There would be no objections in claiming that human is the only creature who has extracted solution to every answer. Taking into consideration its reach to the Mars or redefining the meaning of artificial intelligence, the human has excelled in almost everything. However, one of the few things it is finding difficulty is predicting the timing of earthquakes. An earthquake struck in Virginia and was felt up and down the East Coast. Jerome Hajjar, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, assessed this earthquake and discussed how buildings in older cities such as Boston are equipped to resist events.
When asked if the East Coast due for an event like this, Hajjar opined that he was seldom surprised. The East Coast, stretching from Canada to Florida, has the potential for earthquakes, with the most likely locations for relatively large earthquakes being the South Carolina coast and the Quebec area. Because more significant earthquakes do not occur on the East Coast with the same frequency as they do in high seismic zones in other parts of the world, it is harder to determine the frequency and likely peak magnitude of these events. Still, the authorities don’t know that moderate and possibly more massive earthquakes (magnitudes greater than 6.0) are indeed possible and are potentially likely on the East Coast.
Engineers in Boston, New York, and other parts of the East Coast are undoubtedly aware of the potential for these types of hazards; that is why, how it is best to safeguard against earthquakes is often discussed on the state code committees and in the engineering community. We have the challenge of balancing the need to ensure safe construction while keeping in mind the public perception that the threat of earthquakes in this part of the country is low. As we saw yesterday – the danger is there and documented. Older cities are undoubtedly vulnerable to these events since portions of their infrastructure may not have been adequately assessed and retrofitted.
Harminder Singh