Earthquake seems really bad. With all the progress in computing we ever going to get to point of having decent earthquake prediction/warning or kinda an incalculable thing?
I got an earthquake warning on my phone when I was at work a few months ago, for like a ~3.5-4.0-ish quake maybe 30 miles away, with enough time to see it and think to myself “oh, isn’t that curious” before the shaking started. I think that’s the result of California being one of the most studied & monitored places for earthquakes in the world, but I guess theoretically there’s no reason you couldn’t have systems like that everywhere; for a big enough earthquake, having any warning at all would save lives.
I think the way that works though is by detecting and sending out an alert before the earthquake gets elsewhere. Earthquakes travel 1-10km/s depending on how deep they are, so if you’re 30 miles away you can get an alert out before it gets to you.
How much warning do you think would be needed to make a meaningful difference in the outcome? I’ve been in one earthquake (I think, it may have been mushrooms) so I don’t know, but it seems really difficult to get one with enough warning that anyone would do anything, let alone the right thing with the warning. Maybe someday it gets good enough that automated systems could use it to shut off gas mains or something?
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30 seconds I believe could mean the difference between getting crushed in a building and surviving, I would think.
How many people do you think die trying to evacuate an average office building in 30 seconds? False positives are going to be a nightmare.
Fwiw the alerts tell you to get in a doorway or whatever, not to run out of a building
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yea but real talk I’m full sending it out of the building with any advanced warning
I was probably just not paying attention but there was a rumbler that had its epicenter a few miles from me a few weeks ago and I didn’t feel it, to hear the news though it was like a 10.2 magnitude.
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I think this is already a thing in California? I could be wrong, but I thought I read that once. That alone saves tons of lives and property damage, both directly and by allowing first responders to be directed to other needs.
Depending on magnitude, 10 seconds could be enough. Assuming it’s a big enough earthquake for stuff to fall from the walls/ceiling and possibly have shattered glass, but not big enough to collapse a building, enough time to dive under a desk/table could be enough to prevent a lot of injury.
That could also make a pretty big difference outside for pedestrians, like if you’re walking under street signs or light structures that could collapse, 10 seconds could be enough time to get out from under them.
Of course one has to be looking at their phone as it happens and react quickly to benefit from 10 seconds. 30 seconds should be plenty, though.
Unless they jump from a window, not many? Maybe some twisted ankles…
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We may have different opinions of the general pubic’s ability to stay calm and not do stupid shit in a panic. I may just be in a salty mood because I’m doing stupid work shit instead of interesting work shit…
One thing my dad always said was if someone is saying to remain calm and stay still you should instantly run away. More right than wrong IMO.
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I have very little faith in the general public in that regard, I think you may just have a more creative mind for how someone could get themselves killed trying to exit an office building.
The first movie I saw on HBO was Towering Inferno…it left a mark
Dunno what thread this goes in, but this is an interesting time capsule:
Amazing how much “Conservative Psychos Are Mad About A Thing” drives the media
Holy Christ was that 17 years ago.
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fyp
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What a headline, they make it sound like he’s been bleeding out for 17 years!
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