Cascadia Subduction Zone - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

‘Big one’ coming? Earthquakes off the West Coast could eventually trigger a global event

Fox News — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 11:51:01 +0000

A string of recent earthquakes off the West Coast of the U.S., ranging from 2.8 to 5.6 on the Richter scale, could help trigger the earthquake colloquially known as “the Big One.”

The map provided by the U.S. Geological Survey highlights 11 recent earthquakes, all occurring on the seabed of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, approximately 6 miles below the surface. The plate, which is described as “small” by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN), is fairly active, moving east-northeast at approximately 1.6 inches per year.

To date, the USGS has not issued any warnings over this spate of earthquakes, given the fairly common nature of the caliber of quakes, Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center told the Daily Mail.

QUAKES AND ERUPTIONS SPARK TALKS OF YELLOWSTONE SUPERVOLCANO

Part of the concern surrounding the plate is that it is not a smooth motion, but rather a motion described as “sticky,” causing strain to build up “until the fault breaks and a few meters of Juan De Fuca slips under North America in a big earthquake.”

PNSN noted that it would take a lot of slip (approximately 10s of meters) over a very large area to generate an M9 (magnitude of 9.0) level earthquake that could hit the region, but
noted that it does occur approximately every 550 years on average.

The cause for concern is what happens when the Juan de Fuca plate eventually submerges under the much larger Pacific plate. For approximately 330 years, the plate has continuously been pushed down, an activity that will eventually lead it to be pushed under the North America plate, causing the region to sink six feet on the minimum and may result in one of the largest earthquakes in human history.

If the entire 650-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone (which includes the Juan de Fuca plate) were to experience a full rupture, it could not only trigger a 9.0 earthquake but a tsunami as well.

The Juan De Fuca plate stretches from Northern California to British Columbia and the Cascadia Subduction Zone stretches from N. Vancouver Island to Cape Mendicino, California.

SCIENTISTS FIND DOZENS OF HIDDEN EARTHQUAKES BURIED UNDER ANTARCTICA’S ICE

Recent studies have highlighted how vulnerable we are to the proverbial “Big One.”

Last month, one study detailed that there is a 15- to 20-mile-long stretch of the San Andreas fault ‒ called the Durmid ladder structure ‒ that could result in an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or greater.

“This newly identified Durmid ladder structure is a voluminous, right-reverse fault zone that broadens across Durmid Hill around rotating domains of regularly spaced, left- and right-lateral cross faults,” a research article on the study reads.

The research put the odds at 75 percent that it would occur in both northern and southern California sometime over the next 30 years.

The “Big One” has been warned about several times before, with the USGS writing extensively on the topic, including how to use past earthquakes to better predict the future.

Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/science/big-one-coming-earthquakes-off-the-west-coast-could-eventually-trigger-a-global-event

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California Big One warning: US officials hold terrifying drill amid fears of HUGE disaster

Oli Smith — Mon, 28 May 2018 19:18:04 +0000

FEARS surrounding the “inevitable” Big One – a catastrophic earthquake in California that will cause unprecedented damage and possibly trigger a tsunami – has prompted US officials to step in and begin evacuation drills.

US officials have started to hold eerie evacuation drills to ensure that Americans are prepared for the “inevitable” Big One.

The Big One is a term used to the describe the impending earthquake along the San Andreas faultline in California, which is expected to cause widespread devastation.

Experts including seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones believe that this earthquake event will also trigger a powerful tsunami.

This week, officials in Arizona held training drills to prepare the state for an event where half a million evacuated residents arrive from California when the Big One strikes.

According to a report on CBS, hundreds of agencies worked together during the drills to spot any “potential problems” in the disaster response plans.

Dr Jones believes the Big One will disrupt the water system across states, which could take “up to six months” to fix.

Earlier this month, a light earthquake struck Southern California in the middle of the night but there were no reports of damage.

The magnitude 4.5 quake originated beneath the San Bernardino Mountains about 100 miles from Los Angeles and San Diego.

Colin Williams of the American Red Cross said: “If this was a full-scale emergency the hotels would be full, areas would be saturated, the roads would of course be in a different condition. They would be gridlocked.”

Kerry Reeve, area emergency manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Emergency Management, added: “We have to train firefighters to operate on an aircraft, to be able to move the patients efficiently and effectively off the aircraft so that everybody stays safe.”

The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs said the National Mass Care Exercise has been planned for nearly a year.

Mr William added: “The more we get to meet people and practice and exercise with people in blue sky times helps us when we’re in gray sky times.

“Fortunately, we don’t see these happen, but if we do, we’re all ready.”

A study, led by scientists at the University of Texas last year, predicted that the big earthquakewill most likely to strike off the coast of Washington and northern Oregon.

The researchers revealed that the volatile Cascadia Subduction Zone generates a major event every 200 to 530 years – and last experienced an earthquake in the 1700s

According to Shuoshuo Han, who led the study, this earthquake would rupture over a long distance and increase both earthquake and tsunami hazards.

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/965785/California-Big-One-disaster-drills-tsunami-earthquake

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New study shows Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake could injure as many as 27,000 people

KATU News — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 03:01:17 +0000

PORTLAND, Ore. – A new study by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) says a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake could injure as many as 27,000 people in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties.

It also suggests as many as 85,000 people would need shelter and building damages would total as much as $37 billion.

“While much is being done around our five-county region to prepare government, business, non-profits, and communities for earthquakes, as well as other disasters, the study shows us we need to keep working together to reduce these impacts and become more resilient,” said Denise Barrett, manager of the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization, which partnered with DOGAMI on the study.

The study’s lead investigator, John Bauer from DOGAMI, says they used updated building and population data, current earthquake science, and the latest mapping and modeling techniques to understand the potential impacts.

Before this study, much of the region was relying on estimates that were 20 years old.

Jay Raskin, chairperson of the Oregon Seismic Safety Police Advisory commission said the need to better understand Cascadia earthquake impacts was highlighted in the Oregon Resilience Plan.

“Accurate estimates of injuries and people in need of shelter helps us plan to care for injured people, and to meet the needs of people whose houses or apartments won’t be safe to live in,” Raskin said.

Researchers say if 27,000 people are injured, 20,000 of those injuries will be minor.

“A Cascadia earthquake will happen,” Bauer said. “How well we prepare will make all the difference in how well we bounce back.”

Phase two of the study will examine how the earthquake could impact Clark and Columbia counties. Researchers expect it will be completed in 2019.

Visit www.OregonGeology.org for a summary of estimated Cascadia earthquake impacts by city, to see Cascadia earthquake expected shaking in the Oregon HazVu interactive map, or to download the full study with maps and data. A video recap of the study is available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/OregonGeology. Learn more about the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization at: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/rdpo/

Source: http://katu.com/news/local/new-study-shows-cascadia-subduction-zone-earthquake-could-injure-as-many-as-27000-people

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