r/IAmA • u/WaQuakePrepare • Oct 19 '22
We're Pacific NW U.S. earthquake experts ready to talk about tsunamis, earthquake early warning and more Science
EDIT: We are pretty much done! Thanks everyone for the great questions. We have some folks that could check in later if we didn’t get to your question or if you discover us later today but the answers won’t be right away. Remember no matter where you are, we invite you to drop, cover and hold on at 10:20 am Thursday. Learn more at shakeout.org
Oct. 20 is the Great ShakeOut, where millions of people across the country practice earthquake safety and drop, cover and hold on under a sturdy object. Today, we have experts in Washington state and Oregon talking about ShakeOut, earthquakes and we can even touch on Pacific Northwest volcanoes. For instance, did you now it’s possible to now get a warning on your phone before an earthquake strikes? It’s called the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System.
We are a team with a variety of expertise particularly in the Pacific Northwest including: earthquakes (science/physics, monitoring, protective actions, preparedness), tsunamis (tsunami safety, hazards, modeling, preparedness, and recovery), structural engineering/building performance and emergency preparedness.
PROOF HERE. More proof here.
From Washington Emergency Management Division:
Brian Terbush
Elyssa Tappero
Mark Pierepiekarz, P.E., S.E.
Hollie Stark
Dante DiSabatino
From Pacific Northwest Seismic Network:
Bill Steele
Dr. Renate Hartog
Dr. Alex Hutko
From Washington Department of Natural Resources (Washington Geological Survey):
Corina Allen
Daniel Eungard
From Simpson Strong-Tie (Structural Products and Solutions including Earthquake Retrofits):
Emory Montague, S.E.
From Oregon Office of Emergency Management:
Althea Rizzo
19
u/Fancy_Situation Oct 19 '22 edited Oct 19 '22
It seems pretty obvious that Seattle is woefully unprepared.
1 - Water and plumbing need 50+ years to be prepared for an earthquake. 2 months to get plumbing back is shameful and it’s absurd we aren’t giving SPU the funding they need now.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/seattle-would-lose-all-water-pressure-within-24-hours-of-catastrophic-earthquake-city-study-says/
2 - Almost all of the videos I’ve seen King County and Washington State put out on this subject assumes that people live in houses. Are we just saying “good luck” to everyone who lives in condos and apartments? Where are they supposed to bury their garbage and excrement? How are they supposed to store supplies when they live in studios and small spaces?
3 - I’ve seen the maps of the fault lines (especially for the Seattle quake) and many times these run through residential neighborhoods. Are we assuming most of the people who live along these fault lines are going to be in serious trouble and if so, why is there not more awareness on the subject?
4 - What’s the point of building out all these light rails and bridges if we know they’re likely going to be destroyed by next big quake? I’ve never heard of any retrofitting projects to make them safe. Really feels like we’re just shrugging our shoulders on that one.
Overall, what I’ve learned from all the research on this subject is that if you don’t live in a house in a neighborhood that isn’t directly on a fault line, you will be in a world of hurt when the earthquake finally happens. Is this accurate? So the best thing people can do is just move if they don’t have a house in one of the lucky neighborhoods?