SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For emergency planning purposes, scientists unveiled a hypothetical California scenario that describes a storm that could produce up to 10 feet of rain, cause extensive flooding (in many cases overwhelming the state’s flood-protection system) and result in more than $300 billion in damage. [Source: USGS Release, click for the rest of the release.]
Project Related
Foundations for California Highway 1 Pitkins Curve Bridge
On the Big Sur coatline, the Pitkins Curve area of California Highway 1 (the PCH) is undergoing some improvements to help alleviate landslides and roadway instability. National Driller magazine reports on the project in their […]
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California unveils $24 billion, 40-year water tunnel plan
California Governor Jerry Brown announced this summer that the state will move forward with plans for two multi-billion dollar water supply tunnels. Twin 56-km long (35 miles) tunnels will be constructed to convey water from […]
Geologic Hazards
What Would a Large Earthquake Do to Downtown L.A.?
From the USGS Newsroom:
USGS scientist Ken Hudnut fills us in on how science created the theoretical magnitude 7.8 earthquake behind the Great Southern California ShakeOut—the largest earthquake preparedness drill in U.S. history, coming Nov. 13—and what such an earthquake would do to downtown Los Angeles.
Seems like they did it right wiith this study. They had multiple teams independenlty come up with the ground shaking model, then had different structural engineers who are experts in seismic design of large buildings review the tall buildings in the L.A. area for the design earthquake. They say that buildings would likely come down in the 7.8 magnitude event. Click through to watch the video interview from the USGS.