Article

2008-05-12 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Breaking: Mag 7.8 Quake hits Sichuan, China

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by phil_b 2008-05-12 04:53|| || Front Page|| [11128 views ] Top

#1 7.8 is biiggggg.

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-05-12 08:47|| 2008-05-12 08:47|| Front Page Top

#2 http://www.iris.edu/seismon/

It's the gift that keeps on giving:

http://www.iris.edu/seismon/zoom/events/?lon=104.62&lat=31.9

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-05-12 09:16|| 2008-05-12 09:16|| Front Page Top

#3 No damage noted to the Three Gorges dam, yet. But if it goes, kiss Shanghai goodbye.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-05-12 09:20|| 2008-05-12 09:20|| Front Page Top

#4 A: No damage noted to the Three Gorges dam, yet. But if it goes, kiss Shanghai goodbye.

Shanghai is about 1000 miles downstream. Do you really think that a dam burst could affect Shanghai? Even Wuhan, the nearest big city downstream, is hundreds of miles away.

Posted by Zhang Fei">Zhang Fei 2008-05-12 10:49|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2008-05-12 10:49|| Front Page Top

#5 There have been a lot of quakes around the world in weird places recently. Hmm.... almost like mother Gaia is retching from all the Goreacle bile being thrown her way and she is about to vomit.

(I know, I know. But I can wish, can't I?)

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2008-05-12 10:55|| 2008-05-12 10:55|| Front Page Top

#6 I dunno Zhang, it's a mighty big dam, and a lot of water behind it, and the land channels the water down to the sea. A thousand miles is a long way so maybe Shanghai doesn't get flattened. But a lot of people along the way will get mighty wet.

Posted by Steve White">Steve White 2008-05-12 11:07|| 2008-05-12 11:07|| Front Page Top

#7 I'm sure we haven't heard the worst news from this yet, Frank G is right, 7.8 is huge.

For comparison, the Loma Prieta Earthquake in Oakland in 89 was only Mag 6.9. An earthquake 7.0 to 7.9 is classified as a Major Earthquake.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-05-12 11:07|| 2008-05-12 11:07|| Front Page Top

#8 SW: A thousand miles is a long way so maybe Shanghai doesn't get flattened. But a lot of people along the way will get mighty wet.

I don't think it's a matter of downstream. I think all of the low-lying areas within a thirty or forty mile *radius* of a dam burst will get inundated. But that excludes Wuhan, let alone Shanghai. It will resemble one of the old time flood disasters they used to encounter multiplied by some factor. I really don't see Shanghai having a problem, because it's located where the Yangtse widens and flows into the East China Sea - the water has someplace to go.

Posted by Zhang Fei">Zhang Fei 2008-05-12 11:22|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2008-05-12 11:22|| Front Page Top

#9 A 7.8 is as big as the great San Francisco quake of 1906. God help them, they are going to need it. I saw reports of over 80% of all buildings down in some areas.

Posted by crosspatch 2008-05-12 11:24|| 2008-05-12 11:24|| Front Page Top

#10 Quick note: the scale is geometric - each 'unit' is 10 times greater in size - so 7.0 is 10 times bigger then 6.0 - presumably 7.8 might be about 8X the size of a 7.0 (which is big enough in its own right).

Posted by CrazyFool 2008-05-12 12:08|| 2008-05-12 12:08|| Front Page Top

#11 Several strong after shocks have also occurred making rescue work a nightmare.

Posted by wxjames 2008-05-12 12:11|| 2008-05-12 12:11|| Front Page Top

#12 Is this an unusual epicenter? It does seem a long way inside the continent. A lot of folks are going to die before the commies can get aid to them. Perhaps we should send aid, wait we already do that.

Posted by bman 2008-05-12 12:25|| 2008-05-12 12:25|| Front Page Top

#13 What bman said.

I wasn't aware that there were any tectonic plates, etc., in that part of the country. I thought they were clustered around Korea/China/Japan.

Posted by Mizzou Mafia 2008-05-12 12:41|| 2008-05-12 12:41|| Front Page Top

#14 Reported dead up to 8500 now.

Posted by tipper 2008-05-12 12:51|| 2008-05-12 12:51|| Front Page Top

#15 Mizzou Mafia,
there is a Tectonic summary here.

Posted by tipper 2008-05-12 13:00|| 2008-05-12 13:00|| Front Page Top

#16 CHONGQING, China - One of the worst earthquakes in decades struck central China on Monday, killing nearly 9,000 people, trapping about 900 students under the rubble of their school and causing a toxic chemical leak, state media reported.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated a hilly region of small cities and towns in Sichuan and nearby provinces. The official Xinhua News Agency said 8,533 people died in Sichuan alone and dozens of other deaths were reported in surrounding areas. Xinhua said 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed in Sichuan province's Beichuan county after the quake, raising fears the overall death toll could increase sharply.

