Poems to Write: The Big One
Sep. 4th, 2018 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThese are some of my raw notes for The Big One, primarily characters and threads. Anyone can prompt for these scenes and be confident that they won't conflict with something else.
SPOILERS! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!
Characters and Threads
Aidan and Drew:
They are in Avery, California. The earthquake is 3.0-3.9 with intensity III, only light shaking and no damage. It only lasts a few seconds.
But then Aidan keels over and Saraphina starts crying. Saraphina's cousin Josué takes care of her while Drew calls Aidan's emergency number for backup. Aidan turns out to be mostly fine, just upset by what happened farther away.
"What happened?" Drew asked.
"I felt a great many souls suddenly ripped out of place," Aidan said. "It was distressing and disorienting."
"Did you seriously just pull an Obi-Wan Kenobi on me?" Drew said.
"What?" Aidan said. "Oh, that movie that came out a few years ago. Yes, I suppose I did. I'm sorry for scaring you."
"Aidan ... the first Star Wars movie came out before I was born."
Once Aidan recovers, he'll start helping with recovery efforts. He advises people to match up refugees with complementary losses: orphans with childless parents, families that lost a father with families that lost a mother, and so on.
Heidi and her coworkers are okay, but a tree fell on the social services office building. Aidan uses his contacts to have a modular office building teleported in, because then they'll have a functional social services team again.
3.0 – 3.9 about 100,000 II – III minor – noticed by a few people
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Aquariana and the whales:
Aquariana and the whales are in the Maldives, perfectly safe.
The President makes an announcement through the communication network: "There has been a terrible earthquake on the West Coast of America. All citizens with Abd-Raheem status, please report to your service center. All citizens with Abd-Qadir status, please stand by for individual instructions. Everyone else, please include our friends from America in your prayers." Aquariana starts heading toward the President's Office. Other people start swarming toward the mosques. Two boys run out of the nearest one to put up a table with a sign that reads, "Zakat for Earthquake Relief."
The President calls Aquariana and asks her to come to his office, where he is organizing some of the soups for relief efforts. Dr. Infanta volunteers to go to the hospital and take care of the wounded brought in by teleporters. She also announces that the supervillains are sending the hospital ship Restitution to Los Angeles by way of Nautilus. Los Angeles has a 7.8 earthquake with intensity X shaking that lasts for 55 seconds. The President assigns Aquariana and the whale to go to Los Angeles and help with short-term marine rescue of ships damaged at dock or near shore. Seth stays in the Maldives to help coordinate efforts there. The Maldives offers to take in refugees, especially soups, Muslims, and people connected with Maldivian citizens or other residents.
After spending a few hours cleaning up, Aquariana and the whales retire to rest. Then they teleport to Japan to protect Taiji from the tsunami.
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Abd-Qadir -- a common Islamic term for someone with superpowers. It means Servant of the All-Powerful. The implication is that, as humans are reflections of Allah and His virtues, some are reflecting individual and differing aspects of His universal power. Some use the term only for Muslims, while others use it for everyone, largely depending on whether they see God only in other Muslims or in the whole of humanity. As a volunteer group, the Abd-Qadir use their superpowers for emergency services, much like the Abd-Raheem.
القادر Al-Qadir
The All-Powerful, He Who is able to do Everything
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Islam
http://www.answering-islam.org/Index/N/names_of_allah.html
Abd-Raheem -- citizens in the Republic of the Maldives who have volunteered to assist in case of emergency. The name means something like Servant of the Most Compassionate, a reference to Al-Raheem as a title of God ... which Muslims are not actually supposed to use by themselves without tempering it, but a quick search online shows it plastered all over the place. When moving through a disaster scene they shout, "B-ismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi!" (بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ) "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful!" Arabic is widely understood throughout most of the Muslim world, but at home in the Maldives, they also use Dhivehi. It's like how people in Terramagne-America holler "Emergency Services!" or the name of their department to let victims know who's coming.
https://zehrarisale.com/2015/01/05/the-second-station-of-the-fourteenth-flash-part-2/
http://www.themasjid.org/names-of-allah-al-rahman-al-raheem/
http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15122001/1512200144.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basmala
The Archivist:
She is in Rain City, where the earthquake hits 9.2 with intensity XII, hard enough to bounce people and objects off the ground, total devastation. It lasts for 5 minutes 15 seconds. Even some specially reinforced structures have failed, and everything less robust is rubble. Roads and bridges are demolished.
When the earthquake arrives, the Archivist is chatting with two Native American friends in the TV room. One of them yells, "Thunderbird and Whale are fighting! Take cover!" She pushes him under the coffee table and hides with the other under her corner desk.
When the shaking finally stops, outside is a mess. Except the Archivist's 2-story monolithic dome home with flowglass windows comes through without a scratch. Some of the contents are damaged, but the house is fine. She sends a picture of it to the manufacturer, who posts it on their website with the caption "Built like a brick ..." and an image of an outhouse. The Archivist turns her home into a rescue hub for West Coast soups as well as her neighbors.
Earthquake-resistant Furniture
https://www.lifeguardstructures.com/products/
Bennett and Jules:
Bennett and Jules are in San José, California, where the earthquake is 7.4 with intensity IX. The shaking lasts for 40 seconds. Even reinforced structures take damage, and unprepared ones collapse in places. Some buildings shift off their foundations. Due to damaged roads and airports, the city is largely cut off from outside aid. The closest surviving city of note is San Francisco, but it has its own problems after a 6.8 earthquake at 4 PM there.
Joshua and his kids are in Mercedes, where the earthquake at 4:00:15 PM is 3.9 with intensity III, enough to rattle things slightly. The shaking only lasts a few seconds. The only damage is to things already unstable (like a chipped window breaking) or precarious (like a sloppy pile of books falling over).
Pips is far away at the time of the quake; this is after he has left Joshua's family.
The earthquake leaves Bennett and Jules alive, but somewhat the worse for wear. Jules is half-buried under rubble with injured ankles. Bennett shreds his hands trying to dig Jules out without tools.
Meanwhile, Pips goes to Mercedes and asks Joshua to give him the kids to keep in a secure bunker, and Joshua agrees. So the teleporter takes Pips and the children to a bunker, and then takes Joshua to San José to search for Bennett and Jules. Following the trace from Joshua, but not knowing them personally, the teleporter can only get Joshua to their general vicinity, not right next to them.
