New Zealand Earthquake Reveals Vulnerability of Many U.S. Urban Centers
“The earthquake was actually an aftershock associated with the 7.1 magnitude Darfield earthquake that occurred about 15 km west of Christchurch on Sept. 4, 2010. Since then, aftershocks have been occurring on the Greendale Fault, the causative fault, and progressing toward the Christchurch central business district. The relatively shallow depth of the earthquake below the city shows that even 5 to 10 seconds of strong shaking can have devastating effects.
“Some reasons for the serious damage are the many unreinforced masonry buildings in Christchurch and the occurrence of soil liquefaction throughout the city. Soil liquefaction is the transformation of saturated granular soil into a liquid-like substance from high groundwater pressures triggered by strong shaking. The soil liquefaction in Christchurch has damaged many miles of underground water mains, sewers, and electric power cables, and damaged several bridges.
“Many U.S. cities in areas vulnerable to earthquakes have many unreinforced masonry buildings, like those in Christchurch, and are founded on liquefiable soils.”
–Thomas D. O’Rourke, an expert on the impact of earthquakes on infrastructure and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.cornell.eduAll latest news from the category: Earth Sciences
Earth Sciences (also referred to as Geosciences), which deals with basic issues surrounding our planet, plays a vital role in the area of energy and raw materials supply.
Earth Sciences comprises subjects such as geology, geography, geological informatics, paleontology, mineralogy, petrography, crystallography, geophysics, geodesy, glaciology, cartography, photogrammetry, meteorology and seismology, early-warning systems, earthquake research and polar research.
Newest articles
Trotting robots reveal emergence of animal gait transitions
A four-legged robot trained with machine learning by EPFL researchers has learned to avoid falls by spontaneously switching between walking, trotting, and pronking – a milestone for roboticists as well…
Innovation promises to prevent power pole-top fires
Engineers in Australia have found a new way to make power-pole insulators resistant to fire and electrical sparking, promising to prevent dangerous pole-top fires and reduce blackouts. Pole-top fires pose…
Possible alternative to antibiotics produced by bacteria
Antibacterial substance from staphylococci discovered with new mechanism of action against natural competitors. Many bacteria produce substances to gain an advantage over competitors in their highly competitive natural environment. Researchers…
