There is a page from the Los Angeles Times, linked here, which I believe everyone should look at closely and understand the implications of it --- especially when it comes to the Cascadia region of North America and the coming mega-quake. The title of the Los Angeles Times article is: 'It was a Mexico City office building. Now, after the earthquake, it's a tomb.'
The multi-story office building in the article was made of concrete. There WAS steel rebar in this concrete. But, as it is now very clear, there was not enough to stand up to the nature of that seismic event which unfolded. So, in the M7.1 earthquake, the floors of this building pancaked down on top of one another, crushing people between the fallen layers of concrete. Let us, once again, note that all this happened with just a mere M7.1 quake.
Now, let us look to the Pacific Northwest and the devastating quake which is forecast for the Cascadia region of North America. Predictions for this coming quake estimate a size of up to an M9.2. Some estimates even go higher than that. What we are talking about for the Cascadia region is a quake which releases about 1,024 times the energy, or even more --- or which is about 1,024 times or more stronger --- than the Mexican quake.
Now, let us return to the collapsed building noted in the article. The Los Angeles Times page states: "The destruction is so complete that it is unclear how many stories there were." Again, this all happened --- this multi-story building collapsed into a pile of rubble --- with only an M7.1 quake. So, what is there about this type of concrete building which we should consider? Are there buildings with this type of construction along the West Coast of the United States? What are we truly dealing with on the West Coast of the United States, plus even in British Columbia, Canada --- especially in the major population centers?
Just for starters, the linked page states: "California has many of the same style buildings, constructed in the postwar era and only widely understood to be a hazard in 1971 after new concrete hospital buildings came crashing down in Los Angeles during the Sylmar earthquake." Looking further, there are many of these types of buildings in the cities of the West Coast, from California all the way into British Columbia, Canada. And, in the midst of this situation, on the horizon looms a massive Cascadia earthquake event, of a size which is many times larger than the recent earthquakes in Mexico.
At this point, this blogger wants to make one thing very clear. The Los Angeles Times article indicates that in California --- and as we all know, in other places than just California --- "people are taught to drop, cover and hold on in an earthquake." Why? The page states things this way. Because it "protects people from being crushed by falling building facades if they try to escape." Now for the rest of the actual story.
People who "drop, cover and hold on" are not necessarily going to be spared from serious injury or from being virtually crushed. A desk or other like thing is not guaranteed to stop the downward motion of numerous tons of concrete. In some cases, "drop, cover and hold on" might help to some degree, but in other cases, a person will be dead --- yes, crushed --- no matter what.
Regarding the quake which took down the building noted in the article, the page presents the following statement from California seismic safety commissioner, Kit Miyamoto: "This earthquake was actually not the Big One for Mexico City, but a moderate one, he said. It was a warning for the capital -- and any other earthquake prone areas, including Los Angeles."
And yes, looking further, this should be a warning to the people of Cascadia. The quake which it appears is coming to this region is almost unimaginable, in the strength which it is projected to have. Possibly even strongly reinforced buildings will be knocked over or will simply crumble and collapse, with devastating effects on the people within, plus those nearby, outside. Yes, it appears that we will be dealing with something like a Mexican earthquake "on steroids."
A page, linked here, has information regarding a study of Cascadia, and what it could be like just around the Seattle area. The page contains these words: "If the new findings are accurate, the fault will rupture within 110 kilometers (68 miles) of downtown Seattle, pouring seismic energy into a densely populated urban area, threatening to knock down buildings both large and small..."
Let us hope that emergency planners are not using "wishful thinking" in their "preparations," but rather are doing the proper job by preparing for the real thing which it appears is actually coming. Let us also hope that at least some individuals of the general public begin to realize the truth of what is coming and then work to properly prepare themselves, so they can be of benefit to themselves and others.
For further reading:
Current Expectations for a Cascadia Mega-Quake
https://cascadian.neocities.org/cascadiaquake.htm
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