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Chile quake occurred in zone of "increased stress"
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, March 1
The massive, 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile Feb. 27 occurred in an offshore zone that was under increased stress caused by a 1960 quake of magnitude 9.5, according to geologist Jian Lin of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The earthquake, some 300-500 times more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 quake in Haiti Jan. 12, ruptured at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates.
http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=282&cid=69866&ct=162
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Taiwan Struck by Magnitude-6.4 Quake; 64 Injured
Business Week, March 4
A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan, injuring 64 people and disrupting production at two of the islands largest technology companies. The quake hit at 8:18 a.m. local time today, 56 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Kaohsiung, a city of 1.5 million people, the Central Weather Bureau said on its Web site. The quakes depth was 5 kilometers and was followed by more than 20 aftershocks of magnitudes of as much as 5.7.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-04/magnitude-6-4-quake-strikes-taiwan-12-people-injured-update2-.html
Europe storm death toll at 62; France hardest hit
Associated Press, March 1
Thousands of firefighters and other rescue workers searched house by house Monday along France's devastated Atlantic coast, trying to help those still stranded by a storm that smashed sea walls and killed at least 62 people across western Europe.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100301/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_deadly_storm
Snowstorm cuts power in parts of Northeast
CNN, February 26
A major winter storm walloped the Northeast on Friday, a day after heavy snow closed schools and roads and caused dangerous conditions.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/02/26/winter.weather/index.html?hpt=T1
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| Science and Engineering News |
Hurricanes' effects on ocean temperature revisited
MIT News, March 4
Mixing of ocean layers by tropical cyclones may have less effect on climate than previously thought, new research reveals.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/hurricane-thermostate-0304.html
Major S.C. earthquake could have strong economic aftershocks
Greenville News, March 3
Loss of life, infrastructure would be high in a Charleston-sized temblor.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100303/NEWS/303030011/1004/NEWS01/Major-S.C.-earthquake-could-have-strong-economic-aftershocks
Shifting Soil Threatens Homes' Foundations
New York Times, March 3
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association indicates that since the 1990s there has been an accelerating trend nationwide toward more extended dry periods followed by downpours. Whether due to random climate patterns or global warming, the swings between hot and dry weather and severe rain or snow have profoundly affected soil underneath buildings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/garden/04foundation.html
After Quake, Focus Turns to Reconstruction
Wall Street Journal, March 2
Chile's stringent, well-enforced building codes saved most modern buildings and countless lives. Still, extensive use of adobe in older structures meant that many of those buildings fell in the hardest-hit regions of the country. The widespread destruction of older buildings—together with damage to bridges and roads, and coastal flooding caused by the tsunami—opens a potential windfall for Chile's well-developed construction industry.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703429304575095390923844812.html
Pacific Northwest at risk for mega earthquake
Associated Press, March 2
The disaster in Chile has brought new attention to an undersea fault along the Pacific Northwest capable of producing the same type of mega earthquake and inflicting heavy damage on bustling cities like Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35674095/ns/technology_and_science-science/
In search of an earthquake-proof building
CNN, March 2
In a handful of interviews, engineers who work on earthquake-resistant buildings said current technologies prevent well-designed buildings from cracking when the ground shakes beneath them. As the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile show so graphically, the real issue may be that adoption of these building technologies -- many of which require only simple changes to building materials or composition -- is far from equitable.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/02/earthquake.resistant.building/
Global warming raises Taiwan typhoon danger
AFP, March 1
Global warming is raising the danger from typhoons, Taiwan experts warned Monday, saying the island may be hit in a year or two by a powerful storm like the one which killed more than 700 last August.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100301/sc_afp/taiwanwarmingweathertyphoon
Chile-Earthquake Tsunamis Smaller Than Expected—But Why?
National Geographic, February 28
The giant earthquake in Chile that struck Friday—one of the most powerful ever recorded—killed more than 700 people and leveled cities. Yet the tsunamis spawned by the earthquake were smaller than expected, leaving experts speculating as to why. (See Chile earthquake pictures.)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100228-earthquake-in-chile-2010-tsunamis-hawaii-japan/
Fired up
Economist, February 25
California, though regarded by some as one of the more civilised parts of the world, is prey to wildfires. Last August, for example, a fire took hold to the north of Los Angeles. Over the course of almost two months it devoured 65,000 hectares (160,000 acres) of chaparral and forest, destroyed 89 houses and claimed the lives of two firefighters. Over the past few years other parts of the American west have burned in similar fashion. Australia, too, saw serious fires last year. The question on many people's minds, therefore, is whether such fires are becoming more common, and if they are, whether that is a result of climate change.
http://www.economist.com/science-technology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15577520
Disaster Awaits Cities in Earthquake Zones
New York Times, February 25
Istanbul is one of a host of quake-threatened cities in the developing world where populations have swelled far faster than the capacity to house them safely, setting them up for disaster of a scope that could, in some cases, surpass the devastation in Haiti from last month's earthquake.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/science/earth/25quake.html
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I.I.I.'s Hartwig Contrasts Impact of Chilean, Haitian Earthquakes
Insurance Journal, March 4
Why was the death toll over 200,000 when an earthquake struck Haiti, while so far less than 1000 people have died from the one that struck Chile, which was approximately 500 times more powerful? One of the answers lies in the state of develoment of the local insurance market.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2010/03/03/107817.htm
Nat cat pool for Africa and Asia to start in April
Asia Insurance Review, March 3
The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is planning to launch the natural catastrophe pool for insurance and reinsurance companies in Africa and Asia by 1 April, said media reports, adding that the initial size of the pool will be US$500 million.
http://www.asiainsurancereview.com/pages/print2.asp?article_ID=11899
Texas Catastrophic Weather Losses Totaled $2.5B in 2009
Insurance Journal, February 25
Texas in 2009 experienced weather catastrophes amounting to more insured losses than any other state. Last year, Texas experienced 10 weather catastrophes that caused nearly $2.5 billion in losses. The next nearest state in insured losses was Colorado with $1.3 billion in losses.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2010/02/25/107677.htm
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| Legal and Regulatory News |
Senate Approves U.S. Flood Program After Delay
National Underwriter, March 4
After a lawmaker agreed to drop his objections, the Senate voted final approval last night for legislation that included a reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program.
http://www.property-casualty.com/News/2010/3/Pages/Senate-Approves-US-Flood-Program-After-Delay.aspx
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