This story was originally written in 1994.
William Steele, coordinator of the seismology laboratory in the geophysics program at the University of Washington, has a son, Chris, who is sent to elementary school. "Sometimes he comes, and he likes to do something." It seems that he recently stuck a sticker on one of the lab monitors, and his father had problems accessing the equipment. “What a reason!” Steele never got into the program he wanted to show me.
December 4 last year in Klamath Falls, Oregon, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1. In Washington state felt aftershocks. I went to UW in search of information about recent earthquake activity in the Puget Sound region.
"Oregon is reliably quiet next to Washington, but this year we had a lot of activity in the state of Oregon, which is contrary to previous models." Klamath Falls could not be noisier, said Steele, beating numbers: September 4, 5.9; September 20, 5.9, 5.0, 4.3; December 4, 5.1; and Christmas, 4.0, 3.4.
Most of our local activities in the Puget Sound region are recorded with UW lab equipment. They have a computer emergency training program called “Beat the Quake”, originally from the earthquake earthquake in California, which was hit by a fairly strong earthquake. On this program, Steve had problems running on his computer. Fortunately, the UW Seismology Laboratory has much more information on emergency preparedness, “so we don’t need to start from scratch” in the likely case of an earthquake. Steele is also a public information officer covering earthquakes through UW. “We have 135 seismic stations in Washington and Oregon that are currently operating, and we are expanding. We do cover an extremely wide area. ”
They accurately determine earthquakes, then determine the magnitude (amount of total energy emitted by an earthquake), location (area affected by an earthquake), and epicenter (location on the surface directly above the focus or the place where the earthquake occurs).
They collect data on the geology of the region. “This is important data. This laboratory is an educational center for graduate students in geophysics. ” They also teach citizens. School groups attract students, and Steele speaks in community organizations, encouraging people to take action and make themselves safer from earthquakes.
Of course, the big question everyone asks is “When?”
“We cannot record the date. This is more difficult, because three types of earthquakes appear in the Puget Sauna region. The most common are deep earthquakes.
"The signals move across the planet, sometimes all the way from the other side." Events from around the world appear on their sheets of the spiral, making an analog, 24-hour record, of each earthquake. For example, the earthquakes in Klamath Falls, which are very close to California on the Oregon coast.
“We cover the Cascade Range and have several stations on each volcano. We have a good station in the Baker Mountains, sufficient to cover the region. ” Earthquakes around volcanoes are very common.
The laboratory shares data with California on earthquakes occurring on the border with California and Oregon. "We are part of the Washington Regional Seismic Network." Steele showed me a map of the Pacific Northwest seismicity, 1969-1991. Puget Sound had huge blue clusters. What is it, I asked. “Moderate, shallow and deep earthquakes. The deep clusters are in the Puget basin. ”
The deep lands, the ones on which you are really inclined to write at home, are the largest in size, measured on the Merkalli Modified Intensity Scale. Values typically range from 1.0 (not felt) to 7.0 (extreme damage to buildings and land surfaces). They may rise even higher, as in recent deep earthquakes in Alaska.
This is what happens in Puget Sound: about 300 kilometers or more from the coast is the place where deep earthquakes form. Here there is a ridge from 500 to 700 kilometers, called the Juan de Fuca ridge, and a new material, a new sea floor, is constantly precipitated along it. He pushes Juan de Fuca's record to the North American plate below the Seattle area. The plate Juan de Fuca moves an average of two inches a year to us, lifting another plate.
The border area blocks it, an interface between two plates that stops the oceanic plate, making it suspended below us, causing the oceanic plate to sink into the Earth's mantle. This boundary is called the Cascadia subduction zone and extends from the middle of Vancouver Island in British Columbia to Northern California.
The mantle of the earth lies on its fragile bark. It is semi-solid due to the enormous heat and pressure. “Our cascade volcanoes probably exist because platinum contributes to us. The push deforms the crisis and creates huge stresses. Right now the coast of Washington is growing, it is growing. " The ocean plate is “cold rock,” and the impact of two forces encountered leads to deep earthquakes. Recently, Washington experienced two big ones, in 1949 and 1965.
A lab leaflet states that approximately 1,000 earthquakes per year are recorded in Washington and Oregon. “From one to two dozen of them cause a sufficient number of earthquakes felt by residents. Most of them are in the Puget Sound region, and some of them cause any real damage to the Pacific Northwest, we are confident that devastating earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 or higher) will repeat in our area, although we cannot predict whether it will be more likely to be today, or years later. ” Steele thinks it will be soon.
“In 1949 a strong earthquake struck Olympia. 7.1 Eight people were killed and material damage was done to millions of dollars.
