HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: garyf@cco.caltech.edu (Gary Fuller)
Subject: Hurricane Andrew's Warning
Followup-To: ca.earthquakes
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Distribution: ca
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 07:19:26 GMT

Hurricane Andrew sent us a warning this week, a warning that
should be headed by everyone in California.  It shows that, even
with a two day lead time before the disaster, that aid will be
slow in coming.
 
Tonight, as I write this, the first federal relief convoys are
leaving N. Carolina heading down to south Florida.  They bring
with them food, shelter and organization.
 
When we, in Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego have a huge
earthquake, the government isn't going to have that warning.  It
will be over in minutes, with aftershocks following for days.
 
Florida is almost a crystal ball for what California will suffer
in a major earthquake.  Roads will be closed, supplies will be
hard to distribute to the most needed areas, fights and looting
will occur, and most of all - major organized aid will not be
coming in hours, it will be days.
 
Prepare.  Set up plans for communication and meeting places with
those you love.  Set aside supplies and don't count on anything
beyond what you have.

-- 
Gary Fuller                  :                 Tybalt ADND archives
AKA Lanzecki                 :          Anon FTP tybalt.caltech.edu
garyf@tybalt.caltech.edu     :    Submissions to: /pub/adnd/inbound
garyf%cco@caltech.bitnet     :                      131.215.139.100
From: Harv@cup.portal.com (Harv R Laser)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: was there a quake out by lax???
Date: Tue,  1 Sep 92 20:54:33 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Distribution: ca

It was a 3.3 or 3.4 centered under the Culver City area as reported
by all the local LA news media that evening and by the Berkeley
Observatory phone info line. 
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
From: stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard Ottolini)
Subject: Re: Sea Earthquakes in SoCal
Organization: Unocal Corporation
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 14:49:47 GMT

In article <1992Sep4.002034.28539@gordian.com> johnk@gordian.com (John Kalucki) writes:
>The devastation in Nicaragua this past week has a number of folks
>here in SoCal thinking about a similar event occuring here. I, for
>one, live only 300 yards from the Pacific. Observationally my house
>is just barely 4 feet above higher high water (+7.1 high tides) and
>there isn't a whole lot physically between it and the sea.

Probably not due to a local mag 7 quake, but a 8-9+ quake anywhere on the
Pacific Basin could cause an ocean wide tidal wave.
I heard that Carpeteria, near Santa Barabara was submerged once due to the
geometrey of the nearshore topography, but I don't know what year that was.
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
From: karn@servo.qualcomm.com (Phil Karn)
Subject: Re: Seismology Tests in N. CA
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 03:04:04 GMT

In article <1992Sep2.015855.16773@gordian.com> johnk@gordian.com (John Kalucki) writes:
>How will time be calibrated and syncronized for the event? WWV? Or will
>all of the seismographs be assembled in a big room, syncronized, and
>then moved out to the field?

I don't know if they're actually using it, but GPS essentially makes clock
synchronization a solved problem. It's easy to synchronize clocks to within 1
microsecond with GPS, which should be more than adequate for this task.

Phil
From: tcsmith@cdmg-hq.UUCP (Ted Smith)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: Moving to San Mateo, but where?
Date: Tue, 01 Sep 92 07:59:54 PDT
Organization: California Division of Mines & Geology Headquarters, Sacramento, CA

"David Coursey" <demoinfo@mail.psi.net> writes:

> I am in the process of being transferred to San Mateo and am looking for 
> a place to live.
> 
> One of my concerns in making the move is that while tornados don't 
> frighten me at all (people who get killed in tornados usually did 
> something -- like drive -- which prompted their demise), earthquakes 
> scare me more than a bit. (If you're not afraid of 'quakes but wouldn't 
> want to move into tornado alley you can appreciate -- in reverse -- my concer
> 
> Anyway, I would appreciate guidance about choosing a place to live, 
> probably within 8-10 miles of San Mateo (south toward Menlo Park and 
> Palo Alto) and especially all the secrets a Texan couldn't be expected 
> to know.
> 
> The life you save could be mine! <grin>
> 
Try picking up a copy of "Peace of Mind in Earthquake Country," by Peter 
Yanev.  It's published by Chronicle Books.  Yaneve's a structural 
engineer and he gives a lot of tips on what to look for in a structure to 
see if it is likely to surveve a quake, how to strengthen flawed 
structures, etc.  Recommended!

tcsmith@cdmg-hq.UUCP (Ted Smith)
California Division of Mines & Geology Headquarters, Sacramento, CA
From: rodman@pkr.asd.sgi.com (Paul Rodman)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: Automatic Gas shutoffs
Date: 3 Sep 92 16:02:34 GMT
Reply-To: rodman@pkr.asd.sgi.com (Paul Rodman)
Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc.

