Earthquake : Coming Soon Near You?

Question

Hey i was just wondering, the "Big One" is coming soon to South California so i have a few questions.

1.Whats point something? >.> like 6.7 or something

2.I live in a house that VERY old and im only 13 my mom goes to work far and also my dad does too. Im worried that the "Big One" will hit soon and my apartment will be destroyed etc and maybe ill be killed =/ any suggestions on what i should do???

Answer 1

If you're just absolutely terrified, then you should move to a low-earthquake state in the Mid-West.

That not being possible, then you need to understand a few things:

1) "Predictions" of The Big One are based only on statistics.  It is POSSIBLE that the earthquake could happen, but it is is NOT a certainty.  It could be several hundred years before a really big quake hits your area.

2) Californai (and the whole west coast) is in what is called a Sesmic Activity Zone.  You have small earthquakes there almost daily.  There is nothing to be afraid of from them.

3) The more SMALL earthquakes that go off, the less likely is it that The Big One will hit.  Earthquakes let off energy.  It is better to left off many tiny ones than one big one.

4) Since California is in a known earthquake zone, the building there are designed different than they are in, say, Minneapolis.  There are special features that the building designers MUST use to make their building withstand all but the most powerful quakes.  So these people have probably designed YOUR apartment with these safety features in mind.

The number, 5 or 6 or 7, is called the Magnitude, and tells how strong the earthquake was.  A magnitude 4 earthquake wouldn't wake most people up from a nap.  A 5.5 will shake things off the shelf in a grocery store.  a 7 will break walls and knock down buildings.

In your areas, 3s, 4s, and 5s are very common, but 6s and 7s are very rare.  And as I said before, it is better to have a whole bunch of 3 and 4, than one 6 or 7.

Those 3s and 4s are kinda fun -- like a roller coaster!

Answer 2

i heard that vancouver will have one along the same contimemtal shelf that will be felt almost to nevada. but i guess u cant tell but wait..  

Answer 3

C'mon don't be like chicken little. The sky isn't falling. That big one isn't coming any time in the next few years. Maybe the outside chance it will come by the time you grow up and leave home. You know I've lived here all my life and survived many earthquakes, even predicted some. The way I feel, by the way I live 5 min from the beach.

Is that if we are going to fall into the ocean so be it. I'm not going to move away from here because I love the weather. And earthquakes are thrilling and dangerous and you don't know what you're missing if you've never been at the epicenter of an earthquake.

Answer 4

Maybe this site will help =) It's a little bit of reading but I think it will answer your question=)

http://www.secretsofsurvival.com/surviva...