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From: CHEROKEE

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Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 12:59 PM

Subject: Fw: Big California Earthquake Long Overdue

 

----- Original Message -----

From: W.G.E.N.

To: idzrus

Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 12:04 PM

Subject: GN: Big California Earthquake Long Overdue

In view of the disaster in S.E.Asia it seems appropriate to post this information prepared by Forest Glen Durland on Free Republic.  Americans better face the FACT that there won't be anyone out there sending any aid to Americans like Bush is sending to the Tsunami folks.

Jackie Juntti
WGEN   idzrus@earthlink.net


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1311420/posts

Big California Earthquake Long Overdue
Original | 12-30-04 | Forest Glen Durland

Posted on 12/30/2004 10:39:09 PM PST by forest

The Situation

Some officials say the long overdue big earthquake in California is due any time.(1)(2) Sure, it’s all guesstimation -- Nobody knows for sure what is exactly going on beneath our feet -- and our houses and trees. But as knowledge from modern research is assembled, better forecasts can be given. This discussion is primarily for the San Francisco Bay Area.

It seems that major quakes occur near sunrise or sunset. The Loma Prieta Quake about 15 years ago hit late in the afternoon. The recent mag 9 in Sumatra in 2004 hit early in the morning. (13)

The SF peninsula people are lucky -- I hope. Much of the ground is solid and should not amplify the quake. So that is good news. But it could last longer. But the areas next to the bay that are built on fill could encounter much greater movement due to amplification.

Those on silt fill on the Hayward Fault along the East Bay may be in for some serious quaking. To locate the Hayward Fault, simply draw a line along all the hospitals and universities.(3) All that stuff is sitting smack dab on top of the Hayward Fault on fill which will magnify the quake. The East Bay cities could be leveled.

But they don’t get to hog all the fun. The huge electrical power lines that supply Silicone Valley pass over the hills east of Oakland, or thereabouts. Those towers are about two hundred feet high and might come tumbling down amid great sparks and flashes. You better hope you have spike protection, such as a UPS, protecting your computers and other electronics. Some phone lines go directly into the brains of a computer.

Without electrical power, pumps won’t pump water for drinking and sewage. And pumps won’t pump potty poopoo to the poopoo plant. With luck the sewer lines have been laid properly and gravity will furnish the power. But the treatment plants won’t treat and will back up. Plants on silt along the bay may be destroyed. There could be a monster problem here. Neither will your toilets refill themselves. Better get a portable potty like campers use. Chemicals kill the smell.

Without power, pumps will not pump natural gas to your stoves. Better have some propane camp stoves handy.

But then, maybe our government servants will have had the forethought to have huge diesel powered generators ready to keep basic services going.

Many conveniences we take for granted will probably be out for at least two weeks, maybe over a month. Let’s hope the terrorists do not capitalize on this dilemma.

One might wonder if martial law will ensue, and for how long. History has shown that once politicians get power, they are loathe to release it. Do we need that? Some citizens are well prepared to take care of their own homes. And, incidentally, that is exactly what our Forefathers intended for us to do.

Then there is Yellowstone. Hundreds of acres of ground around Yellowstone are so hot that people wearing shoes can not walk on it. A mound has pushed up over a hundred feet in Yellowstone Lake. One of the largest volcanoes in the world lingers below Yellowstone National Park, fueling all those hot wonders. Scientists have discovered that it has erupted regularly about every 600,000 years and is about 40,000 years overdue for the current blast. When she blows, she will cover over half the United States with ash. (10)

California may be just out of reach, but there may be a system of faults running from Yellowstone to the San Andreas Fault, which is the Bay Area. The size of the Yellowstone volcano just might trigger volcanos in California. Mt. Shasta is considered active (as is Mt. Rainier up in Washington State.) There is another super volcano over in eastern California. That could smart. The highest peak in the continental United States is Mt. Whitney, another volcano in east central California. (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(12)

It seems that Mother Nature has some excitement planned for California.

Where I am sitting in Saratoga might be as safe a place as any.

There is not a dang thing we can do about nature’s ranting and raving, but we can prepare for it to make life easier while we ride it out. Following is a list of the many conveniences we take for granted and thoughts about preparing for their absence.

 

Quake Prep

Water Fuel Food and Cooking Heating Lighting Computers Falling, Breaking Power Roads Communication Cash

Storage Cans. White for water, red for gasoline, blue for kerosene. Do NOT mix.

Water, drinking. Get some jugs and water at a Pure Water Store, whose bottles are ROUND. Or get some WHITE, 6 gallon plastic containers. Mark as drinking water. Do NOT store water in pete bottles. (Look at the bottom.) They out gas poisons into the water. HDPE and PC (polycarbonate) are good. Have at least two week’s supply. A good water filter would be handy if you live near a creek. Just remember that all creeks in cities are plenty polluted. A proven filter is a necessity. Chlorine does NOT kill viruses, but boiling does.

Water, toilet flush. Do NOT flush every time. You might consider a portable potty like campers use. Chemicals or lime will lessen the smell. Get some WHITE, 6 gallon plastic containers. Mark your WHITE water bottles either drinking or flushing. DO NOT MIX, unless both are palatable, or you want diarrhea at a time of limited flushing water.

Fuel. It will be camping time. BE CAREFUL OF CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. ALLOW VENTILATION. CO is odorless and invisible. Outside, no problem. Inside, be careful. Better chilly than dead. Do not burn fuel in a tightly enclosed room. Burning uses oxygen and can be deadly.

