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The Haitian Earthquake has usurped the news of the number of earthquakes that have been shaking up No. Mexico and California in the past 10 days-

David Brooks in the New York Times wrote an editorial last week about the difference in construction methods in 2nd and 3rd world countries comparing Haiti's 7.0 quake with 70,000 counted bodies as of today and almost total destruction of the capital city with the Loma Prieta 7.0 San Francisco quake in 1989 when there were only 63 deaths and damage was confined to small areas of the city sitting on land fill.

California has banned the construction of any buildings made of brick- Old bldgs in Calif especially old cities like San Francisco must be earthquake retrofitted which costs $$$$$$ or demolished and every home built in the last 25 yrs must also be earthquake protected.

Until you've experienced a big shake - you don't realize how 10 seconds can change your life - As a kid in elementary school in Calif. we practiced drills on how to survive an earthquake- Do you know what to do?

Think about how our homes are built here in Mexico-When I lived at lakeside I watched a friends home being constucted in Chula Vista Norte and another in the upper Racquet Club- I could see daylight through the stacks of ladrillos- Builders don't always use metal reinforcement and rarely heavy rebar- one good shake of 30 seconds and down come the walls and boveda ceilings that could crush you.

January 2010

Jan 4- 5.8 quake with a series of stong aftershocks near Mexicali- skycrapers in San Diego were shaking- some reports of damage in Mexico

Last week Eureka Calif 6.5 quake-0 deaths but $30,000,000 in damage to downtown offices stores, shopping malls and homes. a week of continuous aftershocks.

Aug 9 2009 6.9 off coast of Mexico in Gulf of Calif.

Look at the news reports from Haiti-Biggest problem for survivors is dehydration-If you've never lived in earthquake country - How prepared are you? Something to think about.

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Guest PalapaGirl

Thanks for the reminder. I was going to ask a question about a tremor or a slide or something that happened in the Racquet Club. Someone mentioned to me that property was "hot" in that area, until this happened. Could someone please enlighten me?

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Thanks for the reminder. I was going to ask a question about a tremor or a slide or something that happened in the Racquet Club. Someone mentioned to me that property was "hot" in that area, until this happened. Could someone please enlighten me?

That was a mud/rock slide caused by a huge downpour in the hills above (summer of 2007). It wasn't an earthquake. I don't know if the debate was ever settled as to whether this was precipitated by the filling-in of natural drainage arroyos by the developer.

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That was a mud/rock slide caused by a huge downpour in the hills above (summer of 2007). It wasn't an earthquake. I don't know if the debate was ever settled as to whether this was precipitated by the filling-in of natural drainage arroyos by the developer.

Your first paragraph is closer to the truth and cause...many of the village homes that were built in and or adjacent to the arroyos were damaged..likewise the few homes in the Raquet Club built adjacent to the arroyos that were damaged...you could also lay some "blame" to the locals who cut down trees and bring down wood for heating etc!!! but I guess Global Warming and the Hand of God..take your choice

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The Haitian Earthquake has usurped the news of the number of earthquakes that have been shaking up No. Mexico and California in the past 10 days-

David Brooks in the New York Times wrote an editorial last week about the difference in construction methods in 2nd and 3rd world countries comparing Haiti's 7.0 quake with 70,000 counted bodies as of today and almost total destruction of the capital city with the Loma Prieta 7.0 San Francisco quake in 1989 when there were only 63 deaths and damage was confined to small areas of the city sitting on land fill.

California has banned the construction of any buildings made of brick- Old bldgs in Calif especially old cities like San Francisco must be earthquake retrofitted which costs $$$$$$ or demolished and every home built in the last 25 yrs must also be earthquake protected.

Until you've experienced a big shake - you don't realize how 10 seconds can change your life - As a kid in elementary school in Calif. we practiced drills on how to survive an earthquake- Do you know what to do?

Think about how our homes are built here in Mexico-When I lived at lakeside I watched a friends home being constucted in Chula Vista Norte and another in the upper Racquet Club- I could see daylight through the stacks of ladrillos- Builders don't always use metal reinforcement and rarely heavy rebar- one good shake of 30 seconds and down come the walls and boveda ceilings that could crush you.