In article <1992Sep2.224714.20059@qualcomm.com>, karn@qualcom.qualcomm.com (Phil Karn) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep2.173212.14574@odin.corp.sgi.com>, rodman@pkr.asd.sgi.com (Paul Rodman) writes:
|> |> made by Koso International, Santa Fe Springs that sounds much nicer and is
|> |> reset the same way. They trip at about a 5.0 quake.

|> It seems to be very common to confuse earthquake intensity and
|> magnitude.  When talking about the local effects on a given structure,
|> you want to use one of the intensity scales (the Modified Mercalli
|> scale is the most common), NOT the Richter magnitude scale. The latter

Thank you for this clarification, but frankly I'm sure that the spec for the
when the valve actually shuts off would be quite difficult to write. Its 
probably a complex function of frequency and accelaration.

Next time I'll say  "Is purported to shut off for worthwhile earthquakes"
:-)

-- 
Paul K. Rodman            "Obsolete power corrupts obsoletely."
rodman@sgi.com                              -Ted Nelson
KA1ZA
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
From: karn@servo.qualcomm.com (Phil Karn)
Subject: Re: Automatic Gas shutoffs
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 18:09:38 GMT


Isn't it also true that gas leaks generally occur after earthquakes
only when a house has shifted sufficiently on its foundation to damage
the gas lines? Assuming, of course, that all of your gas appliances
are sufficiently well bolted down so their gas lines are also not
damaged.

Phil

Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes,ca.general
From: nancy@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov (Nancy Feagans)
Subject: Re: McPhee in the New Yorker
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA)
Distribution: ca
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 16:44:28 GMT

In article <1992Sep4.033144.29758@xyzoom.info.com> rob@xyzoom.info.com (Rob Lingelbach) writes:
>John Mcphee continues his series on the geology of this country in
>this week's (and next week's) New Yorker magazine, with the subject
>California.  Fascinating and very accessible reading (even I can
>understand it).  He began writing about geology about 14 years ago,
>and admits that everything up until now has been preamble to the
>California essays.
>
A few years back, a friend sent me a copy of Mcphee's 2-part New Yorker
article entitled "Los Angeles Against the Mountains".  It was an excellent
in-depth report about our tenuous relationship with the San Gabriel
mountains.  Los Angeles Against the Mountains is also included in Mcphee's
book "The Control of Nature".
 
I shall look forward to reading the next two issues of the New Yorker!


-- 

Nancy J. Feagans     (818) 306-6423
Jet Propulsion Lab   nancy@jpl-devvax.Jpl.Nasa.Gov
"Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious."
From: tpickett@auspex.com (Tom Pickett)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: Automatic Gas shutoffs
Date: 1 Sep 92 15:17:49 GMT
Reply-To: tpickett@auspex.com (Tom Pickett)
Organization: Auspex Systems, Inc.  Engineering

In article <1992Sep1.004759.17271@morrow.stanford.edu>, 
andy@pangea.Stanford.EDU (Andy Michael USGS Guest) writes:
> I've seen these valves exhibited at a few meetings and earthquake fairs.
> You can easily reset the valve yourself as long as you are capable of
> relighting your appliances safely.  The assumption is that most people
> are not capable of this and thus they reccommend that you have the gas
> company come out and do it.  The valve itself is easier to reset than
> the average stopcock.

I know this is probably not a very popular position, but, I don't
think that I want an automatic shutoff on my gas.  After going
through the San Fernando Quake, and then the Loma Prieta quake
I have come to the conclusion that in general, it isn't
a good idea to shut off the gas if there are no gas leaks.

I shut off my gas after the Loma Prieta quake, even though I
didn't smell any gas, because I thought I should.  The result is
that I almost joined the 50,000 other people waiting up to 2
weeks sometimes more waiting to have PG&E turn the gas back on.
In the end I realized there was no particular problem with turning
it back on, and I did so.  Cooking was a pleasure after that.

I think I will opt for the manual method, and hope I can get home
after a "big one".  If not, my neighbors will shut it off if there
is a problem (I'm lucky that way).


