The Ring Of Fire

[RainMan]

Is anyone else here concerned about the Ring of Fire? As far as faults go, that one and the New Madrid have been worrying me lately.

[Buffy]

Worried....how?

 

I've lived on top of it's eastern edge all my life. It's there. It does stuff occasionally. Fracking & geothermal plants seem to have an affect but it's very localized. Doesn't really seem to be doing anything different now than it has for millions of years.

 

 

We want a story that starts out with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax, :phones:

Buffy

[Mars1]

Are you talking about the volcano in Ecuador, Rainman?  It's situated on the Ring of Fire and seems to be pretty active.  The villagers don't seem overly concerned about it and are going about their daily business.

[PiSquare]

I would compare it to San Francisco so close to the San Andreas fault. A million people are going about their daily business knowing that the 'big one' will strike sooner rather than later. They do not seem overly concerned, yet, when the earthquake eventually happens, thousands will die. Is this because many people living there simply do not have the means to relocate?

Edited June 7, 2014 by PiSquare

[Eclogite]

I would compare it to San Francisco so close to the San Andreas fault. A million people are going about their daily business knowing that the 'big one' will strike sooner rather than later. They do not seem overly concerned, yet, when the earthquake eventually happens, thousands will die. I this because many people living there simply do not have the means to relocate?

No, this is because most people think "this cannot happen to me". As evidence in support of this view they note, "this hasn't happened to me yet".

 

Is anyone else here concerned about the Ring of Fire? As far as faults go, that one and the New Madrid have been worrying me lately

Here is the deal. We live on a dangerous planet. Tectonics, weather, plants and animals can all kill you with complete indifference. Western civilisation has cocooned us in a shell of false security. Life is a risky business, so why are you focusing on a single aspect? That seems bizarre!

[Buffy]

Ha, ha! We live on top of these faults because it's so dang beautiful here and the weather is so nice.... :cheer:

 

Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes...pick your poison.

 

 

If you don't like the weather, move, :phones:

Buffy

[PiSquare]

Why do people go back to Phuket, Hawaii, Japan ... despite the danger of Tsunamis? Probably because it is beautiful, exotic, the weather is so nice, and it offers good value for money. 

 

1) Will I live on top of a volcano that has been dormant for the past few million years? No... Will I live on top of a devastating-earthquake-awaiting city? No.

 

2) Will I go to Phuket for a vacation. Probably yes...   

 

Why NO to (1) but YES to (2)? Irrational thinking? Or logical thinking, in fact?

[Buffy]

I've spent a lot of time in Hawaii. Because Tsunamis have hit in recent memory, the civil defense training is high for this in addition to there being a really sophisticated detection network. But the thing is there are no really active earthquake faults nearby, so the vast majority of tsunamis that hit there are from far away and thus there's almost always a huge amount of warning. Historically, they know that there were slides off of the Big Island that caused local tsunamis, but that was long before people were there. Low likelihood although not zero.

 

The Indian Ocean area in general suffers I believe because they do not have as good of monitoring in place as you find in the Pacific. Thus Phuket is probably riskier than Hawaii both due to proximity as well as lack of warning.

 

Now I happen to have property that is literally sitting on top of the Long Valley Caldera in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Which is not just a volcano but what we call a "super-volcano" that blew up 760,000 years ago in an eruption that made Krakatoa look like a firecracker. It rises and subsides quite actively today, and we get all kinds of earthquakes there all the time. It could go kaplooey any time it feels like it, but on the other hand, it hasn't in, well, a really long time. Not sure it's gonna be a problem even for my great-great-great-great grandkids.

 

Irrational? Well, arguably it's always better safe than sorry, but when you compare these risks versus dying in a car accident or having a heart attack, well, let's just say you're missing out on a lot of fun by worrying about any of it.

 

 

Do not worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older it will avoid you, :phones:

Buffy

[Eclogite]

Why do people go back to Phuket, Hawaii, Japan ... despite the danger of Tsunamis?

Why do people go back to Phuket, Hawaii, Japan... despite the danger of flying?

[PiSquare]

Why do people go back to Phuket, Hawaii, Japan... despite the danger of flying?

I would not have had a reply to Eclogite without reading Buffy's post. Yes, you hit the nail on the head - thanks to early Tsunami warning systems I will fly to Phuket and Japan. I am not too sure about the Hawaiian Islands, though. If I remember correctly, some of the islands were almost under water after a massive Tsunami hit its shores. Not sure if those islands were inhabited at that stage.

 

That said, we would not want to go through life thinking of all the negative what if's all the time and let the quality of life pass us by. Thus, embrace life to the fullest and be aware of realities/dangers without being controlled by it.

[Logical]

I'm not worried about the Ring of Fire. I'm fascinated by it. I am fascinated and in awe of the the potential destructive force of volcanic activity. Sure, a major eruption could cause  the sun to be blocked out plunging us into "nuclear winter" but still, what a thrill!