Earthquake
This morning a 7.0 earthquake struck just off Northern Kyushu near Fukuoka (about 110 km north of Kumamoto). It was a little bigger than the 6.8 quake that hit Niigata prefecture in October and slightly smaller than the 7.3 quake that hit Kobe in 1995 and killed 6,433 people.
In Kumamoto it was a bit scary and lasted for about 30 or 40 seconds. Here it was of magnitude 4 whereas in Fukuoka it was a magnitude 6. We were at church at the time and the fish tank was sloshing back and forth and pictures shaking but not falling off the walls. Everyone kind of froze, Eden and I weren't sure if we should run for the doorway, get under a table or what. Fortunately only one person was killed and 386 have been injured in something that could've been much worse. In Niigata 39 people were killed and 46,000 people were/are living in emergency shelters from the October earthquakes.
In Kumamoto it was a bit scary and lasted for about 30 or 40 seconds. Here it was of magnitude 4 whereas in Fukuoka it was a magnitude 6. We were at church at the time and the fish tank was sloshing back and forth and pictures shaking but not falling off the walls. Everyone kind of froze, Eden and I weren't sure if we should run for the doorway, get under a table or what. Fortunately only one person was killed and 386 have been injured in something that could've been much worse. In Niigata 39 people were killed and 46,000 people were/are living in emergency shelters from the October earthquakes.
posted by edenandjosh at 10:35 p.m.
2 Comments:
Actually... running for the doorway probably would have been one of the worst options. I read an article, which I should try to find for this comment, but what it said was that surviving an earthquake is almost always related to being 'next' to a object as opposed to 'under' something like a doorway or desk. Comes back to the fact that most things will compress significantly, albeit that next to places of compression will almost always remain 'survivable' spaces. It all comes back to that engineering marvel affectionately known as the triangle. When objects collapse triangles almost always remain.
So... find the biggest object you can, and don't get under it! Crouch next to it!
Nathan, I think you are quite right about getting next to an object and crouching. Probably what is more critical is knowing approximately how big the earthquake is and how the building is constructed. For example, a shoddy building will probably have more falling debris whereas a more solidly constructed building may have larger pieces falling (if at all). Crouching next to a fridge, counter, or washing machine would be great if a beam fell (triangle principle) but wouldn't do much if a lot of debris fell. Then again, if it was a big enough earthquake it may even be able to knock that same refridgerator over on top of you. Perhaps it's best to get to an open area if one is available.
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