Earthquakes along San Andres fault could be more powerful than what scientists thought possible.

[snagglepuss]

Referring to the 8.6 Sumatra temblor on April 12, 2012, Lucile Jones, Science Advisor for Risk Reduction at the USGS told ABC News -

snip

What’s more interesting for scientists, Jones said, is the type of quake yesterday’s 8.6 temblor was. The biggest quakes – like the 9.0 that caused devastating damage in Japan last year – occur when one tectonic plate moves underneath another. Yesterday’s earthquake was a strike-slip quake, which happens when two plates slide horizontally past each other.

“Until yesterday, we didn’t think a strike-slip quake could possibly reach the magnitude of 8.6,” Jones said. “That was wrong – apparently it can, and that’s something we’ll really have to study.”

The implications of this development could be serious. The San Andreas fault, which runs through California, is a strike-slip fault. It was previously thought that a big quake along that fault wouldn’t get into the 8.5 or higher range, but in light of yesterday’s quake in the Indian Ocean, that thinking might have to change.





http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/04/what-do-all-the-recent-earthquakes-mean/

[Duer 157099]

1. Swell

Just when I had finally gotten comfortable with it not being about to produce such a large quake, but instead was worried about the fault off the coast of Washington/Oregon. Oh well.

[kestrel91316]

2. Ditto........just WONDERFUL news.

[snagglepuss]

3. I thought twice about being the bearer of bad news but probably better

to know what might be possible, The big question is whether nuclear plants were designed to cope with 8.6 or higher quakes?

[Cleita]

6. El Diablo in San Luis Obispo County is built to withstand a 7.5 earthquake.

The San Andreas fault is only a few miles from the plant.

[Yavapai]

4. Lived 60 years withing 10 miles of the San Andreas fault.

Moved to Arizona where we only have to worry about mountain lions, rattlesnakes and Jan Brewer!

Thank you for the post, very interesting.

[Cleita]

5. Oh goody!

I only live a few miles from the fault and a nuclear power plant built to withstand a maximum 7.5 earthquake. When should I bend over and kiss my ass goodby?

[snagglepuss]

7. Keep an eye peeled on kitten and if it ever acts strange vamoose.

[TheMadMonk]

11. These things are old enough that engineers still built in a "bugger factor"...

...automatically. Which should, leave such a plant safe up to an 8.5 or so.

[Cleita]

12. Not so, I don't believe.

This plant originally was only built to withstand a 6 earthquake and later retrofitted to 7.5. I doubt it will withstand anything worse, anymore than Fukushima could. You gotta stop believing the energy industry propaganda.

[TheMadMonk]

13. Fukushima actually survived a quake considerably more powerful than...

...it was designed for. It was the tsunami which followed the quake, and took out backup power generators, which sealed Fukushima's fate.

Even then there is a good chance it could have been saved if the nearby American Fleet had hung around to provide emergency backup power, rather than high-tailing it for the high seas. For that matter a Russian nuclear something would almost certainly have been within sailing range. AND those folk are very adept at providing ship to shore power on short notice. They do it all along the Arctic coastline every Winter as storms take out powerlines on land.

And finally Fukushima exploded the way it did, becuause too many fucking idiots put perception management ahead of disaster management. No one wanted to be the one who "deliberately" released short lived radioactive steam into the atmosphere.

On the other hand, they couldn't be faulted if they attempted containment and it failed. Result. One containment building after another blowing sky high, and a fuck ton of much longer lived radioactives scattered to hell and gone.

But, Hey! They TRIED!


Refineries, chemical plants, certain types of industrial estate; all these are far far greater threats than your nuke, if you have them nearby. Chances are they are not anywhere near as hardened as the power plant, which means their "delights" will be choking you to death, beginning immediately.

The power plant going blooie would just be the cherry on top of an already disastrous day.

[Cleita]

14. I think you are believing the industry propaganda.

The tsunami only finished off the breach the earthquake started. They lied about it from beginning from some misguided attempt not to panic the public. Also, since our west coast nuclear plants are built by the ocean, it only follows that there will be a tsunami following the quake and doom. Refineries, etc. will not spread a radioactive cloud across the country and be radioactive for 50,000 years following a disaster. Please stop the official propaganda. I just talked to a retired physicist in my area who worked on the space program and he tells a different story about the dangers of a nuke plant. He like many others in his field know that the only safe nuke plant is 50,000 miles underground and that would not be practical.

[mindwalker_i]

8. Rockin' !

Don't EVER take mudder Earth for granite.

[SunSeeker]

9. Geez. Why'd I read this right before going to bed?

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

10. I'm two miles from it, and a side fault goes through our property...

Some report that is why we have so many springs. The San Andreas come ashore just South of Fort Ross and heads North along the Gualala River.