Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with earthquake

How can I safely hang my expensive prints in earthquake country?

autojack — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:02:53 -0800

How can I hang paintings/framed prints in earthquake country and keep them relatively safe? I have a couple of valuable signed prints that I had framed, at a cost of several hundred dollars. They're pretty large, around 28x36 inches, so in frames with glass, they're a bit heavy. I'm going to hang them in my apartment in San Francisco but I realized that, in an earthquake, if they fall off the walls the glass could shatter and the frames could get banged up or broken. Considering what I paid to get them archivally preserved, I'd like to take any precautions I can to avoid this.

My apartment building is of 1960s vintage, with painted drywall walls. I've got a stud finder, and I assume there are wood studs I can nail into. Should I use beefier picture hooks? That's the only thing I can think of but maybe the hive mind has other suggestions.

Help me find an old photo/video of an earthquake bay drain.

esome — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:47:08 -0800

I'm hunting for an old photo or video of an underwater fault line that opened during an earthquake, causing a shallow bay to begin visibly draining into the earth. I know i've seen it and I'm not the only one: link. I suspect it was the 1964 Alaska quake but I'm not sure. If I recall correctly, it is black and white and was taken from a ship floating in the bay at the time. Either my google skills are failing me or I saw it on television and not online, but I'm specifically hoping to find something online. Thanks in advance for any help here.

How to support tall bookcases without drilling into the wall?

muscatlove — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:49:34 -0800

I'm looking for any information on a method of support for tall furniture (bookcases, etc) that doesn't involve attaching it to the wall, but instead goes from the top of the furniture to the ceiling and fixes it in place without drilling. Anyone out there have any ideas? I've seen a product that fits the bill, while living in Japan - a friend had a very tall china cabinet and needed to keep it stabilized for earthquakes. It looks like an expandable tension rod - I have no idea what they're called, and my friend in Japan can't tell me what it's called, a friend in the US who has something similiar said "they came with the bookshelves, we have no clue", and I've searched every woodworker's forum, bookcase store, and talked to several staff at hardware stores, and no one seems to know what I'm referring to.

(The real problem is that our walls are masonry [and sometimes we can't find more than 2 studs per wall when searching] and we were warned that pipes are going through most of the interior walls of the apartment building and so to be incredibly careful even when hanging a picture, let alone drilling through to install supports.)

Thanks for any help you can give!

What can I do to keep my LCD TV safe in an earthquake?

IvyMike — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:04:52 -0800

What can I do to keep my LCD TV safe in an earthquake? I recently bought a 46" LCD TV. Then, last week, this earthquake reminded me that the TV is the single most expensive thing in my apartment, and I really ought to come up with a way to keep it from tumbling over.

Right now, the TV is on a stand, and I would like to avoid a wall mount, as I like to angle the TV left and right about 20 degrees depending on where the viewing audience is sitting.

I've seen various kits but I'm looking for a review from an actual user. I would also like to hear about DIY solutions--that's more my style, anyways. Thanks!

Little scary.

OrangeDrink — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 04:54:59 -0800

Where can I find out about a recent (read 4:45 Pacific Time) Berkeley, CA earthquake? Any live surveying website available? (It was huge and I'm nervous for no rational reason)

Shaken, not Stirred?

b1tr0t — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:01:22 -0800

Seismologists: how likely is a major Pacific Northwest earthquake? The Canadian Geological Survey seems to think a big quake is likely. The Pacific Geoscience Center thinks the probability went up, but is still very low. Is there cause for concern, or is this just more of the typical Pacific Northwest "Big One" worry?

Any experience with seismic upgrades?

mosk — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 10:06:10 -0800

Anyone know anything about seismic upgrades? We own a 40 year old house in the SF Bay Area, love it, and plan to live in it for years and years to come. However, it's a 1.5 story house built against a hill, with the majority of the house sitting above a two car garage. There's... So the house is a 40 year old 3 bd/2 bth, built against a modest hill. The hill is stable (we had the ground structurally inspected before we moved in 8 years ago) but the floorplan is a classic "soft story" design, with the house above the garage. The garage is a huge open space with no central support. There is a load bearing wall on one side of the garage, splitting the load of the house 33% / 66%. Some sort of steel reinforcement is needed to span this open space and better support the house above.

So, we know we need to contact a structural engineer and have plans drawn up, etc. We also know the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) maintains a list of structural engineers who can do this sort of work, What we don't know is how much such an upgrade might cost, how long it may take, and any way of discerning the relative merits of the various enigneering firms on the ABAG list. Has anyone on MeFi gone through this process? Any tips? I don't need the DIY side of this, I need to hear about the paying-someone-else-to-do-the-big-job side of things. Thanks!

Who will retrofit my house?

The corpse in the library — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:36:04 -0800

I want to retrofit my early-60's rambler so it's less likely to kill me during an earthquake (and so I can get earthquake insurance). Any recommendations for companies or contractors in the Seattle area?

Earthquake Info Needed

realjanetkagan — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 11:54:55 -0800

Hawaii has had an earthquake. I need some info sources for a friend there who is still able to get thru (to NJ) by phone. Toss me anything useful you've got and I'll do a quick sort and pass on whatever she needs. Many thanks in advance!

Earthquake perception

SBMike — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:43:02 -0800

How often can you feel small earthquakes in Southern California? My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy, but I'm often convinced I've felt a small earthquake. Are there degrees of earthquake perception for different people? I've lived in Southern California for a little over 2 years now. So far I've only felt one confirmed earthquake. I was in a room with a bunch of people, and we all heard a rumbling and felt a small shake that lasted maybe 3-5 seconds. They all agreed, so I have no doubt that I felt an earthquake.

