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7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

earthquake.usgs.gov

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Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#41

Post by heavyset_go »

lukan wrote: post #19
yinser wrote: post #2

Japan’s meteorological agency forecast a tsunami of up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) for those curious https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/02/taiwan-earth...

3 m sound not too bad?

Imagine a 10 foot wall of water flooding the coast that just doesn't stop. Smaller tsunamis have devastated coastal regions before. People, beach houses, etc are swept away under that force even though the height is rather low.

Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#42

Post by mastax »

xattt wrote: post #7

I see earthquake reports (like this one) describe earthquake depth. What is the significance of it? Is it somehow actionable?

Follow-up question. I understand how Richter Scale + depth could be useful, academically. But when communicating with the public, wouldn't it be easier to have a single number - rather than requiring the public to understand the relationship between two different quantities? Maybe: surface-equivalent Richter scale?

Of course transitioning to a new standard would be even more confusing for a while.

Edit: apparently there are many different scales in wide use already. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_magnitude_scales

Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#45

Post by fuzztester »

lukan wrote: post #19
yinser wrote: post #2

Japan’s meteorological agency forecast a tsunami of up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) for those curious https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/02/taiwan-earth...

3 m sound not too bad?

3m is about 10 ft which is huge, though there are huger waves.

Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#46

Post by djaykay »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #4

Tsunami warnings in Japan. US is evaluating whether to issue warnings.

Probably not much to worry about in the US. The Fukushima earthquake was much more powerful, but the resulting tsunami did almost nothing to the US west coast. Some boats in Crescent City were wrecked, but that’s due to local geography funneling the wave a certain way. I’m on an island in the SF bay, we saw nothing.

Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#47

Post by ateng »

rohan_ wrote: post #29

Anyone have a link to a video of that sweet Tuned Mass Damper ( https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tuned-mass-damper-of-tai... ) in action this time around?

Not a live one, but this vid is from 2022 when there was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkz6b7Q3dRk

Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#48

Post by furyofantares »

northwest65 wrote: post #17
xattt wrote: post #7

I see earthquake reports (like this one) describe earthquake depth. What is the significance of it? Is it somehow actionable?

As somebody who has been through more than 10 thousand quakes, it's as significant as the force itself. 7.4 @ 300km deep you just yawn and roll over. @10km deep you pray your concrete roof tiles don't come through the ceiling and kill you in your bed... you basically just lie on top of your wife, give thanks for the time you did have, and hope for the best.

> As somebody who has been through more than 10 thousand quakes

What's this now?

Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#49

Post by heavyset_go »

dylan604 wrote: post #35
lukan wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 m sound not too bad?

i'm always amazed how little appreciation people have for massive amount of water. a 3m wave will more than ruin your day. trust me, it's plenty

I lived in a coastal region where, every storm season, people would get swept out to sea and drown because they were watching storm waves from the beach. Sometimes they'd even go in the water, out on jetties or out on piers, without any appreciation for the sheer forces at work that push the water around. With enough force, even ankle to knee deep water can sweep you off your feet and suck you out to sea.

Sadly parents let their kids do this and some have lost their lives.

Re: 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth

#50

Post by yosito »

s_m_t wrote: post #24
lukan wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 m sound not too bad?

It can be a very long wave. If you have a coastal area that is mostly at or very close to sea level then that entire area could now be 3m underwater which is very bad. Also, even under normal conditions the type of wave you would see at the beach with a height of 3m is insanely powerful. I think the highest I have body surfed in was maybe 2-2.5m and if you get caught in the break of the wave you are literally powerle…

Yep, where I live (rent) a 3m wave would fill my house with 1m of water. Even if it was one quick wave, that washed over without staying long enough to completely flood the inside of my house, I'd probably at least have to deal with a bunch of water damage.
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