Tom Pickett 
tpickett@auspex.com
SHO  GOZE
From: Renee@cup.portal.com (Renee Linda Roberts)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: What is it about Chile?
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 92 17:17:34 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Distribution: world

Faults are different, with a few other factors thrown in, like volcanic
activity. I believe that the Chilean mountain ranges are relatively young,
uplifts, and therefore would be more likely to have quakes of that magnitude,
and duration. Even larger quakes (8.0 are somewhat common there).

(USGS, please correct me if I am wrong. I am relying on my memory from my
physical geography class 10yrs ago)

Renee Roberts
Xref: sparky ca.earthquakes:1056 sci.geo.geology:1891
From: rob@xyzoom.info.com (Rob Lingelbach)
Subject: McPhee in the New Yorker
Organization: Altruistic Intentions, Hollywood, CA
Distribution: ca
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 03:31:44 GMT

John Mcphee continues his series on the geology of this country in
this week's (and next week's) New Yorker magazine, with the subject
California.  Fascinating and very accessible reading (even I can
understand it).  He began writing about geology about 14 years ago,
and admits that everything up until now has been preamble to the
California essays.



-- 
Rob Lingelbach KB6CUN | 2660 Hollyridge Dr LA CA 90068 213 464 6266 (voice) 
rob@xyzoom.info.com   | "I care not much for a man's religion whose dog or 
robl@netcom.com       |  cat are not the better for it."  --Abraham Lincoln
>From: hrlaser@crash.cts.com (Harv Laser)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: dependence on time of year
Date: 30 Jan 91 16:13:17 GMT
Organization: Crash TimeSharing, El Cajon, CA

Andy.. the California Division of Mines and Geology has a BBS up and
running in the Sacramento area. It's at 916-327-1208, 300/1200/2400.
It's popular "Wildcat" software running on some kind of MS-DOS machine.
You might want to liase with the sysop there.

Be advised that we echo the weekly reports from CalTech and USGS on
our bbs at 916-327-1208.  And, we do the uudecoding for you.  If
you miss the reports and want copies of past reports, all that we
have received are available as ZIP files -- downloads are possible
on your first call.  Log on at 8-N-1, please.

-- 
           Ted Smith  --  tcs.sactoh0.SAC.CA.US
         California Division of Mines and Geology
        Call our MS-DOS based bbs (CDMG ONLINE) at
                   916-327-1208 8-N-1



Harv Laser                                      {anywhere}!crash!hrlaser
"Park and lock it.  Not responsible."           People/Link: CBM*HARV
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
From: grantham@jif.berkeley.edu (Jon Grantham)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: was there a quake out by lax???
Date: 2 Sep 1992 03:09:51 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Math. Department.
Distribution: ca
NNTP-Posting-Host: jif.berkeley.edu

It was a quake.  4.2 or something like that.  It was in the papers.  I'm
sure you can pick it out of this week's quake report, when that comes out.

Jon
-- 
Jon Grantham					grantham@math.berkeley.edu
From: johnk@gordian.com (John Kalucki)
Subject: Sea Earthquakes in SoCal
Organization: Gordian; Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 00:20:34 GMT

The devastation in Nicaragua this past week has a number of folks
here in SoCal thinking about a similar event occuring here. I, for
one, live only 300 yards from the Pacific. Observationally my house
is just barely 4 feet above higher high water (+7.1 high tides) and
there isn't a whole lot physically between it and the sea.

I understand that, in general, a long fault is need to cause a
large earthquake. My fault chart for CA (1975!) shows several large,
active, undersea faults in the area. The San Clemente fault (adjacent
to the island of the same name) appears pretty long. The CalTech
tables also show an occasional quake out there. This week had
one 11 miles south of Avalon, Catalina.

Could this fault, or others like it generate a 6.5+ quake? Would a 
large sea swell be the result? What type of fault is the one
in Nicaragua (slip-strike, etc.)?


		-John Kalucki
		johnk@gordian.com
From: jester@crash.cts.com (Ken Bibb)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: More comments on Plate Tectonics and California
Date: 1 Sep 92 02:23:05 GMT
Reply-To: lee@bnf.com

1.  Clarification on the northward movement of volcanism in
California:  since the source of volcanism of the Cascade Range is the
offshore subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate, it is the northwesterly
movement of that plate and its subduction trench which determines
where the accompanying volcanism will be found.  The Mendocino
Fracture Zone, not the Mendocino Triple Junction (which is just a
point on the MFZ), delimits the southern end of the subduction trench
and, by extension, the limit of volcanism.  It is the absense of the
trench which accounts for the absense of volcanism.

