Sigh.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4356513070001/report-mega-quake-could-kill-13000-in-pacific-northwest/?intcmp=watchnow#sp=show-clips
Most of what is said in this news segment is wrong. There are mountains between the Sea and I-5. The water won't cross those, much less go very far inland. However, the damage from a 9.2 quake would stretch for a hundred miles inland. That part was right.
But we don't know that this will be a 9.2 quake. Its just as likely to be an 8.2-8.7. There could be a quite a lot less shaking energy, and a lot less damage. Oregon and Washington states both use anchor bolts on their foundations so houses won't shake loose. Broken windows can be replaced, but the houses probably won't fall down. There is no evidence to suggest 4 minutes of shaking. Most quakes are 15-45 seconds long. Not several minutes. I live in California. I've been through lots of quakes.
Prior tsunami from the January 1700 quake was 30 feet high (at the shore), and went 15 miles inland, along the tidal flats. Not 600 feet tall. Thirty feet high and 15 miles inland is not so terribly shocking, though just as bad as the ones which hit Japan and Thailand. The upside is there are excellent warning signs along every beach there and people know what to expect. They are risking their lives, on purpose, and don't care. So don't get worked up if the quake kills them. Accept other's suicides properly, with the respect they deserve. People who choose to live less than 30 feet above sea level are taking their risks. People who live higher than that are avoiding most realistic tsunami dangers. Its a DUH rating, and they even tell you this when you want to buy a house.
I would appreciate if news agencies, trying to be taken seriously, would not allow this kind of nonsense on the air.
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