Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Earthquake Interest Curve


This is shot of my hits during the past Haiti ordeals. We can see things go very hot, and then drop. I got a fancy bottle of wine out of it!

This is the standard curve for all earthquakes. People are very interested in the drama, and then totally forget things until the next earthquakes. It's a pity, because I'm always interested!

Haiti has a tough road ahead. You have a city of 3 million which was wiped off the map. How do they regain their livelihoods? It's not like New Orleans, where everybody goes off to Houston! I wonder what the cost of reconstruction will be, and whether the aid money gets anywhere near the amount.

What can they do about reconstruction, when you absolutely know they'll be hit by a monster M8 in 20 years or less? If I had the money, I would build a good cement plant, a rebar plant, steel fabricator, and most importantly, a plant making screw piles! I would put every building on screw piles, down to refusal. Then I would make all the buildings out of integrated form concrete, with light steel roofs. These people also have to worry about disease, fire, and hurricanes. Of course, water and sewage would be the first thing to lay down. All in all, less than the cost of the Niagara Tunnel overruns!


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