Eventually Joshua finds Bennett and Jules. Joshua realizes that neither of them have life-threatening injuries, but they also can't easily take care of themselves or either in that condition. So he asks Pips to take Bennett and Jules, which Pips gladly does.
dialecticdreamer is writing the earthquake from the perspective of Bennett and Jules.
San José 7.4 earthquake with intensity IX. The shaking lasts for 40 seconds.
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Mercedes has a 3.9 earthquake at 4:00:15 PM with intensity III.
3.0 – 3.9 about 100,000 II – III minor – noticed by a few people
II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings.
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Calliope and Vagary:
They are in Oklahoma when the earthquake happens, perfectly safe.
(This happens after the point when they have attempted to break the bond, Calliope called it off, and they're getting to where they can work together tolerably well.)
Both of their smartphones go off.
"Both of us at the same time, that can't be good," Vagary muttered.
"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it," Calliope said. She looked at her phone and swore in Chickasaw. "The West Coast is ... gone."
"We're more use together than apart," Vagary said. "Your side or mine?"
Calliope hesitated for a moment. "Yours," she said firmly. "Everyone and their search dog will be pouring in to help the white capes and civilians. Someone needs to cover the gray capes and the supervillains, who won't get a fraction of that help. Tell your friends that we'll go wherever they need us."
"Bless you," Vagary said. "I'll log us in."
They wind up in Rain City, where the earthquake hit at 3:58 PM with magnitude 9.2 and intensity XII, hard enough to bounce people and objects off the ground, total devastation. It lasted for 5 minutes 15 seconds. Even some specially reinforced structures have failed, and everything less robust is rubble. Roads and bridges are demolished. As a Phasing team, Calliope and Vagary are assigned to deep-search collapsed buildings in search of survivors.
When they get to the Martha Washington Montessori School for Gifted Girls, formerly supported by Kraken, they find it completely collapsed. They work to extract survivors, but few people make it out alive. The school had been holding an open house on Memorial Day weekend so the current students could show prospective applicants what made it so wonderful. After Calliope and Vagary bring out the last survivors, the emergency workers make them clock out. Calliope protests that they've only been working a few hours, but the rule is that nobody works longer than a 4-hour shift in a disaster this bad, and anyone who works a really bad scene -- like one full of dead children -- gets clocked out immediately afterward.
Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Martha Washington School for Girls
http://www.historylink.org/File/10556
9.0 and above < 1 XI – XII great – extensive damage over broad areas, most buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Rails bent greatly.
XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted. Objects thrown into the air.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Dr. Infanta:
She is in the Maldives, perfectly safe.
She volunteers to help at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Malé. "Send me the most hopeless cases."
Dvorak and Qwerty:
They are in Seaside, Oregon. The earthquake is 9.1 with intensity XII, hard enough to bounce people and objects off the ground, total devastation. It lasts for 5 minutes.
Qwerty and Dvorak have been staying in Seaside. Dvorak arrived first, attracted to the large number of retirees to fleece with computer scams. She owns a timeshare, so she has no trouble booking a 1-bedroom condo in the Resort at Seaside. Qwerty tracked her to the town and booked a shitty studio at the Motel 6. They've rambled all over town, and Qwerty caught up to Dvorak on the beach near the Turnaround.
They're running up Broadway Street when the earthquake hits. Both the Shilo Hotel and the Resort at Seaside give way in the quake. Dvorak breaks her leg, and tells Qwerty to leave her, but Qwerty refuses. Instead, Qwerty splints the injury and starts dragging Dvorak up the evacuation route. But the roads are shattered and all the bridges are either damaged (retrofitted) or destroyed (everything else). Someone runs past them at super-speed, on fire. Qwerty keeps trying to reach her contacts, and finally gets enough of a signal to summon a teleporter friend, who jumps Qwerty and Dvorak to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Malé, Republic of the Maldives.
9.0 and above < 1 XI – XII great – extensive damage over broad areas, most buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Rails bent greatly.
XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted. Objects thrown into the air.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Iron Horses:
The Iron Horses are in Montana when the West Coast earthquake hits, perfectly safe. She Walks in Mist is visiting Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, hiking with tribal friends to see the Shoshone Geyser Basin, which has an earthquake and hydrothermal event of its own.
Ben Big Rock is worried about his relatives, having gotten odd flashes of vision leading up to the event but nothing he could pin down. He and some of the other Iron Horses get weird feelings as the earthquake echoes through the crust, even though the ground doesn't shake in their area. Joseph Elkdog makes everyone stop and get off their bikes, but when nothing else happens, they turn and head for home.
In the middle of the park, the earthquake is 6.0 with intensity VII, strong shaking with some damage. It lasts about 20 seconds. At the Shoshone Geyser Basin, it's 4.0 with intensity IV, with light shaking. It can be felt for about 10 seconds, although not all the waves are tangible for humans. The caldera goes berserk. All the geysers erupt violently, pools boil over, and fumaroles steamwhistle. She Walks in Mist says, "I'm sorry, I have to go." Then she steps into the nearest pool. Shortly thereafter, the waters become quiet and the ground stills. Her friends wait, and wait, but she doesn't rematerialize. Distraught, they call her family.
Joseph hears about his sister's disappearance and is just shattered.
The Iron Horses travel to California to help Ben's Miwok relatives at the Graton Rancheria and Graton Reservation, where the earthquake was 6.5. The shaking was less in the hills, but still did significant damage to some buildings that were not designed to withstand it.
It is only much later that She Walks in Mist manages to rematerialize. She can't leave the caldera -- but she's not alone. With her is the spirit of a man who stepped into the pool to stop another boil-over hundreds of years ago. Joseph is just thrilled that his sister is still alive.
Earthquake at Graton Rancheria and Graton Reservation 6.5
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Earthquake near center of park
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Earthquake at Shoshone Geyser Basin
4.0 – 4.9 about 10,000 IV – V light – felt by many people, minor damage possible
IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At night, some awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably.
V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows broken. Unstable objects overturned. Pendulum clocks may stop.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Jerryrigger:
She is in Los Altos Hills. The earthquake is 7.8 with intensity X, many buildings destroyed, even well-built ones damaged. The shaking lasts for 50 seconds.
She gets involved with digging out the Ventana School.
Los Altos Hills
https://www.thefinancialword.com/10-wealthiest-neighborhoods-california/8/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Altos,_California
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Joshua and Pips:
Joshua and his children are in Mercedes, California. The earthquake at 4:00:15 PM is 3.9 with intensity III, enough to rattle things slightly. The shaking only lasts a few seconds. The only damage is to things already unstable (like a chipped window breaking) or precarious (like a sloppy pile of books falling over). Pips is far away at the time of the quake. Bennett and Jules are visiting San José, where the quake is 7.4 with intensity IX, considerable damage even in well-designed buildings.
Then the reports begin to pour in from elsewhere along the West Coast. Joshua is frantic because he wants to help but the kids are upset. California needs every first responder it can get, but he won't leave the kids and the little ones won't calm down. Then Pips shows up. He asks Joshua to give him the kids to keep in a secure bunker, and offers Joshua a Kraken-issue personal safety tracker. Joshua agrees. So the teleporter takes Pips and the children to a bunker, and then takes Joshua to San José.
Eventually Joshua finds Bennett and Jules. Both are alive, somewhat the worse for wear. Jules is half-buried under rubble with injured ankles. Bennett has shredded his hands trying to dig Jules out without tools. Joshua gets ahold of Pips and asks him to take Bennett and Jules, which Pips gladly does.
Avery 3.9 earthquake with intensity III.
3.0 – 3.9 about 100,000 II – III minor – noticed by a few people
II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings.
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
San José 7.4 earthquake with intensity IX. The shaking lasts for 40 seconds.
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Junket:
He is in the SPOON building in San Bernardino when the earthquake hits, as detailed in "The Oldest Associations." The magnitude there is in the high sevens, probably 7.7 or 7.8. This typically correlates to level X intensity, with buildings damaged or destroyed. It lasts for 53 seconds. Much of the damage in this area happens due to poor preparation. Many buildings, roads, and other structures have not been reinforced at all, so they readily fail in a significant earthquake. San Bernardino has plenty of hospitals, but many are damaged, some beyond use. They are quickly overwhelmed with casualties and attempt to evacuate people as feasible. Some roads and bridges are damaged, but others may be passable. This is about as far west as the roads might still run.
At the end of the day, Junket and Kay teleport to Tulsa, Oklahoma to stay with Walter as detailed in "The Sustaining Bonds."
The day after the earthquake, Walter asks Junket for ideas on how he can help with the rescue efforts. Junket suggests sending emergency equipment as well as money. Kay takes Junket to a clinic for his injuries. It doesn't take much to treat those, but afterwards he really wants to get out of there, so he triest to hurry. And then he bounces off the door. Kay and the doctor are worried about him, and talk him into staying a little while for observation. It turns out that Junket is developing super-speed, which kind of freaks him out.
Walter's son Fraser starts the ball rolling to replace West Coast structures with domes. He also invites a female friend from college to stay in his room at his parents' house. She in San Francisco when the earthquake hits at 4 PM, and her head is still ringing from the Deep Old One shouting a telepathic alarm.
3.0-3.9 Earthquake in Avery and Mercedes. The shaking only lasts for a few seconds.
"Gone the Sun" will cover Granny Whammy's funeral.
Mallory and Heron:
They are in Urbanburg, and perfectly safe.
When the alert comes through about the earthquake, Mallory grabs her computer to check on the Finns and tells Heron that he needs to log in as safe so the rest of the family will know that. Then she laughs, because the Shepherd's Pebbles -- the BlackSheep safety register -- has a banner scrolling across the top in inch-high letters: "THE FINNS ARE FINE." It turns out that Capricorn hacked what was left of the internet to check their status and register it as an observer. Heron still needs to log in personally to confirm it, but at least they know the family is safe.
"Ace of Ages"
After hearing that the Deep Old One warned San Francisco of the pending earthquake, Heron becomes fascinated. The oldest living creature is asexual -- all of the Deep Old Ones are necessarily ace due to the terminal reproductive strategy of their assorted species. So now Heron wants to meet her.
Officer Pink:
He is in Bluehill, Missouri when the earthquake hits and is perfectly safe.
Ansel and Turq help the refugees inbound from the West Coast. People at the Christian Care Rescue Mission also pitch in.
Conrad offers to host some of the veterans on his farm, particularly the ones who cope with stress by finding something constructive to do. The military is calling around to veterans asking them to help with recovery or logistical efforts, and he is happy to pitch in. Conrad and his family are used to playing disaster preparedness games among his massive collection.
https://www.climateinteractive.org/policy-exercises-and-serious-games/play-these-two-games-for-climate-adaptation/ (climate game, flood resilience game)
The Marionettes move some of their West Coast allies into properties they have bought in Bluehill through Ironclad Concern, scrambling to finish off the ones closest to habitability. Montay Peyton helps them with local knowledge. This is one of the places where community gardening really takes off.
[See "Whose Qualities Are Thwarted."]
Shiv:
He is in Omaha, Nebraska when the earthquake hits and is perfectly safe.
When Boss White finds out about the Cascadia Cataclysm, he offers to shelter any of the West Coast musicians who have performed at Blues Moon. They have a flop room and a guest apartment above the club, where some people stay.
Shiv shares his public housing apartment with three musicians. Two are brothers who can share the bed, and the other can sleep on the flip chair. Shiv picks up the baby jade sprouts raining off the parent plant, and takes them to his favorite greenhouse in hopes of getting one potted up. The owner is thrilled, because so many people are buying plants as housewarming gifts that he's running out. This gives him the idea to reach out to his regular customers and see if they'll share starts from their plants.
Eventually, Shiv goes looking for a new art studio so that he can let the other guys have his old public housing apartment. He winds up at Hanson Hall.
https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/4789541.html
Skink:
He is in Las Vegas, Nevada where the earthquake is barely felt at 3.0 with an intensity of III, only minor vibration and little if any disturbance of objects. The shaking only lasts a few seconds. So Las Vegas gets the casualty flow from southern Californian cities including Barstow, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It's the biggest city across the state line.
In Barstow, California the earthquake is 4.5 with intensity V, light shaking but little if any damage. It can handle its own trivial injuries, but not the deluge pouring in from coastal California, so it passes the buck to Las Vegas.
