2019 Estlenhar Earthquake

(WIP) WARNING: This event never happened in real life but serves as part of the ESPLAR Universe storyline. Do not use as a basis for research; use official research sources like USGS.

The **2019 Estlenhar Earthquake** was a megathrust earthquake that occurred at 11:34 Pacific Standard Time on October 8, 2019, devastating the Estlenhar Island of the Altruras Archipelago and triggering a tsunami that went on to devastate southwest Estlenhar. The earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.7 at a depth of 24.7 kilometers, thus exceeding the 1975 Estlenhar Earthquake as the largest earthquake in the area, which was caused by subduction between the Juan de Fuca and Pacific Plates. The earthquake left moderate to heavy damage across the Estlenhar Island, with heavy damage in southwest Estlenhar around Caumont and Nimden due to the tsunami that struck the area. Very minimal damage was reported outside of Estlenhar; even the resultant tsunami produced no damage in the areas it struck outside the archipelago.

## Geology of Estlenhar

Within the Altruras Archipelago, the islands of Estlenhar and Laronia lie along the junction of the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates, with Estlenhar Island sliced in half itself by the two plates. The area around Emporia is a vulnerable spot as despite its mountainous terrain formed by the collision of the plates, it is what makes this particular part of Altruras especially susceptible to earthquake activity. The last major earthquake to strike Estlenhar was in 1975, which was a magnitude of 7.7. But being a subduction zone, the fault line remains capable of producing a 9.0+ magnitude earthquake.

## The Foreshock of October 4

The last few years saw AGS (Altruras Geological Services) geologists warn of increasing activity among the fault line connecting Estlenhar. In 2016, a M6.8 struck off the coast of Nishen, and on June 6 2018, a M7.2 struck northeast of Caumont, causing minor damage.

The government of Estlenhar has spent the last decade prior to 2019 preparing for the worst case scenario, spending excess of $7.4 billion investing on important seismic upgrades across the island, with Caumont, Nishen, Montautoise and Trelon receiving most of the grants for these upgrades.

The first warning signs that the "worst-case scenario" for Estlenhar was about to occur was on October 2, 2019, when a M4.6 was detected off the northwest coast of Caumont. Given the proximity of the fault line to Estlenhar's capital Rockport, AGS was alerted of the possibility, but it was not until the 4th when things began to kick off.

A M6.8 earthquake took place at 20:08:54 Altruras Standard Time on the 4th of October, 2019, with its epicenter 56km off the coast of Caumont. Early Earthquake warning sensors issued warnings to all of Estlenhar except for Aydens-Maurit, which suffered relatively minor shaking.

## Impact on ESPLAR Racing

Rockport Raceway Park reported minimal damage and was declared safe for ESPLAR to hold events in May 2020.

On the other hand, Emporia Raceway (which hosted ESPLAR Premier Regional Series earlier in the 2019 season) in the mountains of Estlenhar was declared a total loss and the series never went there again.