January 2010

Jan 4- 5.8 quake with a series of stong aftershocks near Mexicali- skycrapers in San Diego were shaking- some reports of damage in Mexico

Last week Eureka Calif 6.5 quake-0 deaths but $30,000,000 in damage to downtown offices stores, shopping malls and homes. a week of continuous aftershocks.

Aug 9 2009 6.9 off coast of Mexico in Gulf of Calif.

Look at the news reports from Haiti-Biggest problem for survivors is dehydration-If you've never lived in earthquake country - How prepared are you? Something to think about.

I came from hurricane country and know how to prepare for that. We always got supplies together on June 1st. What can you do to prepare for an earthquake, especially if everything is pancaked like it was in Haiti. I just hope I am one of the first to go. I doubt the Mexican government is prepared for anything like that.

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In 2003 there was a massive earthquake in Colima, which is about 100 miles from u. It was about 7.6 and did a great deal of damage in the area of Colima and its environs.

In Guadalajara some homes in the poorest areas collapsed.

Here in Ajijic we registered 4.5 on the Richter scale. It lasted 20 seconds. The only damage sustained in the area was a few broken windows and some cracks in a few walls.

We have faults in Ajijic, La Floresta and Chapala but they are all minor.

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Mexico is the second better prepared country for earthquakes (just afther Japan).

Every public place has a "ruta de evacuacion", that is the path you have to follow in a case of an earthquake.

September 19th 1985, is still present and to remaind us, every year on that date there are simulated evacuations everywhere in the country, offices, churches, schools, stadiums, etc....

Mexican recuers just came back from Haiti, they rescued 14 people. well done!

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Guest shelley

Mexico is the second better prepared country for earthquakes (just afther Japan).

What do you mean by prepared? A key aspect of a countries earthquake preparedness is the vulnerability of its buildings and infrastructure. Seems to me that this area - Ajijic, Chapala and Guadalajara - have many building that would collapse based on poor construction. Another key aspect of preparedness would be the disaster preparedness - readiness of the local officials. Maybe they are more coordinated then I give them credit for - but I just don't see that capability at present.

Interesting though that Guadalajara is playing somewhat of a proactive role in assessing their risk and preparedness. One of the studies they joined was called Radius in 1998. Their vulnerability was rated on the mean - and their exposure was slighly high. If you want to read it Radius I could not find follow up documents - just their abstracts which didn't say much.

So how prepared are they? No facts substantiate that Mexico as a country is well prepared, nor is Jalisco as a state. Nor is the US-as a country- well prepared when you take areas of risk around the New Madrid System into consideration. The good news is that some people measured preparedness based on gdp per capita. That is the more money the average person makes, the more prepared the country will be. And - in 2008 Mexico rated 11 - which is higher than I thought it would be.

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Guest RevImmigrant

The last sentence of the OP is particularly important since many of us, particularly renters, have no control over the quality of construction. DEHYDRATION. A person will die of dehydration before they die of starvation so it is particularly important to have bottles of clean water available.

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Folks in earthquake zones in the US are expected to have 72 hours of survival supplies on hand. There's a neat interactive publication I ran across the other day:

72 Hours Survival Plan

It works for pandemics, floods, terrorist attacks, and other disasters, as well. Some of the topics I hadn't thought of were pet supplies, back-up medications, cash, and bug-out bags (if you have to leave your home fast).

This was recently created for San Francisco residents by the government who told them they shouldn't expect to get help from the goverment before 72 hours. I imagine the situation is similar in Mexico.

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January 2010

Jan 4- 5.8 quake with a series of stong aftershocks near Mexicali- skycrapers in San Diego were shaking- some reports of damage in Mexico

Last week Eureka Calif 6.5 quake-0 deaths but $30,000,000 in damage to downtown offices stores, shopping malls and homes. a week of continuous aftershocks.

Aug 9 2009 6.9 off coast of Mexico in Gulf of Calif.

There was an earthquake in the state of Jalisco when we were at the beach in Dec. 09 and we felt it. 5.1. We weren't sure until we got home and my Dad called and asked me about it, he saw it on the news off the computer.

