Posted on 06/07/2016 8:52:55 AM PDT by JimSEA
Last summer, a startling article appeared in The New Yorker magazine outlining what could happen to the Pacific Northwest in the event of a large earthquake resulting from a full rupture of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. As recently as 1700, this convergent zone produced an earthquake estimated at magnitude 9. The article attracted a great deal of attention, especially among people who had never heard of the possibility that the heavily populated Pacific Northwest could, in a geologic moment, become “toast” — as someone quoted in the article put it.
The San Francisco Bay Area also suffers from the unfortunate confluence of large populations and active faults. However, the nine counties of the Bay Area are home to dozens of major faults — the San Andreas, the Calaveras, the Concord-Green Valley, the San Gregorio, the Rodgers Creek and the Hayward, chief among them. These very active faults, which produce small quakes (mostly under magnitude 2.5) on a daily basis as well as occasional quake swarms — a swarm in October 2015 produced more than 400 small quakes in two weeks — cut through important infrastructure in every city in the region, potentially affecting more than 7 million people.
Most people have heard of the San Andreas, which they assume will be the source of the next big quake in the Bay Area, thanks in part to Hollywood disaster movies, such as the dreadful “San Andreas,” which perpetuate geologic absurdities. Despite the notoriety of the San Andreas Fault, it is not the greatest seismic threat to the Bay Area. East of San Francisco, across the muddy, green waters of San Francisco Bay, sits a smaller fracture in the crust: the Hayward Fault. One day, the Hayward Fault could produce the greatest natural disaster ever to hit the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at earthmagazine.org ...
Yeah, my middle name should be /facetious /sarc and /hyperbole
BLUF - there is nothing new here folks.
In 1968 there was a fictional best seller out “The Last Days of the Late Great State of California” by Curt Gentry that took a look at the impact of the San Andres fault letting go. Read it in the early 1970s because I was stationed in Rancho Cordova at the time.
The economic impact, in pre-silicon valley terms, was massive. I wouldn’t want to predict the economic impact 45 years later. Curt also addressed the probability of price gouging - the seven sisters decided that they would restrict the rise in gas prices to a maximum of a dollar a gallon until public outcry forced them to back off.
If you want to see what the impact could be buy the book, its available on eBay starting around $ 10.00.
LOL!
Worrisome!
Agree with you there. That area of the country has such nasty, mean people. Very little good news comes out of there. However, I would feel very sad for the loss of the areas wildlife, such as the grizzly bears and cute little bunnies.
The Obama administration insists there is no “fault” in DC.
Really? Are you some friggin' expert on California demographics. I bet you're so dumb you couldn't find you ass with both hands, much less locate California on a world map.
Our fifth generation American family live in and around Walnut Creek, CA, which is just east of the Hayward fault. Do some research and you'll discover you probably can't afford the rent, much less a house.
LOL! 2 in one day! Enjoy!
An CA earthquake thread
A Freeper jumps into the frey, splash!
CAFreeprs rage.
:-)
what danger?
the government serves and protects us, right? (/s)
the govt has allowed 31+12 = 43,000 new people (largely from communist China now) to now live on “high danger” liquification zone fill dirt right nearby (between, actually) the Hayward and San Andreas faults (Foster City and the Redwood Shores district of Redwood City, built on former bay mud and dredged up silt)... last quake only shook 27 or 28 seconds and the geologists said had it gone on for just a minute or two that there would have been grave damage with houses sinking into the liquified SF Bay (a couple of heavier buildings did suffer major structural damage even in that unusually short quake...it took about 4 years to repair one of them)
the govt allowed the residents of the Oakland and Berkeley Hills (Hayward fault immediately underneath) to rebuild after the last quake and the hills fire.....with construction so close to the roads that firetrucks and emergency vehicles cannot access the neighborhoods in the event of quake or fire
the govt allowed a major new branch campus of the University of California Medical School, plus a big new AT&T Ballpark, plus dense condo highrises (mostly bought by communist Chinese investors)... to be built on fill dirt former baylands in San Francisco, also that city’s most prominent high rise/shopping center development
plus a high capacity rapid transit train “tube” laying, floating underwater in the bay mud
plus a new bay bridge with risky (many say) design and improper construction and materials resulting in rusting support structure (much publicity over this, some partial but no really reassuring available fixes....)
and so it goes. examples galore. but nothing to worry about, the Govt is protecting all you nice Californians
smile
smile
smile
Was fortunate not to be on the Cypress in ‘89; but, much further north that day. Anyone caught in rush hour traffic, stopped on the lower deck, may remember the shaking of the roadway from truck traffic passing overhead.
As you say, the Loma Prieta, 1989 earthquake was, for one thing, a lesson on how not to build freeways in an earthquake zone (double deckers in particular).
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