Re: East Coast Earthquake 8-23-2011

[Steven Bellovin <smb () cs columbia edu>]

On Aug 24, 2011, at 9:44 20AM, Patrick W. Gilmore wrote:

> On Aug 24, 2011, at 8:55 AM, JC Dill wrote:
> > On 23/08/11 3:13 PM, William Herrin wrote:
> > > A. Our structures aren't built to seismic zone standards. Our
> > > construction workers aren't familiar with*how*  to build to seismic
> > > zone standards. We don't secure equipment inside our buildings to
> > > seismic zone standards.
> >
> > They should be.
> > They should be.
> > You should.
> >
> > Earthquakes can happen anywhere.  There's no excuse to fail to build/secure to earthquake standards.
>
> Tornados can happen anywhere, there's no excuse to fail to build/secure for tornados.
>
> [Etc.]
>
> Things that cost money are not done unless the probability of the danger is higher than vanishingly small.  This 
> temblor - at 5.8 with no injuries or fatalities - was the largest earthquake on the entire east coast in 67 years, 
> and the largest in VA in well over a century.  Think of the _trillions_ of dollars which could have been put into 
> healthcare, public safety, hell, better networking equipment :) we could have used instead of making all buildings on 
> the east coast earthquake safe.
It's more complex than that: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/east-coast-earthquakes/
And eastern cities can experience quakes of a magnitude noteworthy even on the West Coast -- see 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,_South_Carolina#Postbellum_era_.281865.E2.80.931945.29


                --Steve Bellovin, https://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb