Posted by:
MistyCat (---.dial.dyn.ihug.co.nz)
Most (all?) of the road damage happened with the original quake on September 4th. (7.1M is roughly equivalent to 670 kilotons of TNT.) The City has done an amazing repair job and apart from some of the inner city where roads are blocked because damaged buildings are still being demolished the roads are all passable.
The impact on daily life is harder to express. For my part, even the big ones don't bother me. However, I have elderly friends who are reduced to panic by something at the "Do you think that might have been another aftershock?" level.
The list of quakes and Richter Magnitude over one day in my first message is fairly typical of the last 10 weeks - a whole swarm under 3, one at 3.6 and one at 4.6. (They were a lot stronger and more frequent in the first week.
Under 2 would not even move tea in an over-full teacup, and they don't show in the list.
Up to about four might sound loud and rumbling, but would be unlikely to spill your tea.
From four to five you'll hear it and feel it, the cup will rattle and spill but is unlikely to fall over.
Up to 6 and your cup will probably shake out of the saucer and spill the tea.
Up to 7 and plaster from cracking walls and ceilings will get into the puddle of tea running over the table and onto the floor (down beside me under the table, possibly creating my own puddle.)
Over 7 and walking back to the kitchen for a fresh cup is possibly possible, but not a good idea at all as the kitchen may have decided on a spot of relocation.
Over 8? Well, the worst earthquake ever recorded reached 8.9 on the Richter Scale.
Here's a slightly more official list of strengths.
[
www.geography-site.co.uk]
And here's our weekly top quake over the last 11 weeks.
WeekOfYear MaxOfForce
36 - - 7.1
37 - - 5.4
38 - - 4.6
39 - - 4.6
40 - - 4.4
41 - - 5.2
42 - - 5.1
43 - - 5.0
44 - - 4.8
45 - - 4.5
46 - - 4.6
Edited to re-format list.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2010 10:31AM by MistyCat.