Friday, April 16, 2010

Whole lotta shakin' going on

Wow! What do Spain, Baja California, Indonesia, Brazil, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, India, & The Philippine Islands, all have in common? They have had 6.0 or greater earthquakes within the last 30 days.
Check out this seismic chart showing worldwide quakes 4.0 and above in the last 30 days. Big Quakes seem to be coming in rapid succession, starting with the big quake in Haiti. I live within the so called "Ring of Fire", in the Pacific Northwest, and we are in a larger quake zone.

If all that were not enough to make us humble to the power of Mother Nature, she whips up a huge Volcano eruption in Iceland, big enough to shut down many airports in Europe. As in the 2nd busiest airport in the world, Heathrow, is entirely shut down. Apparently the thick ash from the volcano can actually cause airplane engines to seize up & stop working, not to mention the lack of visibility.
Check out these NASA photos.





Ok Mother Nature! We respect your power, we really do!


 Oregon's quakes mostly take place out in the Pacific Ocean where plates are stacked or pushed up by the other plate. That means our earthquake action would be a vertical drop, as opposed to the side by side fault lines/action we see happen in California. Seismic experts say a vertical drop is more damaging. So far we've had lots of small pressure release earthquakes that are not felt, or do damage to the land. Theoretically a big quake here could obliterate the coastline, and inlanders could have ocean front property, but that would have to be some enormous quake to see that much land mass change. Of course, big quakes reek havoc, and cause instant chaos. The basics go away right away-- power, running water, sewage, communication systems.
Aftershocks prevent people from being able to go back inside if there is still a structure to go to.
For over a decade, we carried earthquake insurance coverage through Allstate, and out of the blue, they sent a letter stating they no longer offer earthquake insurance. Apparently they just want to take your money, but if you really need help, the "You're in good hands" people, will drop you like a rock.
I know it could happen here, and I see how much power is unleashed in these occurrences of nature.

For about a week the media covers the quake aftermath, then they move on to another story.
 Here are some photos of Haiti, more than 2 months after their quake. Haiti is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, so it was in bad shape before the quake hit. The United Nations has made several pleas to keep the contributions coming, and to not forget Haiti.


These photos speak for themselves. 70+ days after the earthquake, a glimpse of Haiti.

Waiting in line for water

5 comments:

Dada said...

It's difficult to imagine Mrs. Dada and I were dreaming of retiring on the Oregon coast (Cannon Beach) or my birth home (Florence, in a neat little house we found next to the jetty heading out to the Ocean on a street called "Wild Wind"!) as recently as the beginning of this millennium.

Very sobering images, Fran. One has to wonder if the unusually 'quiet niche' of recent centuries that has enabled humanity to propagate, spread, and -- in more fortunate quarters -- prosper while wreaking havoc and misery upon our fellow humans through exploitations, plagues and wars is now on the wane, enabling us to refocus our attentions on the horrifying images as shown here from the Earth convulsions seemingly now on the rise?

(BTW -- off topic, Fran -- but eProf announced on FB he has quit blogging. To verify, I tried the link to find his blog has been removed.)

Fran said...

I don't know if historically there are peak earthquake seasons, like we've not seen before, or as you said humanity has sprawled & developed places they should not have, but the volume & intensity sure seem to be increasing, and I know where I live is not immune.
(Clearly neither does Allstate insurance, since they thought it wise to bail out early!)

I feel sympathy for all quake victims, but Haiti will have the most difficult time w recovery, because of the chronic poverty it was in before disaster struck. Tents & tarps seem woefully inadequate as hurricane season & torrential rains loom.


As for eProf, if he's doing Facebook, then he just changed to a different form of social networking. His blog will be missed, but he's found another format. I apparently remain a hermit of sorts.... not doing Facebook, although I have had many invitations, and occasionally get haunting reminders.... THESE people you know are on Facebook.... why aren't you???
I get the sense the husband is irritated enough at the time I spend online w the blogging, joining additional "things" would only entice me to spend more time online, So I resist.

Fran said...

I take it you've scrapped your Oregon Coastal retirement plan? It's too hard to try to figure how far inland you'd need to buy a place for it to become future oceanfront property!

I don't know if historically there are peak earthquake seasons, like we've not seen before, or as you said humanity has sprawled & developed places they should not have, but the volume & intensity sure seem to be increasing, and I know where I live is not immune.
(Clearly neither does Allstate insurance, since they thought it wise to bail out early!)

I feel sympathy for all quake victims, but Haiti will have the most difficult time w recovery, because of the chronic poverty it was in before disaster struck. Tents & tarps seem woefully inadequate as hurricane season & torrential rains loom.


As for eProf, if he's doing Facebook, then he just changed to a different form of social networking. His blog will be missed, but he's found another format. I apparently remain a hermit of sorts.... not doing Facebook, although I have had many invitations, and occasionally get haunting e mail reminders.... THESE people you know are on Facebook.... why aren't you???
I get the sense the husband is irritated enough at the time I spend online w the blogging, joining additional "things" would only entice me to spend more time online, So I resist.

nonnie9999 said...

i read that there is not really a higher frequency of earthquakes but that they are occurring in areas that are densely populated so we hear more about them.

Lulu Maude said...

The "Rapture Index" is going bananas. Nothing like earthquakes and eruptions to kick up the points.

My little Born-Again Down's buddy is scanning the skies for a returning Jesus.