Food and Cooking. Get cases of food you would normally eat to prevent waste. Unless you have a generator or marine battery, your fridge and freezer will soon be warm. Canned, dried and powdered are your remaining options. A good camp stove using a small propane tank is handy. Or, you could eat cold out of the can.

Heating. Camp heaters or a propane stove will take the chill off. Allow ventilation. Have warm clothes ready.

Lighting. Good flashlights and camp lanterns are a must. Get MANY extra batteries. Fluorescent tubes take much less power than incandescent bulbs. LED lights take even less power. A propane powered camp lantern with mantles is great and very bright.

Computers. If you value the information on your computer, MAKE BACKUPS DAILY. That is the first rule. Burning info to CDs is a snap now and only costs two bits. You must have your computer and other sensitive electronic devices on a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) that contains a surge protector that kicks in within in a few nanoseconds. When those big power lines, or even lesser ones, go down, wires will cross, sending a monster surge of high voltage and high wattage toward your house. Without a UPS, your electronics will be fried to a crisp. Telephone lines go directly into the heart of your computer, so put your telephone lines on the UPS also. That includes internet phones lines and cable wires. The cable wires should have a modem that will take the guff. Better it fries than your computer.

An even worse surge can happen when power is restored. That first surge from the power plant can be huge. So leave your electrical equipment off until power is back and stable.

Falling and breaking. There will be a whole lot of shaking, rattling and rolling going on. You are not going to stop this band. It’s going to play, ready or not. So you might as well get in step. Strap down your computer and monitor. Tie big speakers to the ceiling. Put bungee cords on your cupboard handles. Put straps across book shelves. Etc etc. In short, tie down anything that is breakable, or that can break something else if it falls. If you have cracked or rotten limbs overhead at your house, better call the tree trimmer now. It will be cheaper. On solid ground on the peninsula, I do not expect big items like reefers (refrigerators) to topple. It’s the smaller things that will move. On fill, especially in the East Bay, good luck.

Power. No stores, no gas. Your place won’t be the only place without power. When the electricity goes out, so do all the doors and checkout stands at the stores. All the pumps at the gas stations will be out. With stores closed you won’t buy anything. Today you better get a RED plastic can or two of gasoline, just in case the roads are passable. And get those needed auto repairs done now, not after the big rush.

A gasoline powered generator would be handy. Do NOT hook to the house electrical circuit, unless you savvy that stuff. Use extension cords. Consider noise and ease of starting when purchasing a generator. Vent outside.

Another option is a jump start, the kind made for starting cars. The best one I have found is at Costco, who also has deep cell marine batteries. Get their 1500 continuous watt inverter and you have a great system. Unlike car batteries which are designed to keep voltage up, marine batteries are designed to supply power and keep on going until fully discharged. A marine battery and a good inverter are so reliable they can be used to power comptures and sound equipment for a band.

Roads. Bridges out, wires down. When the big one hits, things will topple onto roads. There are trees, tree limbs, wires of all kinds, etc. There are also bridges. People do not realize how many bridges are between work and home. Count them next time you commute. Bridges include over crossings, under crossings, tunnels (now there’s a fun thought), and plain old bridges, like across rivers and bays. Some of those get mighty lengthy. Maybe you had better include a good pair of walking shoes in your backpack, along with a bottle of water and some nourishing snacks. (And a swim suit if you happen to be on the Bay Bridge. But maybe they put on all the nuts this time. Hmm... that was the Oakland elevated freeway.)

Communication. With no electricity, Ma Bell won’t work. That means no land line phones. How about cell phones? They work off satellites, reflector antennas and long wire antennas. In the East Bay those antennas will probably bite the dust. You might be in luck with satellites. I just don’t know. Any battery powered radio will tune into the disaster frequency, if it’s working. Doctors and ambulances will be stalled, so better think about injuries and treatment.

Cash. Keep enough cash on hand to see you through. Credit cards will probably be useless with no power.

Summary. Think about it and do some homework. A little prep can make the inevitable much easier.

Documentation.

1.<http://www.quakefinder.com/calnetwork.htm> Big California quake any time.

2.<http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/fact-sheet/fs039-03/> Probabilities. Great Maps. Looks like we will be moving.

3.<http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/fact-sheet/fs039-03/hazard.html> Hayward fault map.

4.<http://www.tinynet.com/faults.html> Yellowstone Quake caused wells to fluctuate. Moving maps.

5.<http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/2004/2004052717072.html> Relation of ruptures.

6.<http://www.indiana.edu/~pepp/earthquakes/reports/alaska11_3_02/CCTshakedown.htm> Alaska triggered California.

7.<http://www.earthwaves.org/history.html> Map of big quakes.

8.<http://www.light-science.com/usgsalaska.html> Big Alaska quake triggered quakes in California and Yellowstone.

9.<http://bric.postech.ac.kr/science/97now/02_12now/021209b.html> Alaska quake triggered quakes in Yellowstone and thermal spots in California.

10.<http://www.solcomhouse.com/yellowstone.htm> Yellowstone erupts every 600K years, covering half the United States with ash.

12.<http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=18014> Best for facts. Hot dirt closed trails.

13.<http://news.inq7.net/world/index.php?index=1&story_id=22443> Time of Sumatra quake.

 

Forest Glen Durland, Saratoga, CA. Copyright 8-12-04

 
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