Originally posted by zeeblebotI am building my own 2 storey house here at the moment. I bribed the building standards inspectors so that they will look the other way. It's saving me a pile of money.
earthquake standards have evolved a lot since they were built, i bet.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080515.CHINASIDE15/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/
Why China's buildings crumbled
Survivors blame corruption, shoddy construction and cost cutting for the collapse of so many 'tofu buildings' - and even state media outlets are asking questions
GEOFFREY YORK
May 15, 2008
DUJIANGYAN, CHINA -- The bodies of the children were lined up in a long row in the mud of a basketball court, just outside the flattened school. Every few minutes, another corpse was brought out of the rubble, carried on a wooden door, covered in rags.
In a futile attempt at privacy, the bodies were sheltered by beach umbrellas or pup tents, incongruously set up in the mud. Grieving parents sat wailing or numb in tiny school chairs beside the bodies. In the Chinese tradition, they burned paper money and lit candles and incense sticks for the victims. Then, in an explosion of firecrackers, they bid a final farewell to their children.
The death toll in Monday's earthquake in Sichuan province is still soaring. More than 40,000 people are dead, missing or buried in the rubble, according to the latest count. And with dangerous cracks appearing in several hydro dams and reservoirs around the earthquake zone, another disaster could be looming.
But while rescue crews fought to reach the victims, awkward questions were being asked about the tragedy. One man, gazing at the corpse of his nine-year-old cousin, said he had disturbing evidence that could explain the collapse of the five-storey Juyuan school building, along with eight other schools in the region.
The man, who gave his surname as Ren, is a 32-year-old steel worker who has worked for a decade in the local construction industry. He said he always knew that the Juyuan school was a disaster in waiting. Local officials, he said, had pocketed money that was budgeted for the school, while a private construction company had saved money by cutting corners on the project.
After the temblor, when he picked up a chunk of concrete from the flattened school, he was appalled by the evidence of shoddy construction. "It crumbled very easily," he said.
To boost its profits, the company used iron instead of steel in many parts of the construction of the building, Mr. Ren said. It cut back on the size and number of steel braces in the cement foundation slabs. And it used cheap materials to make the concrete walls, weakening the entire structure.
"The supervising agencies did not check to see if it met the national standards," he said.
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Many other survivors were convinced that corruption had played a role in determining which buildings collapsed and which were unscathed. One man pointed to a new building whose first floor had collapsed, even as older buildings around it were intact. "They used fewer bricks in the new building, so they could earn more money," he said.
The shoddily constructed buildings are commonly called "tofu buildings" because of their weak structural condition.
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Originally posted by Sam The ShamI think the article above is a good indication. Maybe you have not experiences an earthquake before. I have experienced too many. The strength of the one in China at 7.8 on the Rictor scale was tremendously powerful. If that had happened in a big city in Europe or North America it would have been devastating as well.
Why do earthquakes in China kill so many people? Comparable quakes in America kill about 4 people.
Originally posted by mochironIt's always mind blowing to remember that 7.8 is twice as severe as 7.7, and 7.9 is twice as severe as 7.8
I think the article above is a good indication. Maybe you have not experiences an earthquake before. I have experienced too many. The strength of the one in China at 7.8 on the Rictor scale was tremendously powerful. If that had happened in a big city in Europe or North America it would have been devastating as well.
Wait. Have I got that right? 8.0 is ten times bigger than 7.0 on the Richter Scale. So what's the 0.1 increment? Hang on it can't be double. If you double something 10 times you get 512 times more than you started with, but of you add each of the 10 increments up you get 1023 times more... er... Who knows how this works? If 8.0 is ten times bigger than 7.0, how much bigger is 7.1 than 7.0?
Originally posted by FMFThe Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe, Japan was 7.3 which killed 6,434. The Japanese News reports that the Earthquake in China was 7.8 and three hundred times more powerful than the Hanshin earthquake according to some researchers....
It's always mind blowing to remember that 7.8 is twice as severe as 7.7, and 7.9 is twice as severe as 7.8
Wait. Have I got that right? 8.0 is ten times bigger than 7.0 on the Richter Scale. So what's the 0.1 increment? Hang on it can't be double. If you double something 10 times you get 512 times more than you started with, but of you add each of the 10 incr ...[text shortened]... o knows how this works? If 8.0 is ten times bigger than 7.0, how much bigger is 7.1 than 7.0?
Originally posted by Sam The ShamYou could ask a similar question of the Middle East, i.e., Pakistan, Iran or Turkey. I would suggest it is because none of those countries are as wealthy as they United States, where there is an extensive highway system in place, as well as many advanced hospitals with trauma units, and/or less corruption in the building of structures, including homes, office buildings, etc.
Why do earthquakes in China kill so many people? Comparable quakes in America kill about 4 people.
Originally posted by FMFPerhaps you are missing the nuances of the conversation. He asked a question: "Why do earthquakes in China kill so many people? Comparable quakes in America kill about 4 people." It's reasonable to wonder why there is such a high death toll in some places but not in other places. It shows that people are thinking about situations and trying to understand them rather than ignoring them and turning the channel to Two And A Half Men reruns. You have no clue how anyone feels about this tragedy but I'm assuming some sort of language gap has made you translate the conversation that is quite the opposite of self-absorption into something else.
You people are so funny. Thread Title: Earthquake In China, Many Thousands Die - and indeed 50,000 are a feared dead - but all it serves to do is inspire a bunch of Americans on an international web site to start chatting about a tiny number of Americans dying in America 13 years ago. It absolutely fits - to a tee - the way you are perceived all around the world ...[text shortened]... get me wrong, I did - and continue to - mourn for the 4 Los Angeles residents who died in 1995.
Originally posted by pawnhandlerNo. The first few posts on this thread were an excellent (if somewhat insignificant) example of the lack of empathy due to an excessive degree of self-absorption I was talking about. I can assure you there is no 'language problem'.
You have no clue how anyone feels about this tragedy but I'm assuming some sort of language gap has made you translate the conversation that is quite the opposite of self-absorption into something else.
Originally posted by FMFDo tell me then, how the fact that I answered a direct question leads you to believe I have a lack of empathy and am self-absorbed, since I have the third post. Then come to my classroom and tell my students that all of our discussions are figments of their imagination because you've determined that answering a question on a chess web site with strangers carries more weight than all the conversations I have with friends, family, and students in real life.
No. The first few posts on this thread were an excellent (if somewhat insignificant) example of the lack of empathy due to an excessive degree of self-absorption I was talking about. I can assure you there is no 'language problem'.