2.  The rise and oceanic plate movement:  an oceanic ridge is the rift
where the plate spreads away from it in both directions.  The rate of
movement varies between different fracture zones.  At the same time,
the entire plate - the Pacific Plate - has a northwesterly movement.
When the ridge was subducted into the trench and entinguished both
along the Pacific coast from the Murray FZ to the Mendocino FZ the
westerly movement of this portion of the plate ceased.  Thereafter,
its only movement is that of the entire plate.  How does the absense
of a rise and that westerly movement of the plate tectonically affect
Central California?  Does the San Andreas fault mark the location of
the extinguished trench (as the edge of the North American Plate?)

3.  I propose that the Gulf of California/Salton Trough rift be names
"Cortez Rift" (from the Sea of Cortez) to simplify nomenclature.  When
this rift was forming it should have entended to the Murray Fracture
Zone.  But the next portion of the rift, north of the Murray kFZ, is
offset over 100 miles to the west.  This offset caused a diagonal
break across the northerly end of the Baja California Block from one
rift to the other.  This break became what is known as the San Andreas
Fault system (SAFS).  What became of the portion of that portion of
the nascent Cortez Rift that was north of the SAFS?  I suggest that
the series of northwest trending faults in the Mojave Desert from the
Helendale fault to the Pisgah fault are the remains of the Cortez Rift
that were bypassed and never further developed.  Some of these later
appear to have become transform faults.
--
lee@bnf.com	Lee Bibb
From: rodman@pkr.asd.sgi.com (Paul Rodman)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Automatic Gas shutoffs
Date: 31 Aug 92 23:32:34 GMT
Reply-To: rodman@pkr.asd.sgi.com (Paul Rodman)
Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc.

I was thinking about getting an automatic gas shutoff for my house, and
the though occured to me why not make it myself?

For the simplest and most foolproof thing I though about just buying a
solenoid gas valve and hooking it up to a simple 24v transformer. In a big
quake the power will most likely fail and viola! it shuts off the gas. The
only thing is I will also lose hot water in a power failure (the furnace 
needs juice for the blowers anyway and the kit. stove is electric). I could
always install a manual gas "shunt" valve around the solenoid if I want to 
override it, I suppose.

I've heard that these gizmos normally cost about $600, (installed?) and
that you have to have somebody come out to reset them. Is this true? Could
you reset it yourself?  If they go in-line after the meter can I buy it and install it myself? (I've done some gas plumbing). How much do they run?

 
-- 
Paul K. Rodman            "Obsolete power corrupts obsoletely."
rodman@sgi.com                              -Ted Nelson
KA1ZA
From: maslak@unix.SRI.COM (Valerie Maslak)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: Moving to San Mateo, but where?
Date: 3 Sep 92 23:19:25 GMT
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, California


Several people have suggested that you get and study the USGS
seismic hazard maps. That's a good start. You should also
get the "Peace of Mind in Earthquake Country" book and read that.

Be aware that if you buy a home, if it is located in a seismic
hazard zone, that is supposed to be disclosed to you (it's called an
"Alquist-Priolo zone," named for the legislators who proposed the
bill manadating the disclosure. Few areas are totally immune from
hazard, but by and large, the worst damage in Loma Preita occurred
in areas that had been identified as dangerous.  Avoid "severe
shaking" or "landslide" areas. Distance from the fault is not
necessarily the best guide, but you might note that it is the
"Portola Valley gap" that is the best candidate for the next quake on the
San Andreas....

You should be prepared to look carefully at the constuction of any
place you consider for living or working. Don't disregard the
workplace; you spend a lot of time there! The building I worked in 
almost fell down and had to be substantially reinforced
after the quake. By and large, places built
after 1971 will have been subject to much stronger sesmic protection
building codes. Be careful of what's called "curtain wall"
construction, where the floors sort of "hang" from concrete vertical
walls. Lots of these were built in the 60s, and it was this sort of
building that had a lot of trouble and "pancaked"
in the 1971 San Fernando quake in
Los Angeles. Also look out for what's called a "soft" first floor,
like you find in apartment buildings that are built over garages
with no real interior walls.  These tend to collapse out from under.
If you're in a tilt-up, find out if the walls and roof are actually
tied together.

Wood frame single family houses tend to do pretty well if the
foundations are bolted (and if they have cripple walls, short walls
that connect the foundation and the first floor, if those are
reinforced with plywood).

Look also at how you have to travel to get to work.
I also find that I tend to be much more aware these days of heavy
objects over my head and the location of exits... I keep water and a
space blanket in my car.