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Someone mentioned home construction here as a problem. We live in an older home that is built like a fortress. I would not have one of the newer homes that are being put up now because when I compare those homes to our older one I see vast construction differences. Yes, it is nice that new homes have dry wall now and it is also not so nice what some developers will do to the land to put these homes on which helps to contribute to less safe homes and poorer construction. I will still take my old solid concrete walls over newer construction anytime. Just my opinion.

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Folks in earthquake zones in the US are expected to have 72 hours of survival supplies on hand. There's a neat interactive publication I ran across the other day:

72 Hours Survival Plan

It works for pandemics, floods, terrorist attacks, and other disasters, as well. Some of the topics I hadn't thought of were pet supplies, back-up medications, cash, and bug-out bags (if you have to leave your home fast).

This was recently created for San Francisco residents by the government who told them they shouldn't expect to get help from the goverment before 72 hours. I imagine the situation is similar in Mexico.

Thanks for finding the site- I have an old list from the Chronicle that I have kept- I good way to store your supplies and first aid kit, flshlights, medicines, eye glasses etc is in 2 New large plastic garbage barrels- they have handles and are easy to move- but need to be kept in an area with easy access to outside.

Also in Mexico you shouldn't hunker down next to an interior wall- since they are made of bricks and have been told that older homes are not solid concrete- they probably have bricks under the concrete- and who knows what the consistency of the concrete is -just look at the Presidential Palace in Haiti-

When I first moved to Lakeside we had a small quake about 4.5 in the middle of the night- I was out of bed and down the stairs in about 20 seconds, I didn't live in a village and knew that my garden was the safest place to be- but couldn't get the iron and glass door locks open fast enough- Scary-

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What's all this fuss about earthquakes? We don't live in an Earthquake Zone at Lakeside. Just because there are a few fault lines and we get tremors from Colima and Mexico City doesn't mean much.

You're all looking at those sh*tty buildings and homes in Haiti that have NO STEEL or very little steel in them. Your house won't come crashing down here. At worst case you might get a few hairline cracks. These houses are built of brick or block with concrete between them, Dahlas (Armex) at the base of the wall, Castillos (Armex) at doorways and every couple meters tied into the foundation Dahlas and filled with cement, gravel and sand. The top of the roof should be capped with another Dahla (Armex), then wired to the vertical Castillos and filled once again with cement gravel and sand.

Shira mentioned the 2003 earthquake in Colima. We felt tremors here in Ajijic as our ceiling fans and chandelier were swaying back and forth about three feet. We didn't know what to do or think, since we're from the East coast, so we called our neighbor from California. She said "don't worry about it, it's nothing".

We checked the walls next day, not even a hairline crack.

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What's all this fuss about earthquakes? We don't live in an Earthquake Zone at Lakeside. Just because there are a few fault lines and we get tremors from Colima and Mexico City doesn't mean much.

You're all looking at those sh*tty buildings and homes in Haiti that have NO STEEL or very little steel in them. Your house won't come crashing down here. At worst case you might get a few hairline cracks. These houses are built of brick or block with concrete between them, Dahlas (Armex) at the base of the wall, Castillos (Armex) at doorways and every couple meters tied into the foundation Dahlas and filled with cement, gravel and sand. The top of the roof should be capped with another Dahla (Armex), then wired to the vertical Castillos and filled once again with cement gravel and sand.

Shira mentioned the 2003 earthquake in Colima. We felt tremors here in Ajijic as our ceiling fans and chandelier were swaying back and forth about three feet. We didn't know what to do or think, since we're from the East coast, so we called our neighbor from California. She said "don't worry about it, it's nothing".

We checked the walls next day, not even a hairline crack.

When I moved here in '95, there was an earthquake in Manzanillo, I think, that was felt here. I had been under the impression that we were not in an earthquake zone and was very surpised. The next week, a geologist who is still here, Bill Doughlas, gave a talk at LCS and brought charts that show all the reasons we ARE in an earthquake zone. Tectonic plates in the lake, volcanic activity not far from here and other reasons I don't remember. It was an eye-opener to say the least.

