Earthquake

[Mapguy]

Just a passing thought:

What a truly astonishing number of comments and an amazing number of views on this topic WITHIN 24 HOURS !!! And, on a topic that is still remarkably well-covered in other ways by news media (even though it occurred in the hinterlands of Burma !) and through other deeper sources. For example, I have the earthquake plotted exactly on Google Earth, have access to all the world's principal news media and so on. Perhaps it goes to show how this sort of medium has in some way replaced "the local" or, in America, the "corner tavern," or the morning marketplace and coffee house venues.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Mapguy

[ThaiWx]

Just a passing thought:

What a truly astonishing number of comments and an amazing number of views on this topic WITHIN 24 HOURS !!! And, on a topic that is still remarkably well-covered in other ways by news media (even though it occurred in the hinterlands of Burma !) and through other deeper sources. For example, I have the earthquake plotted exactly on Google Earth, have access to all the world's principal news media and so on. Perhaps it goes to show how this sort of medium has in some way replaced "the local" or, in America, the "corner tavern," or the morning marketplace and coffee house venues.

...or supplemented these venues? Seems to be a more efficient way to get word around. (next to just telling a Thai girl!.This will get word across town fastest. )

Edited March 25, 2011 by ThaiWx

[LJW]

Be grateful. That was a tremor. If that had been an earthquake it would have felt very different.

Tremor is just another name for earthquake

[folium]

Like a tsunami is the same thing as a wave.

The term "tremor" is often used to distinguish lesser activity before or after a "main event" quake. It is also used to describe an earthquake felt some distance from the epicentre, and is therefore a useful word for describing relatively mild seismic activity.

Earthquake-tremor

Tsunami-wave

related but very different in scale.

[TacoBoy]

4.8 aftershock 12:57pm (Thai time) in same area of golden triangle reported to have been epicenterd in Laos.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.php

Lots of smaller non-reported aftershocks being felt continuously in the region.

[canuckamuck]

4.8 aftershock 12:57pm (Thai time) in same area of golden triangle reported to have been epicenterd in Laos.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.php

Lots of smaller non-reported aftershocks being felt continuously in the region.

Felt that one

[LJW]

Like a tsunami is the same thing as a wave.

The term "tremor" is often used to distinguish lesser activity before or after a "main event" quake. It is also used to describe an earthquake felt some distance from the epicentre, and is therefore a useful word for describing relatively mild seismic activity.

Earthquake-tremor

Tsunami-wave

related but very different in scale.

Sorry, but I disagree

[CMMCB]

From the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary entry for 'tremor':

A vibration or shaking caused by an external impulse; spec. a slight earthquake (also earth tremor)

CMMCB

[folium]

It's not completely impossible for CM to be hit by a tsunami, but an oceanic tsunami (unless there is a meteorite strike in the Gulf just off Bangkok) is nigh on impossible.

But tsunamis can be generated inland. The collapse of the northern flank of Mt St Helens into Spirit Lake during the 1980 eruption, triggered an estimated 260m high tsunami, and a major landslide saw a 250m tsunami top the Vajont dam in northern Italy in 1963. There is a reasonable sized dam and reservoir complex in Luang Nuea, approx 14 miles NE of downtown CM, so a massive landslide event there could.......

[folium]

From the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary entry for 'tremor':

A vibration or shaking caused by an external impulse; spec. a slight earthquake (also earth tremor)

CMMCB

Thank you CMMCB, that saved me the trouble of pulling out the dictionary.

Also just in case there are more semantic tussles, non-oceanic tsunamis are usually referred to as "megatsunamis" in order to distinguish them from their marine cousins (they also tend to be dam_n big (excuse the pun), hence the name), so that is the only realistic, if utterly improbable, tsunami-type threat CM faces.

Edited March 26, 2011 by folium

[Joop50]

Tsunami is a Japanese word which means, tsu = harbor, whirling, big; nami = wave. The English translation is harbor wave.The name became common after the tsunami from 2004.

Edited March 26, 2011 by Joop50

[Gonzo the Face]

Suprised that noone has mentioned it as temblor.....

this was very common in Mexico aroundthe time of the Mexico City Earthquake , which was one of the first to have such international coverage with the coming of more and more rapid media communications.

[canuckamuck]

Earthquake is a specific non ambiguous term, the other words are less precise. At least they don't call it a 'force majeure'.

And temblor is definitely the cool newsy word for earthquakes

Edited March 26, 2011 by canuckamuck

[ThaiWx]

Suprised that noone has mentioned it as temblor.....

this was very common in Mexico aroundthe time of the Mexico City Earthquake , which was one of the first to have such international coverage with the coming of more and more rapid media communications.

I guess where you're located you'd have to watch for a 'ping-nami' if we get a big tremblor nearby.

[folium]

Do you mean Temblor the new baddy in Batman?

[trainman34014]

Tsunami is a Japanese word which means, tsu = harbor, whirling, big; nami = wave. The English translation is harbor wave.The name became common after the tsunami from 2004.

Sorry old bean but the American translation is 'Harbor'. The English translation is 'Harbour'.

[Joop50]

I thaught so but the translator in tv must be American and I started to doubt. so I appreciate your comment..

Edited March 26, 2011 by Joop50

[Ulysses G.]

Tsunami is a Japanese word which means, tsu = harbor, whirling, big; nami = wave. The English translation is harbor wave.The name became common after the tsunami from 2004.