Be prepared. Be smart.  The weather is great here and most of us
who went thorough Loma Prieta are still here.  You'll do fine.

Valerie Maslak
From: rah@public.BTR.COM (Richard A Hyde  rah@btr.com)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: Automatic Gas shutoffs
Date: 3 Sep 92 02:08:59 GMT
Organization: BTR Public Access UNIX, MtnView CA. Contact: Customer Service cs@BTR.COM

In article <14403@auspex-gw.auspex.com> tpickett@auspex.com (Tom Pickett) writes:
|
|I know this is probably not a very popular position, but, I don't
|think that I want an automatic shutoff on my gas.  After going
|through the San Fernando Quake, and then the Loma Prieta quake
|I have come to the conclusion that in general, it isn't
|a good idea to shut off the gas if there are no gas leaks.
|

As Tom observes, learning how to turn the gas back on safely obviates any
real concern about turning it OFF.

When Loma Prieta struck, my wife and I were about an hour south of the Bay
Area.  We didn't feel anything in the car  :-(  :-( and were first aware
of the problem when we hit the traffic jam.

Anyway, we took refuge with friends in Monterey and managed to contact our
relatives in Palo Alto by phone.. since the power was out and it was dark,
they were unable to drive over to check our (rented) house for damage.

When we got home the next day, I found a note from the neighbors notifying
us that they had turned off our gas for us..  It's a d*mn good thing that
they did!  I found that the water heater (inside the house!!) had an old
style solid copper tube connecting the heater to the stopcock.  Even
though I had strapped the heater, the vibration sheared the tube and gas
was pouring into the house!  Without the neighbors quick action, I'm
convinced we would have had no house to return to.  A gas fired floor
heater (with pilot) was less than 15 ft. away from the sheared water heater
line. 

Now that I'm a homeowner, I have flexible up-to-code gas lines installed
on every appliance and I *will* install an automatic shutoff as soon as
I have the $$.  I believe the flex lines will do their job if necessary,
but the extra safety of a shutoff will increase my peace of mind.
 
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|   Richard Hyde  |  RaH@btr.com  |    This space intentionally left blank   |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
From: tpickett@auspex.com (Tom Pickett)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: Automatic Gas shutoffs
Date: 3 Sep 92 20:46:48 GMT
Reply-To: tpickett@auspex.com (Tom Pickett)
Organization: Auspex Systems, Inc.  Engineering

In article <1426@treehouse.UUCP>, andyp@treehouse.UUCP (Andy Peterman) writes:
> I've always wondered - why doesn't the utility company want you to turn on 
> the gas yourself.  Are they simply assuming that most (or some) people are 
> too stupid to light their own pilot lights. 

I believe that they are concerned about air bubbles in the gas lines
perhaps causing flare ups on relight.  The stuff I got from them
during Loma Prieta contended that they had to "flush the gas lines".

Other than that it beats me.


Tom Pickett 
tpickett@auspex.com
SHO  GOZE
From: sla@umbra.ucsc.edu (Steve Allen)
Newsgroups: ca.earthquakes
Subject: Re: Automatic Gas shutoffs
Date: 4 Sep 1992 05:36:34 GMT
Organization: UCO/Lick Observatory
NNTP-Posting-Host: umbra.ucsc.edu
Summary: no special precautions here...
Keywords: PG&E

In article <14461@auspex-gw.auspex.com> tpickett@auspex.com (Tom Pickett) writes:
>In article <1426@treehouse.UUCP>, andyp@treehouse.UUCP (Andy Peterman) writes:
>> I've always wondered - why doesn't the utility company want you to turn on
>> the gas yourself.
>I believe that they are concerned about air bubbles in the gas lines
>perhaps causing flare ups on relight.  The stuff I got from them
>during Loma Prieta contended that they had to "flush the gas lines".

When PG&E finally got to my neighborhood after the Loma Prieta EQ,
they simply went from 4-plex to 4-plex turning on the stopcocks.
They performed no internal inspections of any of the gas appliances or
connections.  (It should be noted that in our neighborhood, although only
7km from the epicenter, there was no reason to believe that there was any
structural damage.)  In such a case I can see no reason why it is necessary
to wait for PG&E to carry out its post-quake make-work project.

My own impression of the reasons PG&E gave to me about why I should not
have done this was "You are not qualified to make the necessary judgements
about the risks of turning the gas back on."  This is definitely true,
but the hour I spent in the crawlspaces inspecting gas lines was one
hour more than PG&E spent when they finally arrived.