[ElleTea]

This quake was felt across Phoenix as well. People reported shaking, pool water sloshing, etc. I didn't feel anything but I was at the movies watching Rocketman and rocking out to Elton John so I didn't notice. My animals were very wound up last night though, unusually so.

[newopty]

Not freaking out but my house was really shaking last night. Just wondering at what point do things break. I moved here from Northern California and used to significant earthquakes but California has high standards for home construction.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Then there's Mammoth Mountain which, although technically in California, is extremely close to the CA-NV border and would effect NV significantly, more likely Hawthorne, Reno, Carson and Yerington, though...

Anyone remember, about 10-15 years ago, there was a series of small quakes near Mammoth Mountain, with steam emitting from different point at the base of the mountain? The fear, as the quakes continued, was that it could have been leading up to a volcanic eruption! Nice! The wind carrying all that volcanic ash eastwards!

And let's not overlook the 6.4 quake which hit Wells, NV, in the far NE part of the state, which took many by surprise! I went through there about 5-6 years ago and it looked like a ghost town, fencing around the historic buildings downtown, and it looked like no one was repairing anything.

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by newopty

Anybody know anything about home construction standards in Nevada concerning earthquakes? Not quite sure how to word that but wondering how Nevada construction compares to other states like California.

For single family homes, off the top of my head, my guess is the most important things include

* wood frame construction (not brick), as wood has some flex to it, and clearly that is the case with everything here built in the last 40+ years.

* The house being bolted to the concrete foundation. Clearly that's the case as well.

* Proper sheer walls in construction. Basically, this is sheets of plywood nailed to the studs creating a structure that is more resistant to the forces in an earthquake. Clearly that's the case.

I'm probably missing several things, but you get the idea: residential construction is very safe. You'd probably have to find a residence built back in the 1960s or earlier to find something that is suspect.

Structural engineers who do the various calculations must account not only for earthquake forces, but also wind forces. In some cases, the forces of wind gusts can dominate forces from an earthquake (from an engineering perspective). That is, the house, once engineered to withstand wind, is already more than adequate for an earthquake. An example is the method of attaching the roof to the structure of the building to withstand wind forces is probably much greater than that required to withstand an earthquake.

Once you get to high-rise construction, there are many other things employed in the design. For example, the base of a high rise can be on a sliding plates or rollers, among other exotic things. Interestingly, you might assume experiencing an earthquake high up in a skyscraper would be extreme as the building whipping back and forth would amplify the shaking. It turns out it is just the opposite - being high up dampens the effects because the base is moving on those sliding plates or rollers. I can personally attest to this, as I was on the 10th floor of a 12 story office building in San Jose during the Loma Prieta 7.1 earthquake back in 1991.

At any rate, when you look back at, say, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake that resulted in much destruction, it turns out fire is the real culprit. The earthquake causes something that causes a fire.

Caveat: I'm not a structural engineer. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express one time.

[AA702]

Back when I lived in San Jose, I experienced the 89 quake that was centered in the Santa Cruz mountains Between Watsonville and Santa Cruz. I was about 30 miles from the Epic Center and suffered minor damage where I was at. I remember all the phone lines were down and I think the people with cell phones were the only ones who can actually make a phone call. I worked at a place where we sold Car Audio and Cell Phones..etc.. The brunt of the damage was felt 50 miles to the north in SF/Oak area because of the type of ground they were on (mostly fill). I did have a friend that had his parents house damaged by the quake to the point where they had to move out and rebuild most of it. They didn't have the insurance or the money to fix the house so they had to abandon it.

I think if the Major quake would hit Las Vegas, there would be the same type of scenario where a lot of homes would suffer damage and most people would not have the insurance or the cash to fix their homes. All it would take is some structural damage and even a gas line to rupture and cause a big fire. It probably wont ever happen, but that is the one thing about Earthquake is you can never count out that it wont happen, just hope it doesn't.

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by chahunt

Unfortunately not. One of the safest cities in the Western U.S., by seismic standards is Phoenix, AZ.

That's why they need to put the nation's nuclear waste in Phoenix instead of Yucca mountain then

[wpcoe]

When I had a house in Summerlin in the late 90s, I remember *hearing* an earthquake. The sound was distinctive and preceded the shaking/rolling by a second or two. I read in the paper the next day that my house was within a few miles of the epicenter.

Hard to put the sound into writing, but it was a single "note" (not a ka-chunk) that had a slight reverberation to it.

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

That's why they need to put the nation's nuclear waste in Phoenix instead of Yucca mountain then

I disagree. They should put the nation's nuclear waste in Washington DC. Right underneath Congress.

[timothyaw]

^^ Can't disagree with that.

[EA]

Originally Posted by RationalExpectations

I disagree. They should put the nation's nuclear waste in Washington DC. Right underneath Congress.

In leaking containers.