We always called them "Tital Waves". However, recently I have noticed that Western newscasters have switched to Tsunami .

[folium]

Tsunami is a Japanese word which means, tsu = harbor, whirling, big; nami = wave. The English translation is harbor wave.The name became common after the tsunami from 2004.

We always called them "Tital Waves". However, recently I have noticed that Western newscasters have switched to Tsunami .

Presume you mean tidal waves, otherwise conjures up all sorts of bizarre images.

Anyway "tidal waves" disappeared once they realized tides had nothing to do with them.

[jackr]

It's not completely impossible for CM to be hit by a tsunami, but an oceanic tsunami (unless there is a meteorite strike in the Gulf just off Bangkok) is nigh on impossible.

A 'meteorite strike in the Gulf' wouldn't do it. The Gulf only has a mean depth of 50 or 60m. We're 350m up and several hundred kms away. The only close shave would be to have a mile-wide impactor into the Bay of Bengal, yet even then a possible 2km high wave would be broken by hundreds of kms of mountain ranges, some over 2,000m. We'd of course be screwed long before any water would get to us if an object that size hit the bay. Anyway, way off tangent as any notion of an earthquake anywhere in our region causing a tsunami from the sea or lake and taking CM out is science fiction. A slippage into one of the nearby reservoirs wouldn't cut it as the sides ain't high enough and lakes not deep enough or close enough... though if CM were right near the shore, a Lake Lucerne like tsunami could be a goer.

[Joop50]

I thaught so but the translator in tv must be American and I started to doubt. so I appreciate your comment..

And translator must be spelling checker of course

[Throatwobbler]

I could have swore there was a very tiny tremor just now, probably just paranoid but will keep my trainers, passport, cash and laptop case ready just in case.

Hi I'm sorry I'm a bit late to reply Jackers but you are not paraniod there was another small quake at that time.

[jackers]

I could have swore there was a very tiny tremor just now, probably just paranoid but will keep my trainers, passport, cash and laptop case ready just in case.

Hi I'm sorry I'm a bit late to reply Jackers but you are not paraniod there was another small quake at that time.

Thanks for that, I saw my fan moving very slightly that's why I sussed it might be a tremor.

[cmsally]

Definitely another small one around 0730 this morning (didn't look at the clock but it was before 0800).

[uptheos]

Well considering how crazy the world has become regarding natural disasters and taking into account that there are nine active fault lines in Thailand, with the one near Chiang Mai being the Mae Tha Fault, just about 30 kilometres from from the city........I guess we just sit and wait for our turn.........not much we can do to stop it if it happens. C'est la vie,..... mai bpen rai....... or whatever.

[lannarebirth]

Well considering how crazy the world has become regarding natural disasters and taking into account that there are nine active fault lines in Thailand, with the one near Chiang Mai being the Mae Tha Fault, just about 30 kilometres from from the city........I guess we just sit and wait for our turn.........not much we can do to stop it if it happens. C'est la vie,..... mai bpen rai....... or whatever.

Thanks for the name of the fault line. Made googling a local fault line map a lot easier:

2) The Mae Tha FZ forms a curiously arcuate trace appoximately 140 km-long, roughly NW-trending to the east of the Chiang Mai basin. The fault plane has a moderate dipping angle to west and northwest. Along the northern part of its fault trace it sharply truncates the Mae Kuang River, with the offset of about 4.5 km in the right lateral slip. Small earthquakes with mostly less than Mb 3.0 and shallow depth occurred abundantly in the northwestern part of the fault. However, our geomorphologic investigations show poorly-defined morphotectonic features during Quaternary. Hot spring locations are mainly in the southern part of the fault. No dating data have been done along this fault yet.

http://www.dmr.go.th...lename=fault_En

Edited March 27, 2011 by lannarebirth

[meadish_sweetball]

We are blessed with two faults here in Chiang Mai, Mae Tha and Mae Chan.

[orang37]

We are blessed with two faults here in Chiang Mai, Mae Tha and Mae Chan.

Sawasdee Khrup Khun Meadish_Sweetball,

While Mae Tha, and Mae Chan, may be blessed faults, the third fault, farangs, seems to oscillate, in our experience, between curse and blessing.

best, ~o:37;

[vacationman]

Well after our experience on our 14th Floor Condo after the earthquake on Thursday night we started thinking it might be safer to live in a 2 story 3 Bedoom 2 Bath House.

So we started doing research on which is safer... Highrise or Single Family Home.

What we found out was.... it ALL depends on the type of Earthquake.

Check it out here... interesting reading.

http://www.iris.edu/hq/files/programs/education_and_outreach/retm/tm_100112_haiti/BuildingsInEQs_2.pdf

Pages 4 and 5

[ThaiWx]

Well after our experience on our 14th Floor Condo after the earthquake on Thursday night we started thinking it might be safer to live in a 2 story 3 Bedoom 2 Bath House.

So we started doing research on which is safer... Highrise or Single Family Home.

What we found out was.... it ALL depends on the type of Earthquake.

Check it out here... interesting reading.

http://www.iris.edu/...ingsInEQs_2.pdf

Pages 4 and 5

Interesting reading about the resonant frequency and how it's selective to what it can bring down. I still feel like I have a better chance under 1 or 2 floors of wood and tiles vs. under 6 or more floors of reinforced concrete and steel.

Thanks for the reading!