In San Bernardino, the magnitude is in the high sevens, probably 7.7 or 7.8. This typically correlates to level X intensity, with buildings damaged or destroyed. It lasts for 53 seconds. Much of the damage in this area happens due to poor preparation. Many buildings, roads, and other structures have not been reinforced at all, so they readily fail in a significant earthquake. San Bernardino has plenty of hospitals, but many are damaged, some beyond use. They are quickly overwhelmed with casualties and attempt to evacuate people as feasible. Some roads and bridges are damaged, but others may be passable. This is about as far west as the roads might still run.
In Claremont, the earthquake is 7.7 with intensity X. It lasts for 50 seconds. Even specially designed structures are damaged or destroyed, lesser ones wrecked along with their foundations.
In Los Angeles the earthquake is 7.8 with intensity X shaking, destroying many buildings. It lasts for 55 seconds. Even well-built structures are damaged, and unprepared ones crumble. They have many hospitals, and better retrofitting, but they still take a lot of damage and can't accommodate all the casualties. But so much of the infrastructure is damaged or destroyed that the only practical ways out are air or teleport.
In San Diego, the earthquake is 7.3 with intensity IX at 4:02 PM. Even well-built structures are damaged, while unprepared ones are destroyed. Because San Diego has not experienced many strong earthquakes, a lot of the older buildings collapsed. Most residents live within 15 miles of the fault, resulting in many injuries. The earthquake along the Rose Canyon Fault extends offshore, creating a tsunami that reaches the city within minutes. Little of San Diego lies in the inundation zone, so casualties are not too bad.
Skink is part of the distant emergency response. He actually notices the earthquake before the waves reach Las Vegas: "My lizard is going nuts." Rizal gets on his computer and checks first the hospital, then the local, and finally the national emergency channels. When he first sees the earthquake reports, he tells Skink to run for the emergency room, knowing that southern California will pour its casualties into Las Vegas. Moments after they start running, the hospital alarms go off as the surge plan activates in anticipation of the casualties. All elective plans are cancelled. After Skink heals the first amputation, he realizes that there are others within reach. One of them is an Australian girl only five years old. So he tries healing as many amputations as possible, until he passes out.
Rizal is pissed with Skink for working himself to collapse. Skink is panicky because, by the next morning, his hand is just beginning to grow back. The Australian family sends witchetty grubs, which help him recover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchetty_grub
Stylet:
He is in Easy City when the earthquake hits, perfectly safe.
He calls his adjudicator and says, "Put the goats in the cooker." The adjudictor is baffled, so Stylet walks him through the menu to the right file. It turns out that Stylet has made giant black goats on commission from ScarpGat users, the size of a horse but much more sure-footed. They can be speed-grown to birth in two weeks, and mature size two weeks after that, but they do still require training -- unless you have someone with Animal Control or the like. The adjudicator asks, "Why not just do it yourself?" Stylet said, "Because I'm still not allowed to make vertebrates." "You are now." So then Stylet melts down and his advocate has to put him back together and chews out the adjudicator for dropping that on Stylet with no warning. But they do get the project going, and Stylet makes giant white goats to carry emergency supplies through the ruins of the West Coast. He even manages to buy back a few black ones from ScarpGat clients for immediate deployment.
Syncope and her housemates:
They are in San-Francisco. The Deep Old One sends a telepathic warning two minutes before the earthquake arrives. where the earthquake is 6.8 with an intensity of IX. A grove of redwoods in Muir Woods reduces the local earthquake from 7.8 to 6.8. The shaking of the main quake, not counting aftershocks, lasts for 40 seconds. The intensity is IX, with some damage to well-built structures and great damage to unprepared ones. Fortunately, San Francisco has invested heavily in quake-resistant architecture and retrofitting, so it fares better than many other cities.
They have wheelchair-accessible earthquake-resistant furniture. Nobody has more than scrapes and bruises. The house is intact but some parts are bent off-true, and nobody wants to use the elevator.
Earthquake-resistant Furniture
https://www.storage98110.com/new-lgs/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Products_2016sm.pdf
https://www.lifeguardstructures.com/
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Other Scenes
Hummingbird Caravansary is a cooperative owned by migrant workers who follow the western stream. Its home base is located in central Washington, around Ellensburg in Kittitas County. They spend the winter there, then when the farmwork season begins, they caravan down to southern Texas. From there, they work their way north, following the crop sequence. There are currently two other caravansaries for migrant workers; the midwestern stream has Monarch Caravansary in northern Minnesota and the East Coast stream has Warbler Caravansary in eastern Maine. Ellensburg has a 6.7 earthquake with intensity IX, with substantial damage to well-built structures and worse to everything less. The shaking lasts for 35 seconds.
At Hummingbird Caravansary, most of the cabins dance themselves off their foundations. Many of the nice concrete slabs for RVs crack or crumble. Ironically, the cheaper gravel parking spaces are fine, as are the grassy areas for open camping. The service connections from the Ellensburg utilities are cut and connections to individual parking places are damaged. However, the caravansary's sewage system feeds into a marsh filter that lets into a reservoir, which is undamaged. The pumphouse and its UV rig are wrecked, but that's all drop-in equipment, easily replaced.
Pacific Flyway (various hummingbirds)
https://www.perkypet.com/articles/pacific-flyway-migration
Washington Map with Counties and Towns
https://www.maps-of-the-usa.com/maps/usa/washington/large-administrative-map-of-washington-state-with-roads-highways-and-cities.jpg
Washington Cascadia Earthquake Map
https://media.king5.com/assets/KING/images/e646f95b-99bf-4fd0-9639-10221131c8f3/e646f95b-99bf-4fd0-9639-10221131c8f3.jpg
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
http://afop.org/cif/learn-the-facts/
Migration of Farm Workers Map
http://afop.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/CIF-Page-2B1.jpg
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Earthquake Songs
"Day After Day" (playing in Los Angeles when the earthquake hits)
https://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/d/dayafterdayshango.html
https://archives.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2010/10/27/top-8-songs-to-listen-to-during-the-next-earthquake
https://ask.metafilter.com/192759/Songs-about-California-falling-into-the-ocean
New Manifestations
Super-Speed
Teleportation
Healing
Earth Powers
Thunderbird Form
Random Factors
For purposes of randomly generating which structures fail in an earthquake, where specific projections are not available, translate the magnitude to a percentage and roll 1d100. So a structure threatened by a 7.8 earthquake would have a 78% chance of failing. Roll 79 or higher on 1d100 and the structure survives. Modifiers may be used to reflect retrofitting or earthquake-resistant construction, or conversely, old structures especially susceptible to damage. You can also set a range for partial damage, say 10-20% above and below the pinpoint. Make the window narrower for lower magnitude and wider for higher magnitude.
