Looming catastrophic earthquake in Nepal could surpass that of Haiti or Chile

So is Nepal the next big one? And what can be worse than Haiti? It is only a matter of time now, and this will happen, but what can we do to avoid it?

More people will die, aid will rush in, and then rebuilding will begin.

We are still at the mercy of nature, it is high time we develop some technology to prevent earthquakes

When disaster specialist Amod Dixit looks out his window in Kathmandu, he sees collapsed bridges, demolished hospitals, schools reduced to rubble and dusty corpses lying in the street, the nightmare of Port-au-Prince revisited on his Himalayan home.

“Unfortunately, that is the reality (of what we are facing), if not worse,” said Dixit. “If Kathmandu is impacted with a shaking of an intensity IX on the Mercalli intensity scale, the aftermath is going to be much worse than in Haiti.”

The climax of the collision between tectonic plates that thrust up the Himalayas, Nepal is criss-crossed by geologic fault lines — some of which have been building up pressure for centuries

Source: www.globalpost.com...

I think volcanoes are the next big thing to watch. 2nd seal is going to open by the end of this month, or early in April.

reply to post by DocEmrick


i think it could possibly be volcanoes, too, as there seems to be a trend with certain natural emergencies. this is the year of earthquakes and there were year of tornadoes and hurricanes. there was a thread here (didnt provide much proof but was still a good thought excercise for me) that said something to this effect.

by the opening of seals, are you referring to this?



to the op:
I really wish there was a way to go ahead and force an earthquake to happen when it could be a lower magnitude, much like they do with avalanche prevention.

Problems are obvious with this:
how would you know which fault and where to strike it?
how would you know that it would help anything?
even if you did everything right, who's to say it wouldnt be even larger and worse earthquake?

i hope nepal doesnt suffer badly. this year has been terrible for earthquakes as it is.

is this a sign of our planet going haywire or is this just the way things have always been? i know earthquakes happen. same with all natural disasters, but is it worse than it has been as some claim?

Originally posted by mahtoosacks
reply to post by DocEmrick

 

is this a sign of our planet going haywire or is this just the way things have always been? i know earthquakes happen. same with all natural disasters, but is it worse than it has been as some claim?

From USGS averages, it's pretty normal. Yes, we got an 8.8 already in the early part of the year, but for everything under 7.0, it's normal. There's usually 100,000 earthquakes a year on earth, even more that go undetected.

I wouldn't worry yet, there's other things to worry about then what MIGHT happen.

Kathmandhu is a shambles. It has very little infrastructure and only one perilous mountain road leading into it from India it is polluted beyond belief, overcrowded and there is no running water and electricity in many areas, apart from upper middle class area. Locals can barely afford candles to use as lights when the power is cut.
Even the tourist area of Thamel is without electricity and water many hours a day.
And the streets are often filled with rioters. Monthly strikes enforced by political mafia tactics mean this city barely functions. (Although surprisingly well considering it is so badly ran......the people are good people.)
Everytime I am there I am anxious. It is an ancient fascinating city, which has been toppled before. Houses are built breeze block style 3-6 stories across the valley, and the Nepalise are not the master craftsmen they once were. Unfortunately most university educated abroad feed their families from working OS and therefore the skill is exported.
In short, it wouldn't take much to completely obliterate the Valley.