Well, here we are again at the start of a new earthquake! Can't tell much about it, but it's on land, and it's shallow, much the same as Haiti. But here's where we get a chance to check the importance of building codes. NZ has strict building codes, well enforced. If I expect a weakness it will be like Chile, which was high-velocity fling on soft ground. The codes are terrible on this!This is a subduction zone, but I would guess this is a shallow thrust earthquake, like Haiti. But this time we should actually get some PGV readings! If it is a shallow thrust, then it is most likely a 'super' earthquake, or 'Fist of God', as I like to call them. That means you get a high velocity pulse running up the fault. No building stands when that bursts out, but luckily it is usually a small zone. Well, we'll see.
1 comment:
Well, that was all wrong! This was no Fist of God earthquake. This is probably at the bottom end of PGV vs. Magnitude.
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