 10 stories would be spared.

I have to disagree though with the above statement, because a lot of the buildings under 10 stories are made of all brick...Brick buildings don't do well in EQs.

If I lived on the West Coast right now, I'd be moving in land.

[edit on 10/27/2009 by JohnnyR]

There's just something about natural disasters that always draw my attention.

Maybe it's just the power that mother nature displays.

Of course, I pray a megaquake never happens. But just the thought of it happening leaves a lot to the imagination.

Just imagine the disaster and changes such an event would bring.


S+F

Just to note, whoever wrote the article did so very quickly. It says Seattle has 10 million residents? Washington state only has a population of 6,549,224 altogether and Greater Seattle just 3,344,813.

Living in an earthquake zone myself, I always just stay prepared as best I can. However at least in the NW we don't have to worry about hurricanes and tornadoes. Nowhere is totally safe.

Also check this out:
www.foxnews.com...
Video Shows Potential Devastation of a Seattle Earthquake

A newly released video from Washington's Department of Transportation simulates what a catastrophic earthquake would do to the Seattle waterfront.

reply to post by oneinthesame

However at least in the NW we don't have to worry about hurricanes and tornadoes.

True. Guess every area has their own unique disasters awaiting them.



Appreciate the video.

Originally posted by oneinthesame
Just to note, whoever wrote the article did so very quickly. It says Seattle has 10 million residents? Washington state only has a population of 6,549,224 altogether and Greater Seattle just 3,344,813.

As soon as I saw that population figure I looked for the most recent population and thought that couldn't be right.
I remember that 6.8 nisqually quake which did crumble quite a few of the brick building in the Seattle area. Quite honestly I'm tired of hearing about the "big one" is coming to this area. I grew up in the bay area and always heard of the "big one" is coming to that area. History and science has proven it has happened before and will happen again. When it did happen in the past, the people recovered, rebuilt and moved forward.

Originally posted by jam321
reply to post by oneinthesame

 

However at least in the NW we don't have to worry about hurricanes and tornadoes.

True. Guess every area has their own unique disasters awaiting them.



Appreciate the video.

Well we did have a tornado last summer about 8 miles from my house. Its not common for it to happen in this area as in the mid-west region of the U.S, but anything can happen..