"In 1965, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck between Seattle and Tacoma." Both earthquakes were felt as far away as Montana. But there were no aftershocks, as usual during a deep earthquake. The infamous tremors, known to catch people in the middle of a recovery after a bad earthquake, occur during earthquakes. At the same time there were shocks in the ocean that caused tremors that lasted for several minutes. “An earthquake in 1965 killed about five people, and millions of dollars of property damage were caused again.” Other deep events that are difficult to calculate from time records occurred in 1882, 1909 and 1939. "Every 35 years or so, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0+ occurs under the Puget Pool, and as a result it creates enough pressure, 39, will be big."
Eighty percent of the earthquakes on the planet occurred along the Pacific Northwest Ring, which is called the “Ring of Fire” because of all of our volcanic activity. In 1964, the year before the area’s last major event, south-central Alaska produced an earthquake of 9.3 monsters, shaking the earth for twenty minutes, creating tidal waves that destroyed the Seward coast, affected 34,000 square miles and killed 143 people, And in 1992, in Cape Mendechino, California, and in Parkfield, California, earthquakes were notorious.
Brian Atwater of the USGS (US Geological Survey) and the UW Geology Department conducted research along the coast of Washington and Oregon. He found a kind of layered soil ... "that he found ... ghostly forests, killed by the last major earthquakes. The material of the subduction zone is covered with coarse black sand. ” The layer gradually turned into a forest floor, and then into a layer of sand. “When bulging continues, the coastline increases, and low-lying areas are cleared of salt water. The stress released during an earthquake reduces the shoreline by seven or eight feet. It happens. living five feet above sea level is not a very convenient thing. ”
Earthquakes also generate large tsunamis or tidal waves; the largest of them, caused by large earthquakes, can break the entire coastline for many kilometers, destroy bridges, roads and buildings. A stunning subduction zone, 9.0 or more, occurs about once a century on the surface of the planet. Strangely enough, a large earthquake can lead to a strong shaking of the earth for only three and a half minutes, which does not sound so much. “One recent earthquake in California is just seventeen seconds of heavy ground movement, an earthquake 7.1 times. An earthquake of 7.0 gives the equivalent of 199,000 tons of trotyl in the energy sector, 9.0– 200 million tons, or 17,000 atomic bombs.
“The difference between 8 and 9 is greater than the difference between 2 and 8 because of the logarithmic scale. I wonder if it ever rises to 10.0.
For carbon-14 related to organic matter at land and sea levels, "scientists can determine approximate dates for events going back 10,000 years." Search for clues about these earthquakes includes both painstaking research and educated guesses.
Recently, researchers have identified the blame for Seattle, which caused a large earthquake between 1000 and 1100 years ago. “There were landslides and huge seiches, when something big fell into the water, creating waves similar to a tsunami. There were large landslides in the forests. The recovery point on Bainbridge Island rose twenty feet from Puget Sound in a few seconds during this event. ”
Clearing ice sheets that once covered the contributor makes it difficult to analyze faults in crust damage. But geologists are convinced that there are two major mistakes in Seattle. The largest of them runs from the northern tip of Mercer Island through Eastgate to the Kingdom, north of West Seattle. Another error passes through the White Center, parallel to the larger one. In 1872, an estimated 7.3 small earthquake caused what seismologists call “verified messages” as observers, which is the only evidence of some old earthquakes. Native Americans tell legends about what was supposed to be very large earthquakes and tsunamis.
Currently, all real-time telemetry (automatic data transfer from a remote source to a receiving station) takes place at the back of the lab, where Steele poured me a cup of Starbucks coffee in their metal sink in a very congested space. “Relay activity energy in nanoseconds in the laboratory. Helicadors control 23 stations at the analog level. ” We focus on volcanoes. All stations, including those on helicopter devices, are included in the computer system in the next room. front room, turning into digital information that a computer can read.
“If he dials a“ jump ”(skip the needle on the helicopter) at the station, he checks the other stations and records all the data, regardless of whether there is a signal or not. through programs, it beeps to people (for example, Steele) and sends information to seismologists throughout the region. ” Steele can hear a “beep” at any time.
When I drank my coffee, Steele told me that he was a student city, his life partner works, and together they support his family, rent a house in Wallingford and raise two children. "This is a good job, but ... the rewards are not monetary." Nevertheless, he feels grateful as a college for all and has a good working relationship with all his “guys in the lab.”
On land readiness, Steele is adamant. “The secret is not Seattle’s fear and hatred, and that we need to hide under our beds, let’s get ready before we start spending money.” There are no specific laws now, "if the building code had said many years ago that you can pile bricks without a solution on top of each other."
Unreinforced masonry creates structures that fall during even moderate earthquakes. "The whole wall of the school could fall and kill the students." A brick that falls three stories does not slow down, ”he said, referring to the boy’s death during the 1965 earthquake. Steele is confident that such deaths can be prevented.
