Los Angeles 'big one' could come sooner than thought

reply to post by Lil Drummerboy


Very true. Northridge ('94) was a vertical motion quake with different magnitudes ranging from 6.2-7.1 depending on where you were in LA.

It had damaged quite a few buildings and road ways, hence the reason building codes were improved. Now, any building over 2 stories has been built with or retrofitted with rollers, which dissipate the energy of the quake. Effective, but extremely nauseating. The building I work in (8 stories) continued to sway for 2 minutes after the last quake we had here.

reply to post by RicketyCricket
Best of luck to you,
hope your somewhere safe when it hits

reply to post by Romekje


Thats actually a really good point. They have studied the effects of dams on faults, (though they clearly dont understand it all yet) but you do have to wonder if they have considered what you bring up. The weight of all that concrete and asphalt, and the way all that concrete and asphalt changes the way water gets into the ground.

Two thumbs up for you for bringing up something truly intriguing.

I tell you, every time I drive under an overpass or tunnel and especially going eastbound on the Bay Bridge, I think...What would/could I do if an earthquake happens now?

Near 25% of San Francisco is built on land-fill and loosely compacted sand I can only imagine what an earthquake stronger than the one from '89.

I think it's Cal Berkeley's stadium that has the Hayward Fault Line running down its middle!