The Million Death Quake
The Million Death Quake

Author: Roger Musson

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2012-10-16

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1137106999

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For centuries, Californians and the Japanese have known that they were at risk of catastrophic earthquakes, and prepared accordingly. But when a violent 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti in 2010, hardly anyone knew the island nation was even at risk for disaster, and, tragically, no one was prepared. Over 300,000 people died as buildings that had never been designed to withstand such intense shaking toppled over and crushed their inhabitants. Now, scientists warn that it won't be long before a single, catastrophic quake kills one million people - and that it is going to strike right where we least expect it. In this groundbreaking book, renowned seismologist with the British Geological Survey Roger Musson takes us on an exhilarating journey to explore what scientists and engineers are doing to prepare us for the worst. With riveting tales of the scientists who first cracked the mystery of what causes the ground to violently shake, Musson makes plain the powerful geological forces driving earthquakes and tsunamis, and shows how amazing feats of engineering are making our cities earthquake-proof. Highlighting hotspots around the world from Mexico City to New York this is a compelling scientific adventure into nature at its fiercest.

Why Do Buildings Collapse in Earthquakes?
Why Do Buildings Collapse in Earthquakes?

Author: Robin Spence

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-07-20

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1119619467

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Learn from the personal experience and insights of leading earthquake engineering specialists as they examine the lessons from disasters of the last 30 years and propose a path to earthquake safety worldwide Why Do Buildings Collapse in Earthquakes?: Building for Safety in Seismic Areas delivers an insightful and comprehensive analysis of the key lessons taught by building failures during earthquakes around the world. The book uses empirical evidence to describe the successes of earthquake engineering and disaster preparedness, as well as the failures that may have had tragic consequences. Readers will learn what makes buildings in earthquake zones vulnerable, what can be done to design, build and maintain those buildings to reduce or eliminate that vulnerability, and what can be done to protect building occupants. Those who are responsible for the lives and safety of building occupants and visitors - architects, designers, engineers, and building owners or managers - will learn how to provide adequate safety in earthquake zones. The text offers useful and accessible answers to anyone interested in natural disasters generally and those who have specific concerns about the impact of earthquakes on the built environment. Readers will benefit from the inclusion of: A thorough introduction to how buildings have behaved in earthquakes, including a description of the world’s most lethal earthquakes and the fatality trend over time An exploration of how buildings are constructed around the world, including considerations of the impact of climate and seismicity on home design A discussion of what happens during an earthquake, including the types and levels of ground motion, landslides, tsunamis, and sequential effects, and how different types of buildings tend to behave in response to those phenomena What different stakeholders can do to improve the earthquake safety of their buildings The owners and managers of buildings in earthquake zones and those responsible for the safety of people who occupy or visit them will find Why Do Buildings Collapse in Earthquakes? Building for Safety in Seismic Areas essential reading, as will all architects, designers and engineers who design or refurbish buildings in earthquake zones.

Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes
Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes

Author: James Palmer

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2012-01-03

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 0465023495

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When an earthquake of historic magnitude leveled the industrial city of Tangshan in the summer of 1976, killing more than a half-million people, China was already gripped by widespread social unrest. As Mao lay on his deathbed, the public mourned the death of popular premier Zhou Enlai. Anger toward the powerful Communist Party officials in the Gang of Four, which had tried to suppress grieving for Zhou, was already potent; when the government failed to respond swiftly to the Tangshan disaster, popular resistance to the Cultural Revolution reached a boiling point. In Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes, acclaimed historian James Palmer tells the startling story of the most tumultuous year in modern Chinese history, when Mao perished, a city crumbled, and a new China was born.

California's Deadliest Earthquakes
California's Deadliest Earthquakes

Author: Abraham Hoffman

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2017-06-26

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 1439660824

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A detailed look at the state’s most terrifying and destructive disasters—photos included. Home to hundreds of faults, California leads the nation in frequency of earthquakes every year. And despite enduring their share of the natural disasters, residents still speculate over the inevitable “big one.” More than three thousand people lost their lives during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Long Beach’s 1933 earthquake caused nearly $50 million in damages. And the Northridge earthquake injured thousands and left a $550 million economic hit. In this book, historian Abraham Hoffman explores the personal accounts and aftermath of California’s most destructive tremors.

Quakeland
Quakeland

Author: Kathryn Miles

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2017-08-29

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0698411463

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A journey around the United States in search of the truth about the threat of earthquakes leads to spine-tingling discoveries, unnerving experts, and ultimately the kind of preparations that will actually help guide us through disasters. It’s a road trip full of surprises. Earthquakes. You need to worry about them only if you’re in San Francisco, right? Wrong. We have been making enormous changes to subterranean America, and Mother Earth, as always, has been making some of her own. . . . The consequences for our real estate, our civil engineering, and our communities will be huge because they will include earthquakes most of us do not expect and cannot imagine—at least not without reading Quakeland. Kathryn Miles descends into mines in the Northwest, dissects Mississippi levee engineering studies, uncovers the horrific risks of an earthquake in the Northeast, and interviews the seismologists, structual engineers, and emergency managers around the country who are addressing this ground shaking threat. As Miles relates, the era of human-induced earthquakes began in 1962 in Colorado after millions of gallons of chemical-weapon waste was pumped underground in the Rockies. More than 1,500 quakes over the following seven years resulted. The Department of Energy plans to dump spent nuclear rods in the same way. Evidence of fracking’s seismological impact continues to mount. . . . Humans as well as fault lines built our “quakeland”. What will happen when Memphis, home of FedEx's 1.5-million-packages-a-day hub, goes offline as a result of an earthquake along the unstable Reelfoot Fault? FEMA has estimated that a modest 7.0 magnitude quake (twenty of these happen per year around the world) along the Wasatch Fault under Salt Lake City would put a $33 billion dent in our economy. When the Fukushima reactor melted down, tens of thousands were displaced. If New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant blows, ten million people will be displaced. How would that evacuation even begin? Kathryn Miles’ tour of our land is as fascinating and frightening as it is irresistibly compelling.