At least six schools in Oregon have unreinforced structures, bricks that can fall and fill a doorway, blocking the exit. “Repair them, or tear them off, and build another school. If the school is considered unsafe for the LaTely earthquake, they can sell it and it will become a senior center. Code or downed. Death will happen if we do not act in India just had 6.8 earthquakes ... tens of thousands of dead, go down to the ground, under something, check if the smell of gas does not smell and turn it off, electricity too. "
According to Steele, you need to know your resources in the community. And in the case of serious aftershocks, if you are in a building, you need to wait until the shivering stops, and then exit. ” Many people die from falling debris during eviction of buildings.
What does Steele see in the near future? “I expect more from the same. Some earthquakes are probably more than 4.0 in the Puget Sound area. As I write this, there are aftershocks east of the “4th sequence” on December 4th, starting with Klamath Falls. ” The question is, will we go and recognize the danger and do something, or will we wait until we have enough mortality? I would like to see a special plan and some leadership from the state. It will be a lot of money. "
Steele said college said it best: “The next great catastrophe will happen as soon as we forget about the latter.”
What to do, except for the cries of your lungs ... fall!
Obviously, you will hear a very loud sound of the building before the madness begins. Below is an example of “How to survive an earthquake”, a FEMA brochure. Learn about your risks at home and in the workplace. Get more information from the American Red Cross or FEMA.
Find out what causes the injuries: parts falling from external and internal premises; flying pieces of shattered glass; tilting bookcases; water heaters without sewage; storage facilities; all that is made of glass; fires from damaged gas pipelines; electric lines; wood stoves; chimneys; toxic fumes.
Create an emergency preparedness plan: find safe places in your home; identify escape routes; plan two exits from each room; choose two places to meet, outside the home and outside the quarter, if you cannot return home; show everyone how to turn off the water, gas and electricity; practice your plans, now.
Read “Your Family Disaster Plan” and “Emergency Preparedness Checklist”, which you can get from FEMA.
Reducing the risk of earthquakes: rate your home; belt water heaters and gas appliances; Remember that hard objects are attached; place heavy objects on the lower shelves; tether all heavy; anchor hanging objects; maintain community readiness for earthquakes.
Companies, schools, daytime, neighborhoods, churches, clubs: conduct seminars. Assemble a disaster preparedness kit: Store food, water, clothing, a first aid kit, radio, flashlights, and batteries that can be used for up to 72 hours in your trunk, home, and office. For more information, see the FEMA Family Disturbance Brochure.
During / after an earthquake: keep calm; Do not panic and do not run. Earthquakes are usually preceded by loud sounds, so perform quick actions. You actually have about two seconds, so prepare for this earthquake to protect yourself and others. Stay where you are: throw, cover and hold something solid, or immediately cover a heavy table or table in a doorway, hallway or interior walls. Turn away from the glass. Keep away from chimneys, windows, tall bookcases, and objects that may fall.
Evacuate only after shaking. Use the stairs, not the elevator. Remember that aftershocks can occur at any time. Listen to the radio or TV for instructions. Outdoors: move away from buildings, trees, and office lines. Sit on the ground until the tremor stops. Run deep into the land right near the coastline. Check for injuries. Do not move seriously injured people unless they are at risk. Indoors: damaged buildings are evicted, as aftershocks may cause additional damage, or buildings may collapse.
Do not return to the building until it is declared safe by the responsible authorities. Do not use the phone, except in an emergency; stay away from the phone. Check the fire. Have a fire extinguisher and know how to use it. Check utilities: gas, electrical and water lines may be damaged. Gas: Do not use matches, candles, open flame or electrical switches in the room, due to possible gas leaks. Если вы чувствуете запах газа, открываете окна, оставляете и выключаете главный газовый клапан, который обычно находится снаружи.
Электричество: если проводка нарушена, отключите электричество на главном выключателе. Не прикасайтесь к чему-либо рядом с поврежденными или поврежденными линиями. Вода: если водопроводные трубы сломаны, отключите питание на главном клапане снаружи. Используйте воду из кубиков льда, водонагревателей, унитазов (если они не содержат химические чистящие средства). Очистите разливы. Внимательно следите за разливами потенциально опасных веществ, таких как лекарства, лекарства и бытовые чистящие средства. Обеспечьте достаточную вентиляцию, поскольку химические вещества могут объединяться для производства токсичного газа. Не забудьте помочь нуждающимся.
Наконец, помните, что не забывайте постоянно следить за «статистическими данными» о землетрясениях, вулканах и других стихийных бедствиях в вашем районе, поэтому у вас есть неплохая идея, что делать - в вероятном случае вам придется страдать через один. А также помните: это не ваша вина. (Извините, я не мог устоять перед шуткой.)