https://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm
Aftermath
Terramagne-America doesn't have FEMA. Instead it has the far more effective Governmental Emergency Management. GEM trains people to handle various kinds of crisis and deploys them at need. It stockpiles emergency supplies, from personal kits to bulk goods to mobile offices and modular homes that can be dropped into place as soon as possible after a disaster. GEM emergency housing is rated to last for at least 20 years, and different models are designed to withstand local hazards across all the regions in America.
"The Mother of Trees to Come"
A woman decides to give up on her previous efforts to start a family, and adopts redwood seedlings by digging them out of unsafe places after the earthquake and moving them to her yard.
In response to the near-total loss of West Coast agriculture in 2016 -- which is 35% of America's vegetable production and 64% of its fruit -- the United States Department of Agriculture launches the Recovery Garden program encouraging everyone to plant a garden if they can. It quickly outstrips the old Victory Garden program from World War II, due to advances in small-scale gardening such as tabletop gardens and hydroponics. Happy Hearts Television promptly launches the show Crockette's Recovery Garden, which proves enormously popular. The USDA also pours money into the Corn Belt and Cotton Belt to encourage farmers to plant fruit and vegetable crops instead of their usual cash crops. Making a fast switch is difficult, and can't make up all the losses, but since it's right at the start of the growing season there's time to compensate considerably. Community Supported Agriculture experiences a huge boom in demand. It's too late for large-scale expansion this year, but again the USDA steps in with massive assistance programs to support as much expansion as possible. Most CSA poll members to see if people are willing to take smaller shares, allowing more households to get at least some fresh produce, and a majority of memberships vote in favor.
Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese-American company that offers nature therapy. The name means "forest bathing." Guided walks are available, and the home page of the website has short poems on different aspects of restoration. In T-America, there are also open woods days when members can walk through the forest on their own, and daily classes in the visitor center. Their neighbors include a tea house and a small Buddhist temple. Shinrin-yoku is one of the few companies on the West Coast to meet the Cascadia Cataclysm with resilience instead of collapse. None of the employees leave, probably because they're either Japanese or Japanese-American and Japan has a long familiarity with earthquakes and tsunamis. Originally, they offer access to a bamboo forest consisting primarily of temple bamboo with groves of chocolate bamboo and goddess bamboo, along with various other species in the understory. Two other properties feature a native Californian forests: one of live oak, California buckey, and bay laurel; the other with juniper, pine, red alder, white alder, poplar, and willow. After the disaster, Shinrin-yoku buys property in the Panoramic neighborhood of Mill Valley in Marin County, where many elderly residents flee the state never to return. The company then petitions the government for some adjacent properties, focusing on those containing redwood trees. They bundle all the plots together to form a new nature park, which becomes enormously popular with emergency workers, many of whom move into the vacated properties nearby. Due to the proximate assistance from Muir Woods, this area has sustained the least damage from the earthquake, leaving utilities intact or barely impaired. This makes it a precious refuge in a region battered by disasters.
http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_therapy
http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/programs.html
http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/bamboo/
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/plants/semiarundinaria-fastuosa/ (temple bamboo)
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/plants/borinda-fungosa/ (chocolate bamboo)
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/plants/bambusa-alphonse-karr/ (goddess bamboo)
http://www.trampsofsanfrancisco.com/a-foresting-we-will-go-a-history-of-trees-in-san-francisco/
https://nextdoor.com/neighborhood/panoramic--mill-valley--ca/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_Valley,_California
9NT is a San Francisco organization supported by the University of California, Berkeley. It offers nine programming tracks, one of each of the nine intelligence types, along with testing to identify your stronger and weaker intelligences. For children, programs focus on play and learning activities with a sprinkling of current events. For adults, programs include multiple intelligences on the job and current events through the lens of each intelligence, along with how to teach to all nine intelligences for teachers and parents. Public performances and presentations help to attract new participants to classes, lessons, and other activities. After the Cascadia Cataclysm, the Berkeley campus is largely destroyed, but 9NT continues. Out-of-state members update the website with lessons and other materials about the disaster formulated for each intelligence. This helps all different kinds of people process it in their own ways.
http://thetutorreport.com/howard-gardners-9-types-intelligence/
https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/multiple_intelligences/#.W5Gozc5Kg4c
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=251
https://www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/EJ985547.pdf (play) https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/clip-save-checklist-
learning-activities-connect-multiple-intelligences/
http://www.teachhub.com/5-brilliant-tips-teaching-current-events-younger-students
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/teach/ami_theory.pdf (adults)
https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/assets/look-inside/9781904424659.pdf (multiple intelligences in the workplace)
https://connection.sagepub.com/blog/sage-connection/2016/12/08/10-ways-to-integrate-current-events-into-classes/
https://www.lauracandler.com/mi-theory-growth-mindset/ (teachers)
https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/9-unique-ways-to-be-amazingly-smart/
I found the downline organization that bridges the gaps for superpowers. They're not live before the Cascadia Cataclysm. We're looking at pieces of what will become ESSENCE: Emergency Superpower Services Essential Neutrality Coalition of Exchanges. What we have now are a bunch of small local services/coalitions/exchanges made of soups and their allies who specialize in different crisis control operations, along with larger organizations which have an official cape alignment even if they all do some networking across the lines but under the table. What Terramagne needs is a way to connect all those soup resources to mobilize the planet's greatest resources in case of catastrophe.
The President of the Maldives is the one who pulls the emergency handle on that situation, mobilizing the (by now considerable) soup resources of his nation to respond when the west coast of America goes smash. And through those connection, effectively extends throughout a majority of the principled soups in the world. It's not perfect, it's not cohesive, but it gets the job done. ESSENCE is what arises out of that, both from the contacts people make in action and from the realization that a more codified version of this would be to everyone's benefit. Because it's growing out of medical neutrality, which is something Terramagne folks respect, it can evolve with minimal political complications. It's what SPOON almost was, what it was originally trying to be, before Granny Whammy's steadfast alignment pulled it onto the white side of the cape.
