Dear fellows, fortunately, I am… (Earthquake details)

[astroman]

a strange experience to read first hand reports from the area and there's nothing in the news here anymore - not a word. As if it would be a 1 moment incident.
And you live on shaky ground for weeks now... Take care, Nestor... fingers crossed.

cheers, Tom

[Nestor]

Nice to read you Tom!

I think that TV News is one of the greatest sleeping bags you can comfortably get to sleep forgetting about REAL LIFE! They are specialists in making people’s minds to pay attention elsewhere, instate of the real problems human begins have. I guess it is part of the structure that dominates this world.

Not long ago China had some mayor inundation problems, thousands were affected but news would talk about the last skin cleaning cream instated. Money leads the world and all is about it. Human matters are well behind.

Update:
Now we are in the hard legal period that comes after every natural disaster, you know: INSURANCE policies! These laws are getting people mad, some would cover only to a 7 degree Richter, and so, you are literally left on the streets… Some huge construction companies have declared themselves to be bankrupt, when everybody knows it is not true. I mean, they have changed the cosmetics of their business but money is still into their pockets. How can these brainless people do that in such a situation?

[garyb]

thast was my fear abou all the money being raised for relief. certainly there's plenty to help ALL who had losses, starting with those most vulnerable...

[Nestor]

When talking about international aide, there I cannot say anything because I don’t know, but the Teleton here in Chile, as I said before, it has always been a safe operation for those in need, as not a single coin is stolen, fortunately.

Now, the way most big construction companies work must make of you a distrustful person nowadays. I give them my vote of no confidence for a start... I have always said to my wife that if I had to buy a house or a flat here in Santiago, I would make a serious investigation of the business, the people involved, the engineers, and of course, the construction itself through a qualified professional I trust. I would be a heavy sassy annoying pester with them, but would buy in conscience, with plain knowledge of what I’m getting for my money, after all, when you buy a flat, if it is a bad one, you’re buying air… don’t you?

The best way would be to construct your own house yourself, getting involved with the process from A to Z. Study for yourself all materials available, choose them yourself, and look for those recognized professionals on the field that are accountable for what they do, even if your house comes to be a little more costly at the end. But common! It’s your house, and it is supposed to be for the rest of your life. You cannot save money on the floor your family and you are going to walk every step of your life.

Those pilot flats and houses they present here and there, do not coincide with the real offer. They are most of the times a nice dream. It is the old technique of always, being a bit like the beautiful photograph that attracts you to get a wonderful meal that afterwards results to be a piece of crap: much smaller and looking horrible.

They would decorate everything like a Hollywood house, but you’re not buying these furniture spread everywhere, you’re buying the house or the flat! Women get crazy about the impression, and so they want to buy because of it, but they don’t investigate the foundations of the building or house, and there it is the problem.

Bloody hell! For 60 years already, we have been told that the latest detergent for your washing machine is going to let your cloth whiter than ever, and people still believe in the same old commercial and message, it is barely credible. Recently, there was a commercial around here telling you that they would keep your black cloth as black as when you bought it! Common! Anyway, who needs for the color white or black to be stronger than they already are?

I wish for all this rubbish ways to be part of the past… Are we going to mature as a mankind?

[siriusbliss]

I've been through several large quakes over the years, so I know it's not easy to recover, rebuild, regroup, but I hope everyone effected by all these large quakes gets continued relief and support.

For some other scientific research re: timing of quakes at times of full/new moon (when billions of metric tons of tidal ocean pushes against the plates), check out http://www.syzygyjob.com/. Of course USGS holds this type of research at arms' length.

Greg

[Nestor]

Now I can tell everybody that the disaster is much bigger that it first seemed to be.

We have had quite a few more replications in the last 6 days, and many experts around the world are saying right now that we are waiting for a new one that could be, at least, as big as the one that has already hammered Chile. They have forecast a quake of no less than 8 Richter. I hope they’re wrong…

[Nestor]

There we go...

The States and Mexico are under quake fire too, Arizona, Baja California, Los Angeles, etc., 7.2 Richter:

[dawman]

I had some Taiko samples I was incorporating in an Orchestral score when we felt it in Vegas.
I couldn't hear anything because of the drums but I had a pool full of brats for Easter and they came in tugging my arm. No aftershocks but it got the kids all worked up.
Seems like its heading north to the Cascade Mountains where St. Helens blew up a while back.
Siesmologists are really wierd. I was watching a simulcast from UCLA that I often drop in on and these guys have no fear, but sparkly eyes as they talk about the damage it could cause.
Makes me wonder how stable they really are.

[siriusbliss]

I was having Easter dinner about 20 miles north of epicenter, and REALLY felt it.

Long, rumbling, wavy kind of quake.
Had another aftershock this morning.

Everything is intact here at my place.

G

[garyb]

yes, 7.2 and a long one. no biggie here, i'm a couple hours further away than you, Greg...

