United States East Coast = Doomed?

MindGate

First, the East coast gets hit with an earthquake. Second, we are bracing for a hurricane. What's next? Tsunami? Volcanic eruption? Nuke?! Stuff like this never seems to happen here.

tmottes

Lets all sing the doom song...

Hubris

I live about 40 miles from where the earthquake hit, and it was pretty strong here - we had another aftershock just after 1 am today as well. Plus, yes, we are expecting the hurricane.
It's really not so bad as all that though, be vigilant yes, alarmed no. There are steps for hurricane preparedness, but after that there is no way to control what will be so we must just toss it up to the Universe, and hope (pray?) for the best.

StaticToybox

The earthquake really wasn't that serious, and honestly, the East Coast should be plenty use to dealing with hurricanes by now. Granted it may be easy enough for me to say that, living in the Midwest. We don't get hurricanes here and earthquakes are a rarity, but tornados are a way of life here.

Talisman

I heard a spoof on the raido this morning about the "east coast eathquake disaster relief fund" which would help the lives of the tens of people affected by the earthquake.

It was pretty funny.

Dakini

The East Coast, doomed? lol! You've never lived in California, which is supposed to break off from the N. American continent any day now. I've seen one doomsday map that shows CA submerged except for the north part of the Bay Area, which has become a peninsula. Look at Baja CA, in Mexico. Notice the very long bay that extends along the western side of Baja. That didn't used to be there. Baja used to be connected to the rest of Mexico along its length. A similar process could happen to "Alta California", what we know as the State of California. Earthquakes are commonplace in CA (the smaller ones), you just get used to it, and it's not a big deal.

And you think YOU have worries! ; )

jupitermadcat

S#@t happens.....

StaticToybox

The East Coast, doomed? lol! You've never lived in California, which is supposed to break off from the N. American continent any day now. I've seen one doomsday map that shows CA submerged except for the north part of the Bay Area, which has become a peninsula. Look at Baja CA, in Mexico. Notice the very long bay that extends along the western side of Baja. That didn't used to be there. Baja used to be connected to the rest of Mexico along its length. A similar process could happen to "Alta California", what we know as the State of California. Earthquakes are commonplace in CA (the smaller ones), you just get used to it, and it's not a big deal.

And you think YOU have worries! ; )

The whole idea of California breaking off and sinking into the ocean is quite impossible unless our knowledge of Plate Tectonics is entirely in error. I'm not sure where that myth began or who spread it, but it's not true. Baja California is part of the Pacific Plate, hence its "drifting away" from Mexico. The state of California, on the other hand, is on the North American Plate. If parts of California do "sink" under the ocean it will be because of rising sea levels, not because the state has broken off from the rest of America.

Dakini

Thanks for that reality check, Box. There are elements of the Bay Area, though, that originated far south of it, like Angel Island, and Alcatraz, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe those are on the Pacific Plate. It's all fascinating.

StaticToybox

Thanks for that reality check, Box. There are elements of the Bay Area, though, that originated far south of it, like Angel Island, and Alcatraz, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe those are on the Pacific Plate. It's all fascinating.

I don't really know anything about the geological history of those islands, but if they're on a separate plate I would think (given their location) it would be the Juan de Fuca Plate, which is subducting under the North American Plate (not much of it left in fact). The Juan de Fuca Plate itself is the remnant of a much larger plate called the Farallon Plate

SimpleWitness

I heard a spoof on the raido this morning about the "east coast eathquake disaster relief fund" which would help the lives of the tens of people affected by the earthquake.

It was pretty funny.

Lol! :O oh my... By the TENS???

Dakini

@StaticToyBox Right, the Farallon Plate must be connected with the movement of those other islands. The Farallon Islands are on the Farallon Plate. OK, I've really got to look all this up now, and refresh my memory. Thanks, Box!

genkaku

You people better get your heads on right. When The Big One hits California, a giant fissure will appear ... and the rest of the United States will sink under the sea. Of course, all this may be irrelevant since I believe the latest end-of-the-world scenario is scheduled in October. And all these clear indicators, including the fires out west and the flooding Mississippi, is because you (but not I, of course) have been wicked and sinful and naughty and are not among The Chosen. Now if you send me some money, there's a chance -- a slight one, but still a chance -- that I might intercede on your behalf. There's a harp with my name on it, but you ...I'm afraid you're in line for the shaft! Practice your hand-wringing and piteous moans, of course, but I can tell you for a certainty -- you're too damned late!

Anyway, if you're going to get paranoid, I sure wish you'd get your fears straight!

StaticToybox

@StaticToyBox Right, the Farallon Plate must be connected with the movement of those other islands. The Farallon Islands are on the Farallon Plate. OK, I've really got to look all this up now, and refresh my memory. Thanks, Box!

Heh. Yeah I find it all pretty fascinating myself.

Dakini

Well, if when the Biggie hits CA, the rest of the US sinks and CA is still there, the 8th-largest economy in the world, that might be ok with me, if I'm in CA when it hits. (I really don't mean to be cold to the other 49 states, I'm just homesick for CA. )

Mountains

Stuff like this never seems to happen here.

Hurricanes don't happen on the east coast? Have you ever lived on the east coast? Hurricanes happen *all* the time. A year without at least one good one is rare in the extreme. We've had three "500 year floods" in the 13 years I've lived in Virginia.

Mountains

If parts of California do "sink" under the ocean it will be because of rising sea levels, not because the state has broken off from the rest of America.

Well, we can always hold out hope

MindGate

We've been hit by the remnants of hurricanes, but never really a lot by the actual hurricane itself. Ffff. Or so my mother says. There were lots of bad floods where I live because of the *remnants* of hurricanes.

Vincenzi

"what's next?"

water... lots and lots of water, in all forms // everything but Kalifornia, which may drift away and become an island.

the USA has to deactivate and disarm all nuclear bombs, and stop searching for more oil... if it wants a truce with GÆA.

zombiegirl

after all of the "omg! i felt the earthquake!!!" posts my facebook was inundated with, i was rather amused when someone posted this link:

20 Stunning Photos of the Damage Caused by the East Coast Earthquake

Vincenzi

it is still a Black Swan, expect more.