State media said a chemical plant in Shifang city had cratered, burying hundreds of people and spilling more than 80 tons of toxic liquid ammonia from the site.

Posted by tu3031 2008-05-12 13:42|| 2008-05-12 13:42|| Front Page Top

#17 Has the Mandate of Heaven been revoked?

Posted by charger 2008-05-12 15:47|| 2008-05-12 15:47|| Front Page Top

#18 Go here, and look at the pattern. Apparently there's a very active fault line that's releasing pressure. Whether it affects the Three Gorges Dam, who can know. It's not that far away, though - the Three Gorges run from just north of Chongqing (Chunking) for about 70 or 80 miles up the Yangtse. Most of the pressure is coming from the Indus plate, slamming into the Asia plate. There have been 24 aftershocks in the last 24 hours. I'm sure there will be more. There might also be a large quake in the Xian area in the near future, as pressures equalize.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2008-05-12 17:02|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2008-05-12 17:02|| Front Page Top

#19 Re: Crazyfool comment #10:

The Richter scale IS a logarithmic scale, but the magnitude between integer magnitudes is 31.6 times the energy of the lower magnitude integer. A jump of two integers means 1000x more energy. A 7.8 quake is a seriously huge one!

Note that when you get away from the US building codes, the casualties SOAR during a major earthquake. Enforcing building codes DOES some good sometimes.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2008-05-12 17:20|| 2008-05-12 17:20|| Front Page Top

#20 Where's Halliburton??

WE Need them to report in? >:>

Posted by RD">RD 2008-05-12 17:32|| 2008-05-12 17:32|| Front Page Top

#21 Reports are that Three Gorges Dam was NOT damaged.

But you have to ask yourself would the Chinese report serious damage..??

Short of complete failure which the Chinese couldn't Deny, would the Chinese report geological substrate movement or slippage underneath the Dam for instance. Or structural weakness in the Abutments or breaches into the rock-filled core, toe etc.

My vote is No, the Chinese would cover it up for a while at least.

Posted by RD">RD 2008-05-12 17:57|| 2008-05-12 17:57|| Front Page Top

#22 RD: Reports are that Three Gorges Dam was NOT damaged.

My feeling is that on a high profile (and expensive) project like that, there are likely to be multiple redundancies built in. Corner cutting is likely to be limited given that any problem that results in mass deaths will mean a lot of public executions down the line.

Posted by Zhang Fei">Zhang Fei 2008-05-12 18:21|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2008-05-12 18:21|| Front Page Top

#23 Distance means very little in damage from earthquakes. Damage (Modified Mercalli) is not directly related to the amount of energy released (Richter) due to the transmissivity of the crust through which the waves pass. Thus, an earthquake at New Madrid, MO would devastate an area many times greater, and more populous, than an equally powerful earthquake on the San Andreas fault.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-05-12 18:26|| 2008-05-12 18:26|| Front Page Top

#24 Thanks for the correction AP.

Posted by CrazyFool 2008-05-12 19:15|| 2008-05-12 19:15|| Front Page Top

#25 Regarding fault lines. There have been large quakes in NY in the past but we don't consider it on a fault line. There are mini-faults all over in. It's just he major faults have more, and also manage to relieve pressure in the process while the others? Well I'm not really sure what they are doing. Possibly Continents are dividing over millions of years because of the pressure on the edges.

Good thing the Commies aren't religious because first their lackeys in Burma are hit by a natural disaster and then China is hit. If I were Iran or Sudan I'd be worried now.

Posted by rjschwarz 2008-05-12 19:19|| 2008-05-12 19:19|| Front Page Top

#26 Nearly 10,000 known dead now, with plenty more yet to be found under collapsed buildings -- the army troops are forced by conditions to make their way on foot. The earthquake hit in the middle of the day, so most everyone was indoors at school or work.

China was having trouble with landslides along the river upstream from the Three Gorges dam even before the earthquake, reportedly due to saturated soil. The dam may silt up before it has a chance to fall apart.

May God watch over the poor and the powerless in China and Burma, suffering because of the vicious and the corrupt, because no one else will.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-05-12 19:32|| 2008-05-12 19:32|| Front Page Top

#27 It's 500 miles to the Three Gorges Dam from the earthquake.

Posted by Waldemar Phating5478 2008-05-12 20:20|| 2008-05-12 20:20|| Front Page Top

#28 And at last count, the reservoir from the dam was 600 km (prob. close to 360 miles) long. I don't know what it's final length is supposed to be, but it's supposed to reach it next year.

