7.8 Magnitude Earthquake in New Zealand

November 16, 2016 rockman Available Resources Comments Off on 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake in New Zealand
New Zealand road damaged by fault rupture

New Zealand road damaged by fault rupture

Significant destruction has occurred in New Zealand as a result of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the town of Kaikoura, about 2 hours drive north of Christchurch. Video footage shows significant surface rupture causing damage to homes and infrastructure. There have been numerous landslides as well. The town of Kaikoura had to be evacuated, including about 1,000 tourists, after it was left without power by the event. Only two casualties have been reported based on the information I have heard, and it’s fortunate there was not more loss of life. [Source: CNN.com. Image: Mirror.co.uk]

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The Claremont Tunnel – Designed to Survive Fault Rupture on the Hayward Fault

June 24, 2008 rockman Project Related Comments Off on The Claremont Tunnel – Designed to Survive Fault Rupture on the Hayward Fault

The Claremont tunnel beneath the Berkeley Hills on the east side of Oakland is a water supply tunnel that serves over 800,000 customers in Richmond, Oakland, San Leandro and neighboring communities. One of the unique things about the tunnel is that it crosses the active Hayward Fault. Most of the time when you talk about designing for earthquakes you’re talking about designing to withstand the seismic forces. In this case, the designers needed the water transmission tunnel to withstand up to 7.5-ft of offset due to fault slip and still maintain a minimum level of service. (Photo credit: Sue Bednarz, Jacobs Associates, Inc. by way of Civil Engineering Magazine)

This post describes the relatively recent Claremont Tunnel Seismic Upgrade Project as reported in Civil Engineering Magazine (May 2008, v. 78, no. 5, pp 58-63, 96-97).

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