Hertha makes a surprise comeback as a girl's name, and Rocky surges in popularity for boys, over the following year.
After the Cascadia Cataclysm, the West Coast is changed forever. The coastline looks different because subsidence and other factors changed the outline. New laws are quickly established to prevent people from building vulnerable structures or rebuilding at all in some areas, and requiring people to use maximally safe structures such as domes as much as feasible. Population shifts significantly inland. The smaller towns that got totalled are completely abandoned, such as Ocean Shores, Washington and Seaside, Oregon. Substantial parts of the new coastline are set aside in national parks, some designated for specific purposes such as restoring redwood forests or salmon watersheds.
* * *
Additional Resources
Calendar for 2016
The Cascadia Cataclysm happens on the afternoon of Saturday, May 28, 2016 (Memorial Day weekend).
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?country=1&year=2016
America Population Dotmap
https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/trX5tiX8eIiK3f3yEsWxe9CEcGE=/800x600/filters:no_upscale()/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/2013082012302308_20_2013_population-America.jpg
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-map-with-a-dot-for-every-american-shows-the-countrys-racial-divisions-432230/
America Earthquake and Population Map
https://prd-wret.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/Map%20-%20Population%20and%20Ground%20Shaking.jpg?itok=1YilTeVm
Earthquakes
https://web.archive.org/web/20160302055716/http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/earthsc202notes/quakes.htm
North America Faults
http://quake06.stanford.edu/centennial/tour/images/11-06-fig6.jpg
North America Fault Types
https://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/migrated/CUS934.gif
Cascadia Subduction Zone
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a major part of the Ring of Fire which encircles much of the Pacific Ocean, a loop of terrain prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Because the crust is a jumble of comparatively thin plates rubbing together, and faults can form long branching lines, it is possible for an earthquake in one place to trigger quakes in other places along the line, although scientists have not paid much attention to this. But you can see analogs in any crackle system, such as ice on a lake, where disturbing one part of it can destabilize something quite far away. Since Cascadia is over 315 years into a 234-year cycle, it's overdue for action, which makes the probability of a megaquake high -- and the longer the pressure builds up before releasing, the worse it tends to get when it does let go.
https://pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/csz
http://www.crystalinks.com/rof.html
https://www.opb.org/news/series/unprepared/meet-the-really-big-one-the-northwest-imminent-megaquake/ (overdue)
SPOILERS! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!
Characters and Threads
Aidan and Drew:
They are in Avery, California. The earthquake is 3.0-3.9 with intensity III, only light shaking and no damage. It only lasts a few seconds.
But then Aidan keels over and Saraphina starts crying. Saraphina's cousin Josué takes care of her while Drew calls Aidan's emergency number for backup. Aidan turns out to be mostly fine, just upset by what happened farther away.
"What happened?" Drew asked.
"I felt a great many souls suddenly ripped out of place," Aidan said. "It was distressing and disorienting."
"Did you seriously just pull an Obi-Wan Kenobi on me?" Drew said.
"What?" Aidan said. "Oh, that movie that came out a few years ago. Yes, I suppose I did. I'm sorry for scaring you."
"Aidan ... the first Star Wars movie came out before I was born."
Once Aidan recovers, he'll start helping with recovery efforts. He advises people to match up refugees with complementary losses: orphans with childless parents, families that lost a father with families that lost a mother, and so on.
Heidi and her coworkers are okay, but a tree fell on the social services office building. Aidan uses his contacts to have a modular office building teleported in, because then they'll have a functional social services team again.
3.0 – 3.9 about 100,000 II – III minor – noticed by a few people
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Aquariana and the whales:
Aquariana and the whales are in the Maldives, perfectly safe.
The President makes an announcement through the communication network: "There has been a terrible earthquake on the West Coast of America. All citizens with Abd-Raheem status, please report to your service center. All citizens with Abd-Qadir status, please stand by for individual instructions. Everyone else, please include our friends from America in your prayers." Aquariana starts heading toward the President's Office. Other people start swarming toward the mosques. Two boys run out of the nearest one to put up a table with a sign that reads, "Zakat for Earthquake Relief."
The President calls Aquariana and asks her to come to his office, where he is organizing some of the soups for relief efforts. Dr. Infanta volunteers to go to the hospital and take care of the wounded brought in by teleporters. She also announces that the supervillains are sending the hospital ship Restitution to Los Angeles by way of Nautilus. Los Angeles has a 7.8 earthquake with intensity X shaking that lasts for 55 seconds. The President assigns Aquariana and the whale to go to Los Angeles and help with short-term marine rescue of ships damaged at dock or near shore. Seth stays in the Maldives to help coordinate efforts there. The Maldives offers to take in refugees, especially soups, Muslims, and people connected with Maldivian citizens or other residents.
After spending a few hours cleaning up, Aquariana and the whales retire to rest. Then they teleport to Japan to protect Taiji from the tsunami.
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Abd-Qadir -- a common Islamic term for someone with superpowers. It means Servant of the All-Powerful. The implication is that, as humans are reflections of Allah and His virtues, some are reflecting individual and differing aspects of His universal power. Some use the term only for Muslims, while others use it for everyone, largely depending on whether they see God only in other Muslims or in the whole of humanity. As a volunteer group, the Abd-Qadir use their superpowers for emergency services, much like the Abd-Raheem.
القادر Al-Qadir
The All-Powerful, He Who is able to do Everything
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Islam
http://www.answering-islam.org/Index/N/names_of_allah.html
Abd-Raheem -- citizens in the Republic of the Maldives who have volunteered to assist in case of emergency. The name means something like Servant of the Most Compassionate, a reference to Al-Raheem as a title of God ... which Muslims are not actually supposed to use by themselves without tempering it, but a quick search online shows it plastered all over the place. When moving through a disaster scene they shout, "B-ismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi!" (بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ) "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful!" Arabic is widely understood throughout most of the Muslim world, but at home in the Maldives, they also use Dhivehi. It's like how people in Terramagne-America holler "Emergency Services!" or the name of their department to let victims know who's coming.
https://zehrarisale.com/2015/01/05/the-second-station-of-the-fourteenth-flash-part-2/
http://www.themasjid.org/names-of-allah-al-rahman-al-raheem/
http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15122001/1512200144.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basmala
The Archivist:
She is in Rain City, where the earthquake hits 9.2 with intensity XII, hard enough to bounce people and objects off the ground, total devastation. It lasts for 5 minutes 15 seconds. Even some specially reinforced structures have failed, and everything less robust is rubble. Roads and bridges are demolished.