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-05-12 20:30|| 2008-05-12 20:30|| Front Page Top

#29 "A lot of quakes around the world in weird places recently" > AGAIN, GLOBAL WARMING = the SUN.
All of human recorded history amd measurement is minutae compared to what we haven't measured.
These quakes will continue to slowly but steadily escalate in frequency and magnitude, albeit variable. I've been telling GUam locals that, exclusive of any benefit or detriment induced by the reloca of US Marine units from Okinawa, ASIA-PACIFIC "EARTH CHANGES" > VARI DESTABILIZATIONS [e.g. ASIAN FOOD-FUEL CRISES] AND DIAPORAS OF HUMAN POPULS WILL OCCUR WHICH WILL ADD TO PRESSURES VV GUAM-CNMI + MICRONESIA, etc.

I'm also watching SUMMER 2008 [space]; + SUNSPOT/SOLAR CYCLE 24 as per 2008-2015 for various LT effects [2010 thru 2015]. "24" IS SUPPOS TO BE A HOT ONE.

MY ADVICE > EVERYBODY GO TO COSTCO, WALMART, ETC, AND BUY SUNCREEN BY THE PALLET/BULK LOAD + HOME COOLING + HOME FOOD/WATER MFG SYSTEMS.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-05-12 20:32|| 2008-05-12 20:32|| Front Page Top

#30 Hey, Joe, any earth lights or earthquake lights or hitodama (I hear that's the word in Japanese) out your way from this quake? You've said in the past they've shown up when something's about to happen/has happened.

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-05-12 20:37|| 2008-05-12 20:37|| Front Page Top

#31 And for everyone else who's wondering what I'm talking about, wikipedia's entry on Earthquake Lights has links to three videos from Peru of earthquake lights: link one, link two, and link three.

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-05-12 20:55|| 2008-05-12 20:55|| Front Page Top

#32 SCIENCEDAILY > SOLAR VARIABILITY: STRIKING A BALANCE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE [Next SOlar Maxima in 2012]; + GLOBAL WARMING COULD SHUT DOWN EARTH'S PLATE TECHTRONICS. So-o-o, iff the SUN doesn't blow = expand, the Earth will???

ALso from ScienDaily > NEW STUDY [NOAA]:CONTAMINANTS DECLINE IN LAST 10-20 YEARS.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-05-12 22:08|| 2008-05-12 22:08|| Front Page Top

#33 Joe, did you know that in the year 43 BC, there were 59 quakes in Latium (Rome) alone? A century before that, there was even more per annum. There is an Egyptian scroll from bout 600BC, where author complains about the ceaseless din of earthquakes. Now, mind you, people did not have quakes recording devices, so that means only earthquakes that were felt were noted.

Relative to that, we live in rather quiet times.

Posted by twobyfour 2008-05-12 22:25|| 2008-05-12 22:25|| Front Page Top

#34 ION SCIENCE > IRON SNOW HELPS MAINTAIN MERCURY'S MAGNETIC FIELD. Metallic particulates.

HMMMMMM, OLD DREAM/VISION > GOLD DUST wilfully emplaced in Earth's atmosphere. Add to NET claims of "CHEMTRAILS" SPRAYING???

GOLD [Silver/Metals] FUTURES > market manipulation only???

Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-05-12 22:32|| 2008-05-12 22:32|| Front Page Top

#35 Joe, I would not place that much faith in Sitchin's story about Anunaki and their motives for gold-mining.. ;-)

Posted by twobyfour 2008-05-12 22:34|| 2008-05-12 22:34|| Front Page Top

#36 ION NEWSCIENTIST > WHY DIDN'T THE EARTH FREEZE UNDER A WEAK/FAINT YOUNG SUN; + SUN'S FICKLE HEART MAY LEAVE US OUT IN THE COLD.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-05-12 22:59|| 2008-05-12 22:59|| Front Page Top

#37 Joe nails it again!

Posted by Muggsy Gling 2008-05-12 23:42|| 2008-05-12 23:42|| Front Page Top

#38 "there is nothing artificial about earthquakes"

-cobra commander

Posted by Snash Oppressor of the Mohammatans aka Broadhead6 2008-05-12 23:54|| 2008-05-12 23:54|| Front Page Top

23:54 Snash Oppressor of the Mohammatans aka Broadhead6
23:42 Muggsy Gling
23:39 Snash Oppressor of the Mohammatans aka Broadhead6
23:38 tipper
23:27 JosephMendiola
23:27 JosephMendiola
23:20 JosephMendiola
23:18 RWV
22:59 JosephMendiola
22:42 twobyfour
22:36 Globular Cluster
22:34 twobyfour
22:32 JosephMendiola
22:29 Pappy
22:26 JosephMendiola
22:25 Pappy
22:25 twobyfour
22:18 Barbara Skolaut
22:18 Skidmark
22:16 DMFD
22:12 Albert Thusong6840
22:12 DK70
22:08 JosephMendiola
21:54 DK70