No shaking required
When the earth shakes, it can ruin a perfect day. Ask the people in New Zealand. Or Chile. Or Greece. Or any number of places.
Unless you live in a cave (not always the safest place), you know that tremors break things. Buildings. Infrastructure. Things near and dear to the humans. I’ve not heard from the rest of the animal kingdom (no Dr Doolittle ability), but I doubt that “they” even know about the Richter scale.
And a quick bit of research will show that tremors are more common in certain areas (try Ring of Fire, and ignore the Cash references). But, we’re not safe. I’ve been moved to dance a couple of times, and there’s a degree of disconcertation. This week, Christchurch took one on the chin, and the damage is astonishing. Why? Because I’ve always thought of them as being “like us”. You know… solidly constructed buildings in a setting that resembles my own (a bit). Better mountain ranges, though.
And stuff fell down. As it well might locally, should a quake of any importance hit. The one back in 1988 was recorded as 5.9, but the next one could be stronger. No forecasts available. And if a harder one hits, we’ll also break things. The last time, the race track took a hit, and the parking lot at the shopping centre across the way looked like a spider web. Our local church had to be closed for several years to repair damages. Yes, I’m afraid.
In passing, doesn’t someone want to build a new multimillion dollar arena right there? The ground didn’t become more stable in the interim. Just saying. What goes up could come down.
