Some disasters from the last week

 Here's a touch on some world events of the past week. 

Oct 25 - giant lava fountains with emissions of gasses, ash, and lava from a partial cone collapse at Cumbre Vieja volcano.

Oct 24 - an avalanche on Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador killed 3 people

Oct 24- A magnitude 6.5 earthquake shoook Yilan county Taiwan. The region is used to earthquakes so most structures are resistant to this level of quakes. However, if that same quake shook under the Salt Lake valley there would be considerable damage to many of the older unreinforced masonry buildings.

Oct 22 - the 17th named tropical storm of the eastern Pacific hurricane season strengthened into a hurricane

Oct 22 - rainfall in Spain's Alicante Province damaged homes and stranded vehicles

Oct 22 - heavy rains resulted in flooding in the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Oct 22 - a tornado touched down and damaged the Brisbane, Australia airport

Oct 20-21 - volcanic activity increased on Italy's Etna's southeast crater, leading to pyroclastic flows and ash up to 24,600 feet (7.5 km).

Oct 20-21 - a powerful storm system crashes across Europe and leaves over 500,000 homes without power.

Oct 21- record-breaking rains in Uttarakhand, India since Oct 17 have killed at least 54 and caused severe floods and landslides.

Oct 21 - a (thankfully) deep magnitude 6.0 quake shook far under the Fiji islands

Oct 17-20 - unseasonal post-monsoon rain has wreaked havoc in Nepal, leaving 88 dead.  

Oct 20 -a phreatic explosion occurred at Asosan's Nakadake crater in Japan.

Oct 19 - a hailstorm in Queensland, Australia produced huge hailstones, include a record-breaking one

Oct 19 - the 107th known asteroid to fly by the earth within 1 lunar distance of our planet during 2021 was discovered. It was first observed the day of it's closest fly-by. In 2020 there were 107 recorded, in 2019 there were 77 observed.

Oct 18 a shallow magnitude 6.1 quake shook off the coast of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Oct 18 - floods and landslides kill 26 in Kerala, India

Oct 18 - a magnitude 6.1 quake hit near the coast of Torres Islands, Vanuatu.

building rubble

I'm sure in most of these events the people affected were not expecting it. The only exceptions might be with some storms or volcanic events where there may have been some warning of impending disaster.

Think about where you live...what is in and near your environment.

Are there mountains, bodies of water, flowing water, tall buildings, industrial operations, forests? 

Do you live in or near flood zones, high tidal areas, earthquake zones?

And that's just a small bit of potential hazards.

And while you could get depressed thinking about all the possible disasters that could happen in your area, the real questions are:

  • Are you prepared?
  • How well are you prepared?
  • Are you continually improving your preparedness?

I'm fascinated with all the ways the earth and nature can show man how puny he is, and how insignificant his efforts can be in stopping the forces of nature.

What I've discovered is if you're not prepared it's practically guaranteed you'll feel more anxious when you read or hear about a disaster, especially one that could happen in your area.

But the opposite can also be true. The more you're prepared, the more peace you can feel amidst the calamitous events. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Wasatch Fault Earthquake Scenario

Image
 This scenario literally hits home for me. I live along Utah's Wasatch Fault and while I don't think the epicenter of the next Big One will be too close to where I live, the effects of this big earthquake will seriously affect my life and the lives of my wife, children, and many of my extended family. Most people have only "seen" the effects of a big earthquake from the media, either news or movies. It's different to personally feel a big earthquake and see the aftermath. For lack of a better descriptor, it possible effects of a Big One become real. Because a Big One one the Wasatch Fault is more personal, I've done more research on it. And, interestingly, information on a Wasatch Fault earthquake scenario is easier to find. Maybe that's just my bias. It's not that you can't find earthquake threat information for other parts of the country, it's finding actual scenario "what ifs" and loss estimations that are based in scientific data.
Read more

Earthquake Hazards: Surface Fault Rupture

Image
 A fault rupture is a slip and resulting displacement along a fault. When that rupture extends to the earth’s surface, where we can see it, it’s called a surface rupture. These surface fault ruptures can be vertical or horizontal, and can happen in a small location or extend over a larger area. In many earthquake hazards, surface fault ruptures are identified as ground displacement. Not all earthquakes will produce surface ruptures. The biggest problem with surface ruptures is when a building or other structure is over the rupture. California passed the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act in 1972 to mitigate surface ruptures. The Act prevents the construction of human-occupied buildings on the surface of active faults.  Outside of California, many other earthquake hazard locations don’t have statutes regulating development on faults with surface rupture potential. The main reason for the lack of regulations is usually a lack of historical evidence of earthquakes rupturing the su
Read more

San Francisco Earthquake Scenario

Image
An earthquake scenario for the San Francisco area is one of the scenarios where finding more recent information is difficult. For an actual scenario, the best I could find was from a simulation in 2006. There was also some information from a 2008 ShakeOut Scenario. There are more recent earthquake hazard and risk calculations available, but I have yet to find these risks and hazards incorporated into a full scenario, where costs and losses are calculated for the earthquake. While the details may be a little different, the whole purpose of this, and other scenarios, is to help you start to grasp the magnitude of damage and loss that a large earthquake can cause. And will very likely cause. Remember that California has generally had better earthquake building codes for a longer time than most of the rest of the United States. An earthquake of a much lesser magnitude can have just as much (if not more) damage and losses in an area where the buildings and infrastructure are not as prepared
Read more