What Will Happen When Cascadia Subduction Zone Slips

Noryungi writes: The New Yorker has published a chilling account of what would happen in the case of a major earthquake (roughly magnitude 9.0) inevitably striking the Cascadia subduction. "Under pressure from Juan de Fuca, the stuck edge of North America is bulging upward and compressing eastward, at the rate of, respectively, three to four millimetres and thirty to forty millimetres a year. It can do so for quite some time, because, as continent stuff goes, it is young, made of rock that is still relatively elastic. (Rocks, like us, get stiffer as they age.) But it cannot do so indefinitely." Most of the west coast of the U.S. and Canada is at risk, from Vancouver all the way down to Los Angeles and beyond. Most of the states and cities within this region are woefully under-prepared for a large earthquake. Scientists peg the odds at 1-in-3 for a quake within the next 50 years, and 1-in-10 for a really powerful one.

Comments

Lies

[MightyMartian]

Geology is a Commie Pinko pseudo-science. God-fearing Kochites know that scientists are evil monsters who must be destroyed!!!! Vote GOP and get a government that knows what to do with scientists.

Re:Lies

[paazin]

There actually was an AMA on this yesterday or the day before. The scientists involved stated that much of the article, though grounded in reality, was hyperbole:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3da1mh/we_are_earthquake_experts_ask_us_anything_about

Re:Lies

[gstoddart]

Yea, I know you people get off on bashing the creationist ideology, but it's not all ignorance and folly. There are actually some pretty intelligent folk who think about these questions and have come up with reasonable answers for most of them, plus they have some answers for questions you are not asking because you haven't spent the time to think about stuff much.

What you are describing is sophistry, and not science.

Just because people go to extraordinary lengths to justify their religion, doesn't make any of it true.

So step down off the high horse and try and engage, without bashing and name calling... You will likely get further with people if you don't offend them right off the bat.

No. By insisting we engage means we've given in to the position that these silly beliefs have any basis in science, and aren't just some hand waving crap.

Not happening.

If someone truly believes the Earth is 6000 years old, then I'd prefer to get offending them out of the way right off the bat. Because there is no reasoned and intelligent conversation which can ensue.

You're entitled to your own opinions, but you're sure as hell not entitled to your own facts.

Engaging in that level of stupid, because it implies reason, evidence, and logic are in effect.

Stiff?

[ArcadeMan]

Rocks, like us, get stiffer as they age.

Are rocks stiff in the morning, too?

I can tell you what will happen ...

[QuietLagoon]

... the quake will show how stunningly unprepared that region will be for the ensuing catastrophe.

Goldfinger

[Anonymous Coward]

I was about to comment that I'm pretty sure there was a James Bond movie where this was part of the plot.

And then I went and started reading the linked article, and the whole article is talking about a guy called Goldfinger.

Fracking to relieve tectonic pressure

[AcidPenguin9873]

Why not take out of Oklahoma's or Texas's playbook and do some fracking near the fault line? It will likely cause earthquakes but hopefully they would be minor, and would relieve the pressure a little bit at a time, instead of all at once.

Planet Earth Failure Modes

[kenj123]

Every so often I like to look over this list just so see what kinds of things can go wrong with the planet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

This one has always gotten my attention, I have heard about from multiple sources.
10 deadliest volcanic eruptions --1815 eruption of Mount Tambora-- 92,000 dead -- Year Without a Summer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

It just boggles my mind that there is a real potential for global disaster like this. I believe there is only a 40-90 day world wide food surplus available. I remember in the 1970s there were some discussions on the talking head shows about it. I think it was after Vietnam and the talking heads were scraping the barrel for things to get people excited about. A few economists said it was too big of a capital expenditure on something with a speculative return. But the possibility of an event is not 0... gives me something to ponder when I don't have anything else to worry about.

we must stop this Juan guy

[drwho]

Who is this Juan de Fuca? How is he applying so much pressure on the United States? He must be stopped. It's not our fault, it's his.

Re:Nobody will notice or care, outside of the regi

[riverat1]

Like no one noticed or cared when the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami hit or the 2001 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima nuclear plant hit. When the next Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake hits it will result in thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in damage that will take years to recover from.

And don't worry about anthropogenic global warming, you'll be hearing about it for the rest of your life because it's not going away.

Re:Meh.

[lgw]

Actually, neither is astounding, considering how shallow their bench is

Particularly to find a young face to put in ads. The average Dem in congress is something like 5 years older now than the average Republican. The GOP has clearly been shaken up in the past decade, with lots of new faces (and the shaking hasn't stopped - lots of conservative blogs now spend more time criticizing Republicans than Democrats).

Yes, they have some toxic folks among them (e.g. Trump), but they'll flame out long before the primaries are underway.

Trump is an "issue candidate", not a real contender. He's using the race to get a soapbox to stand on, a long tradition in American, and I think a good one. It's the only way to bring some points of view into the political discussion at all, and it's good to have these arguments about issues during the primaries..

Sanders has the populist imagination

I've come to like Sanders: much as I fine his politics vile, his quite upfront and honest about what he stands for. We need more of that in politics!