However, I ocassionally feel very slight movements that I think are earthquakes, but my girlfriend doesn't believe me (she hasn't felt one since we moved here). They are very quick and don't really feel like shaking back and forth, more like a quick lurch in one direction. No noise. It's barely perceptible. I usually check the website of the USGS to confirm, but it never turns out to be an earthquake that is reported on their page. She thinks I've usually just felt rumblings from the highway or something.

Is it possible that what I'm feeling is in fact an earthquake? If so, how come she can never feel them? Are some people more sensitive to slight motions than others? What types of things might give a false positive?

How much should I worry about earthquakes in Seattle?

clarahamster — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 20:23:24 -0800

How much should I worry about earthquakes when looking at apartments in Seattle? I'm looking for a new apartment in Seattle and I far prefer the older buildings to the newer ones, which cost more and tend to include ridiculous amenities I will never use. However, I'm mildly concerned because bad things happen to unreinforced brick buildings in earthquakes.

How much protection do I get from the fact that the Juan de Fuca is ~200 miles away from the city? I was in a 7-pointer in LA that happened maybe 150 miles away from the city and the shaking was hard enough to wake most of the dorm up. The Juan de Fuca produces infrequent 9-pointers. Should I even bother worrying about something that happens every 600 years or so (on average) and would probably destroy a lot of the new construction right along with the old?

What about smaller-but-closer quakes that happen on other faults? Obviously none of the buildings I'm looking at collapsed in the 6.8 they had a few years back. That one was some distance from Seattle but caused damage to unreinforced masonry buildings in Pioneer Square.

I've read through this related question.

Scale my Richter

pieoverdone — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 07:00:34 -0800

I just bought a house in St. Louis. Earthquake coverage or no?

What floor should I live on in an earthquake zone?

MrC — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 02:21:46 -0800

Disaster filter: So, I live in an earthquake zone and am looking for a new apartment. What floor should I live on? I've just moved to Kathmandu and am looking for an apartment. All the houses are built using a simple concrete and steel structure, and are liable to collapse in a similar way to those in the recent Pakistan 'quake. In looking for an apartment is it safer to be on the upper floor or ground floor of an apartment? Or does it make little difference?

Quake! Quake! Triangle of Life ? No. Drop, Cover and Hold on ?

kryptos — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 11:48:54 -0800

Doug Copp advocates finding a Triangle of Life and gives up to 10 tips for an earthquake situation that will ensure maximum survival of the people involved. But his findings and tips has been discredited by the American Red Cross (ARC) who sees it as challenge to their "Drop, Cover and Hold On" safety advice as applied to its use in USA. It said that buildings in the States are constructed to a higher standard which makes the DC&HO method , the one to use. I would have thought if the standards are all that stringent , finding a triangle of life would be much easier and ensure a greater survival quotient in the States, if it was the drilled into the students. They say that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On!" is NOT wrong -- in the United States. and also say that The Red Cross is not saying that identifying potential voids is wrong or inappropriate. But the ARC said DC&HO is the simplest, reliable, and easiest method to teach people, including children. By this , do they mean that it will take more effort and more drills to get children and others to act in a manner counter-intuitive to a DC&HO. And that would equate to more money that needs to be spent ?

The ToL advocated does not seem to be a hoax but yet has found its way onto the snopes.com website that does a good job investigating urban legends and hoaxes and scams. And there was mention there of various cases and accusations against Mr Copp.

By the way, FEMA stands by the ARC. Are their advice carved in stone? After the dismal performance of these two organisations, post-Katrina, I cannot help but feel less confidence in what they have to say and do.

Leaving aside, Mr Copp's personal agenda if any, and the personal problems that Mr Copp will have to resolve himself, his ToL seems to make a lot of sense to me. AMC and FEMA too may have their own agenda. Does it cost more money and drill time to instill into children that they have to do something counter-intuitive to their natural survival instincts ? I would imagine so! Could that be the reason then for discrediting Mr Copp. Couldn't a better survival protocol be drawn up incorporating the best of both, with what i would imagine greater empasis on Mr Copp's method. Yes, my bias is towards ToL.

Sorry for the rather longish preamble to a question but here it comes.
My question to Ask Metafilter:

What to do? I have confused friends in LA with school-going children wanting to know . They want to talk to teachers as to what is best. Are there are other groups with no agendas, hidden or other-wise, who could help answer this? What do guys think ?

Stop plate tectonics!!

billysumday — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 14:32:46 -0800

Is there a big earthquake in California's near future? There have been three earthquakes over 5 on the Richter Scale in California in the last week, two in Southern California. As a jumpy little fella living in Los Angeles, I'm worried that this a predilection of worse things to come. Or is it just the earth letting off steam? I know that no one can predict this stuff, but are there any seismologists out there who want to give it a shot?

Question number 13349

blockhead — Sun, 26 Dec 2004 14:22:48 -0800

I'm sure you've all heard the news that thousands are dead in Asia after a massive earthquake struck near Indonesia. My brother is among the missing and we're desperately trying to find out if he's OK. If you're in the region or have experience with contacting loved ones after an event like this, please read on. I need your help

Question number 11812

amery — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 20:54:15 -0800

How do I keep my tall bookshelves from falling over during an earthquake? [More inside]