When the earthquake arrives, the Archivist is chatting with two Native American friends in the TV room. One of them yells, "Thunderbird and Whale are fighting! Take cover!" She pushes him under the coffee table and hides with the other under her corner desk.
When the shaking finally stops, outside is a mess. Except the Archivist's 2-story monolithic dome home with flowglass windows comes through without a scratch. Some of the contents are damaged, but the house is fine. She sends a picture of it to the manufacturer, who posts it on their website with the caption "Built like a brick ..." and an image of an outhouse. The Archivist turns her home into a rescue hub for West Coast soups as well as her neighbors.
Earthquake-resistant Furniture
https://www.lifeguardstructures.com/products/
Bennett and Jules:
Bennett and Jules are in San José, California, where the earthquake is 7.4 with intensity IX. The shaking lasts for 40 seconds. Even reinforced structures take damage, and unprepared ones collapse in places. Some buildings shift off their foundations. Due to damaged roads and airports, the city is largely cut off from outside aid. The closest surviving city of note is San Francisco, but it has its own problems after a 6.8 earthquake at 4 PM there.
Joshua and his kids are in Mercedes, where the earthquake at 4:00:15 PM is 3.9 with intensity III, enough to rattle things slightly. The shaking only lasts a few seconds. The only damage is to things already unstable (like a chipped window breaking) or precarious (like a sloppy pile of books falling over).
Pips is far away at the time of the quake; this is after he has left Joshua's family.
The earthquake leaves Bennett and Jules alive, but somewhat the worse for wear. Jules is half-buried under rubble with injured ankles. Bennett shreds his hands trying to dig Jules out without tools.
Meanwhile, Pips goes to Mercedes and asks Joshua to give him the kids to keep in a secure bunker, and Joshua agrees. So the teleporter takes Pips and the children to a bunker, and then takes Joshua to San José to search for Bennett and Jules. Following the trace from Joshua, but not knowing them personally, the teleporter can only get Joshua to their general vicinity, not right next to them.
Eventually Joshua finds Bennett and Jules. Joshua realizes that neither of them have life-threatening injuries, but they also can't easily take care of themselves or either in that condition. So he asks Pips to take Bennett and Jules, which Pips gladly does.
dialecticdreamer is writing the earthquake from the perspective of Bennett and Jules.San José 7.4 earthquake with intensity IX. The shaking lasts for 40 seconds.
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Mercedes has a 3.9 earthquake at 4:00:15 PM with intensity III.
3.0 – 3.9 about 100,000 II – III minor – noticed by a few people
II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings.
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Calliope and Vagary:
They are in Oklahoma when the earthquake happens, perfectly safe.
(This happens after the point when they have attempted to break the bond, Calliope called it off, and they're getting to where they can work together tolerably well.)
Both of their smartphones go off.
"Both of us at the same time, that can't be good," Vagary muttered.
"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it," Calliope said. She looked at her phone and swore in Chickasaw. "The West Coast is ... gone."
"We're more use together than apart," Vagary said. "Your side or mine?"
Calliope hesitated for a moment. "Yours," she said firmly. "Everyone and their search dog will be pouring in to help the white capes and civilians. Someone needs to cover the gray capes and the supervillains, who won't get a fraction of that help. Tell your friends that we'll go wherever they need us."
"Bless you," Vagary said. "I'll log us in."
They wind up in Rain City, where the earthquake hit at 3:58 PM with magnitude 9.2 and intensity XII, hard enough to bounce people and objects off the ground, total devastation. It lasted for 5 minutes 15 seconds. Even some specially reinforced structures have failed, and everything less robust is rubble. Roads and bridges are demolished. As a Phasing team, Calliope and Vagary are assigned to deep-search collapsed buildings in search of survivors.
When they get to the Martha Washington Montessori School for Gifted Girls, formerly supported by Kraken, they find it completely collapsed. They work to extract survivors, but few people make it out alive. The school had been holding an open house on Memorial Day weekend so the current students could show prospective applicants what made it so wonderful. After Calliope and Vagary bring out the last survivors, the emergency workers make them clock out. Calliope protests that they've only been working a few hours, but the rule is that nobody works longer than a 4-hour shift in a disaster this bad, and anyone who works a really bad scene -- like one full of dead children -- gets clocked out immediately afterward.
Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Martha Washington School for Girls
http://www.historylink.org/File/10556
9.0 and above < 1 XI – XII great – extensive damage over broad areas, most buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Rails bent greatly.
XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted. Objects thrown into the air.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Dr. Infanta:
She is in the Maldives, perfectly safe.
She volunteers to help at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Malé. "Send me the most hopeless cases."
Dvorak and Qwerty:
They are in Seaside, Oregon. The earthquake is 9.1 with intensity XII, hard enough to bounce people and objects off the ground, total devastation. It lasts for 5 minutes.
Qwerty and Dvorak have been staying in Seaside. Dvorak arrived first, attracted to the large number of retirees to fleece with computer scams. She owns a timeshare, so she has no trouble booking a 1-bedroom condo in the Resort at Seaside. Qwerty tracked her to the town and booked a shitty studio at the Motel 6. They've rambled all over town, and Qwerty caught up to Dvorak on the beach near the Turnaround.
They're running up Broadway Street when the earthquake hits. Both the Shilo Hotel and the Resort at Seaside give way in the quake. Dvorak breaks her leg, and tells Qwerty to leave her, but Qwerty refuses. Instead, Qwerty splints the injury and starts dragging Dvorak up the evacuation route. But the roads are shattered and all the bridges are either damaged (retrofitted) or destroyed (everything else). Someone runs past them at super-speed, on fire. Qwerty keeps trying to reach her contacts, and finally gets enough of a signal to summon a teleporter friend, who jumps Qwerty and Dvorak to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Malé, Republic of the Maldives.