[Cochise]

All this sounds particularly scary for me.
Even a 7.2 event could be kind of disastrous here (L'Aquila earthquake on 06.04.2009 was "just" 5.8 magnitude; just in these days local TV news are on the anniversary)

My town was completely destroyed on 28.12.1908 by a 7.5 Richter quake shaking for 37 seconds and subsequent tsunami
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_Messina_earthquake
http://santagatando.files.wordpress.com ... =408&h=429
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bZ9SAlmrlUc/0.jpg

Housing methods was changed after that, but... there was a lot of talk about mafia's concretes these last years (more than a company manufacturing concrete has been investigated and then closed for strong collusions and very bad quality mixtures). Moreover looks like housing rules here has became less restrictive. Don't know if it's due to improvements in materials and technologies, but buildings having ferroconcrete supporting structure was allowed to have up to five elevations only, till some years ago. With the new rules introduced in this century I can see seven elevations ferroconcrete buldings. I'm quite sure these new rules have valid foundation; besides, it's sadly plausible there's more than anyone that has forgotten the past while realizing buildings (not for themselves).

[dawman]

Mafia Concrete in Las Vegas and New York are also bad.
Every single tower that has come down on the Las Vegas Strip in the last 20 years had 60% of the spec'd steel missing.
Now days the Plasticizers and chemicals used are tested on site.

[Cochise]

Plasticizer and chemicals?
Afaik cement and sand only are used for conrete here. The investigated companies used less cement and more sand for mixtures. Their concrete was very fragile indeed.
But mafia strategies here include to keep lot of people on its side, so most of that concrete was used for public constructions (highways, bridges, hospitals...) the way to make the government appears weak while making mafia appears somehow the strong and usefull alternative that's always favourable to have as friend and not as enemy

[dawman]

Anyone who volunteers to lead IMHO is not to be trusted.
Thats why I always loved the old Wild West.
People who minded their own business seemed to get along fine without everyones " help."

[Nestor]

This is an interesting PDF study about materials and building constructions for antiseismic purposes, easy to read:

http://philippe.gambette.free.fr/SCOL/A ... evices.pdf

[garyb]

eh-
it's no secret how to build safer buildings and it never has been. my house was built in 1911 and it's seen quite a few big ones. there are many hundred year old buildings in LA that survived 7.0 quakes more than once, while newer buildings crumbled. big buildings can always be built safely and in this day and age, it's easily done(well, relative to the massive scale of a large project). we get what our masters deem appropriate, or what we can personally afford. that's just how it is. the FACT is, when something as large as miles of earth moving happens, when a massive storm comes or when the sky really lights up with lightning or the sun becomes super active or dormant or a volcano erupts, it often doesn't matter what you do. human endeavors are small. even the biggest activities pale in comparison with the energies released by these events.

live, breathe and be thankful. this earth is mostly pleasant and it can always get much worse than you imagined.

[Cochise]

They're using lead rubber bearings for new buildings in L'aquila, now; at least as far as reconstruction carried out by government is concerned. L'Aquila, though, had already been destroyed by seismic events in 1349 and 1701.

L'Aquila earthquake, a years ago, was a magnitudo 6.3 event and not 5.8 as I erroneously reported in my previous post.
It's a matter of fact that geological characteristics of the ground can damp or enhance propapagation of seismic waves.
It's also a matter of fact that many construcions in L'Aquila were hystorical buildings.
It still means that 6.3 ain't a huge amount of energie, in comparison with events taking place in Chile, California, Japan or Indonesia (there was a big one today there)
And it still means that not just some, but a lot of recent buildings have been seriously damaged; hospital wards, the student's house, university, government buildings... crumbled; hundred of people dead, 65000 people on 73000 evacuated.
You Garyb please don't sound to me like an insurance agent. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be really happy too if the typical "modus operandi" of your country people will lead to similar things.

[garyb]

they're not my country people. they have no allegiance to countries or even something better like me, only themselves.

yes, HAARP is supposed to be capable of such things, but earthquakes and horrible disasters have been around for a while and have often been common, so i just don't know. naturally, it would be quite a crime to create such havoc, but i'll save my outrage for the things i can pretty well prove over things i might suspect. maybe there's a mix of things happening, who knows? right now, i'm thinking this looks horribly normal.

well, i can't stay down for too long, there are too many tragedies to cry for.

[Cochise]

A proven thing is that a phone tap between two building contractors, the day after L'Aquila event, reports them happy and laughing while talking about the event and the way to go for partecipate to reconstruction.
Looting acts committed by desperate people are way much understandable imho, in comparison with such kind of things.
To build weak consrtuctions will be decreed just like a big business, if people anyway liable for crumbles won't be severely punished. A double business: less costs=more profits, more crumbles=more work.
Sometimes I can hardly accept many software licence agreement, though I have no choice. But it's normal.
How can I accept to risk my life and lot of years of earnings buying home with such kind of warranties?
How can I accept some people can get rich jeopardizing someone else life?

[garyb]

you can't accept that.

unfortunately, many of those in positions of power, authority or owning business have little or no concern about what happens to others. that just has to be understood.