<p>I just saw on CNN recently that there was an earthquake in oregon and there have been close to 60 earthquakes supposedly in the pacific ocean. If the next big earthquake was to hit CA, wouldnt it hit berkeley hard? considering that the epicenter is right on Bowles hall...</p>
<p>is berkeley even prepared for the next big earthquake? i would be awfully scared if i was to dorm in one of the units, with a dorm in the top.</p>
<p>Recently retrofitted/new buildings are designed to withstand 7.0 earthquakes. That is around the threshold of how strong earthquakes can be caused by the faults running thru Berkeley. </p>
<p>Don't be at the wrong place at the wrong time ;) <em>cough</em>memorialstadium<em>cough</em></p>
<p>doesnt the fault line run right under memorial stadium?</p>
<p>and in the event that there was an earthquake... during some football game lets say... what exactly would happen? we of course would feel the shake... but would the entire thing collapse in on itself?</p>
<p>o and ya i also saw that report... but i think its about 600 documented earthquakes... and that supposedly it is usually indicative of volcanic activity, but there isnt a volcano in that area</p>
<p>Really, people make California's earthquakes into something much scarier than they really are. Really, compare our earthquakes to Southern hurricanes/thunderstorms/floods, Midwestern tornadoes, Northeastern blizzards, etc. They have well planned out earthquake evacuation routes and duck and cover drills - really, California earthquakes cause a lot more property than human damage, compared to other natural disasters. In other words, don't worry about earthquakes in your decision.</p>
<p>The thought of selecting a university on the basis of earthquake avoidance amuses me.</p>
<p>well in our defense, the news channels have all been talking about how the likelihood of an earthquake 6 or 7 or higher on the richter scale is like 100% in california... like 99 for southern and a little lower for northern) </p>
<p>(mind you, my facts need checking...)</p>
<p>Well, technically, the Southern San Andreas fault has a higher possiblity of having an earthquake. I heard that it's around 30% for Berkeley and 59% for LA.</p>
<p>I'm from the gulf and used to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, etc. </p>
<p>...but earthquakes still scare me.....haha</p>
<p>University may lose its prestige because of the earthquake.</p>
<p>^^^ how so?</p>
<p>Assume that the earthquake will be next year. Students will not choose it because of the earthquake. Professor may leave. University loses its students and professor. At the same time, after the earthquake, it needs to spend a lot of money in reconstruction; therefore, the university may not have the money to pay professors and its scholarships.</p>
<p>No offense, but that has got to be one of the most preposterous theories I have heard in a while. If this were the case, then all the schools in the region would suffer from the same issue...at the 6.7+ magnitude of quake level, people 100 miles away will feel significant shaking. This means not only Berkeley, but Stanford (which actually sits very very very very close to the San Andreas, which runs up the Peninsula near Interstate 280), would have similar issues, as would UCLA, USC, and other "international" schools that attract talent from across the globe. You would see a drastic decrease in "prestige" if your theory held true. I don't see this ever being the case...the Gulf Coast and southern East Coast are Hurricane Country; do people choose not to go to prestigious schools in that area such as UNC Chapel Hill? Hurricanes hit multiple times a year too. Do people choose not to go Midwest due to it being Tornado Country? Do people choose not to go to the Northeast due to massive snowstorms?</p>
<p>You can't assume the earthquake will be next year. The figure is for the next 30 years. I seriously doubt more than a double digit figure of students will choose not to go to Berkeley due to earthquake risk.</p>
<p>In fact, I just assume. Now nobody can be sure when the earthquake will come. How about one month after the earthquake occurs? The building of the campus may be able to sustain the earthquake. However, the surrounding will not. First, the city is not attractive as before. Second, it takes time and money to rebuild the whole city, so that people have some places to live, especially students and professors whose houses may be destroyed in the earthquake. While the university loses its students because of that, its rank may drop.</p>
<p>The thing with earthquakes that people fear is their unexpected nature. Most natural disasters can be given warnings for, but earthquakes are totally random and unexpected and so you can't prepare.</p>
<p>
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The thought of selecting a university on the basis of earthquake avoidance amuses me.
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</p>
<p>I somewhat agree- but is it really all that ridiculous? I specifically didn't even consider schools along the gulf/ in Florida to avoid hurricanes. And you can run from hurricanes- you can't run from a 7.0 earthquake. (Evacuation routes- ha!)</p>
<p>yeah you cant run away or predict them....things you can do for hurricanes.....</p>
<p>"Recently retrofitted/new buildings are designed to withstand 7.0 earthquakes. That is around the threshold of how strong earthquakes can be caused by the faults running thru Berkeley."</p>
<p>So, in the event of a catastrophic earthquake while I'm walking through campus, I should run into the new East Asian Library? If not, what buildings do you recommend?
Hehe</p>
<p>Actually, the safest building is the Campanile! (no joke)</p>
<p>For info on recent earthquakes in California and the vicinity, go to:</p>
<p>Recent</a> Earthquake Information</p>
<p>To the first poster, I'd rather be on a higher than lower floor during an earthquake, since lower floors tend to be squished by upper floors! On the other hand, the higher up you are, the more the building sways.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if this thread started as a result of the recent news release of a new study --</p>
<p>this is the funniest s h i t i have seen on this whole forum...wow....amazing...lets turn down UCB because of earthquakes!!! hahahahah!!! hey buddy, donjuan78, you are a complete idiot...</p>
<p>ahhahaha</p>
<p>i think i just died laughing</p>