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The most effective way to ride out an earthquake is to be at sea in a boat. Ashore, you should live in a tent. Otherwise, you take your chances with a structure falling on you. However, surviving that, it helps if you have a ready supply of food and water with your first aid kit; perhaps enough to last quite some time without power or cooking fuel. That said, the odds are with you; especially here, where the 'unstable ground' actually provides a shock absorber effect, especially on flat terrain, and is rather forgiving, compared to places with foundations on bedrock.

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I was there for the 1989 Loma Prieta quake in San Francisco. Having been a resident of California only about 6 months at the time, all I can say is it was darn scary!

There they always said it was safer to get under a sturdy table or doorway than to run outside. Here, I would say just the opposite. The ceilings up north are not made of brick and cement like they are here. Also, a ceiling fan above your bed can be dangerous, but I'll wager almost all of us have them and love them. I pray that if we get a bad one here it is during the day and not the night. The way we have to lock ourselves in to keep the bad guys out is not very conducive to getting out quickly! :rolleyes:

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Guest shelley

What's all this fuss about earthquakes? We don't live in an Earthquake Zone at Lakeside. Just because there are a few fault lines and we get tremors from Colima and Mexico City doesn't mean much.

John - maybe you don't live in an earthquake zone, but the rest of the inhabitants of Lakeside do. Here is a picture that might help -

neic_qca8_w.jpg

And here is an interesting article on the geology of this area http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2591-the-geology-and-geography-of-lake-chapala-and-western-mexico

And Guadalajara isn't that far away. If they experience an earthquake, we will do. They participated in a study called Radius - here is their information about vulnerability and riskzone

earth.jpg

So the probability of experiencing an earthquake in the Chapala area is not that high. But it exists.

Am I going to loose any sleep about the fact that this area is in an earthquake zone? Not really - Historically it doesn't look like the area experienced serious earthquakes - but that may be my ignorance. On the other hand, I don't have a huge picture hanging on the wall over by bed that could end up displaced with even a small earthquake. Same precautions that I took in Southern California

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The most effective way to ride out an earthquake is to be at sea in a boat. Ashore, you should live in a tent. Otherwise, you take your chances with a structure falling on you. However, surviving that, it helps if you have a ready supply of food and water with your first aid kit; perhaps enough to last quite some time without power or cooking fuel. That said, the odds are with you; especially here, where the 'unstable ground' actually provides a shock absorber effect, especially on flat terrain, and is rather forgiving, compared to places with foundations on bedrock.

And if all the buildings and such pancake like they did in Haiti you could have all the preparation in the world and it would not help unless you stored your stuff in the middle of the street. For hurricanes you could store all this stuff because you have a warning and can get out the way. But earthquakes - I think you better hope you have a lot of good luck!!!!

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I have earthquake insurance so if I don't die in my home I can rebuild. What would suck more than dying would be to survive and be the proud owner of a pile of rubble!

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Guest shelley

And if all the buildings and such pancake like they did in Haiti you could have all the preparation in the world and it would not help unless you stored your stuff in the middle of the street. For hurricanes you could store all this stuff because you have a warning and can get out the way. But earthquakes - I think you better hope you have a lot of good luck!!!!

Haiti's earthquake was 7.0 on the richter scale. And the richter scale is logarithmic scale, 7.0 on the Richter scale has a shaking amplitude 10 times larger than one that measures 6.0, and ten times larger than one that measures 5 etc.

So the shaking amplitude experienced in Haiti is basically 10000 (10x10x10x10) times greater than anything expected in this area in the next 50 years. (and yes, I know we now use a movement magnitude scale aka magnitude - Haiti is still a 7 - Colima was a 7.7 - just richter is easier to explain)

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Guest shelley

What would suck more than dying would be to survive and be the proud owner of a pile of rubble!

Are you sure? I can think of all sorts of profit opportunities for your rubble pile!

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As for preparedness and responsiveness ... all I can say is I was VERY impressed with the response to the mud/rock slides in San Juan Cosala in 2007. Not just local volunteers, but local, state and federal assistance was there almost instantly. Made the Katrina response look really sick.

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