9.0 and above < 1 XI – XII great – extensive damage over broad areas, most buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Rails bent greatly.
XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted. Objects thrown into the air.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Iron Horses:
The Iron Horses are in Montana when the West Coast earthquake hits, perfectly safe. She Walks in Mist is visiting Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, hiking with tribal friends to see the Shoshone Geyser Basin, which has an earthquake and hydrothermal event of its own.
Ben Big Rock is worried about his relatives, having gotten odd flashes of vision leading up to the event but nothing he could pin down. He and some of the other Iron Horses get weird feelings as the earthquake echoes through the crust, even though the ground doesn't shake in their area. Joseph Elkdog makes everyone stop and get off their bikes, but when nothing else happens, they turn and head for home.
In the middle of the park, the earthquake is 6.0 with intensity VII, strong shaking with some damage. It lasts about 20 seconds. At the Shoshone Geyser Basin, it's 4.0 with intensity IV, with light shaking. It can be felt for about 10 seconds, although not all the waves are tangible for humans. The caldera goes berserk. All the geysers erupt violently, pools boil over, and fumaroles steamwhistle. She Walks in Mist says, "I'm sorry, I have to go." Then she steps into the nearest pool. Shortly thereafter, the waters become quiet and the ground stills. Her friends wait, and wait, but she doesn't rematerialize. Distraught, they call her family.
Joseph hears about his sister's disappearance and is just shattered.
The Iron Horses travel to California to help Ben's Miwok relatives at the Graton Rancheria and Graton Reservation, where the earthquake was 6.5. The shaking was less in the hills, but still did significant damage to some buildings that were not designed to withstand it.
It is only much later that She Walks in Mist manages to rematerialize. She can't leave the caldera -- but she's not alone. With her is the spirit of a man who stepped into the pool to stop another boil-over hundreds of years ago. Joseph is just thrilled that his sister is still alive.
Earthquake at Graton Rancheria and Graton Reservation 6.5
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Earthquake near center of park
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Earthquake at Shoshone Geyser Basin
4.0 – 4.9 about 10,000 IV – V light – felt by many people, minor damage possible
IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At night, some awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably.
V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows broken. Unstable objects overturned. Pendulum clocks may stop.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Jerryrigger:
She is in Los Altos Hills. The earthquake is 7.8 with intensity X, many buildings destroyed, even well-built ones damaged. The shaking lasts for 50 seconds.
She gets involved with digging out the Ventana School.
Los Altos Hills
https://www.thefinancialword.com/10-wealthiest-neighborhoods-california/8/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Altos,_California
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Joshua and Pips:
Joshua and his children are in Mercedes, California. The earthquake at 4:00:15 PM is 3.9 with intensity III, enough to rattle things slightly. The shaking only lasts a few seconds. The only damage is to things already unstable (like a chipped window breaking) or precarious (like a sloppy pile of books falling over). Pips is far away at the time of the quake. Bennett and Jules are visiting San José, where the quake is 7.4 with intensity IX, considerable damage even in well-designed buildings.
Then the reports begin to pour in from elsewhere along the West Coast. Joshua is frantic because he wants to help but the kids are upset. California needs every first responder it can get, but he won't leave the kids and the little ones won't calm down. Then Pips shows up. He asks Joshua to give him the kids to keep in a secure bunker, and offers Joshua a Kraken-issue personal safety tracker. Joshua agrees. So the teleporter takes Pips and the children to a bunker, and then takes Joshua to San José.
Eventually Joshua finds Bennett and Jules. Both are alive, somewhat the worse for wear. Jules is half-buried under rubble with injured ankles. Bennett has shredded his hands trying to dig Jules out without tools. Joshua gets ahold of Pips and asks him to take Bennett and Jules, which Pips gladly does.
Avery 3.9 earthquake with intensity III.
3.0 – 3.9 about 100,000 II – III minor – noticed by a few people
II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings.
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
San José 7.4 earthquake with intensity IX. The shaking lasts for 40 seconds.
7.0 – 7.9 about 15 IX – X major – extensive damage, some buildings destroyed
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Junket:
He is in the SPOON building in San Bernardino when the earthquake hits, as detailed in "The Oldest Associations." The magnitude there is in the high sevens, probably 7.7 or 7.8. This typically correlates to level X intensity, with buildings damaged or destroyed. It lasts for 53 seconds. Much of the damage in this area happens due to poor preparation. Many buildings, roads, and other structures have not been reinforced at all, so they readily fail in a significant earthquake. San Bernardino has plenty of hospitals, but many are damaged, some beyond use. They are quickly overwhelmed with casualties and attempt to evacuate people as feasible. Some roads and bridges are damaged, but others may be passable. This is about as far west as the roads might still run.
At the end of the day, Junket and Kay teleport to Tulsa, Oklahoma to stay with Walter as detailed in "The Sustaining Bonds."
The day after the earthquake, Walter asks Junket for ideas on how he can help with the rescue efforts. Junket suggests sending emergency equipment as well as money. Kay takes Junket to a clinic for his injuries. It doesn't take much to treat those, but afterwards he really wants to get out of there, so he triest to hurry. And then he bounces off the door. Kay and the doctor are worried about him, and talk him into staying a little while for observation. It turns out that Junket is developing super-speed, which kind of freaks him out.
Walter's son Fraser starts the ball rolling to replace West Coast structures with domes. He also invites a female friend from college to stay in his room at his parents' house. She in San Francisco when the earthquake hits at 4 PM, and her head is still ringing from the Deep Old One shouting a telepathic alarm.
3.0-3.9 Earthquake in Avery and Mercedes. The shaking only lasts for a few seconds.
"Gone the Sun" will cover Granny Whammy's funeral.
Mallory and Heron:
They are in Urbanburg, and perfectly safe.
When the alert comes through about the earthquake, Mallory grabs her computer to check on the Finns and tells Heron that he needs to log in as safe so the rest of the family will know that. Then she laughs, because the Shepherd's Pebbles -- the BlackSheep safety register -- has a banner scrolling across the top in inch-high letters: "THE FINNS ARE FINE." It turns out that Capricorn hacked what was left of the internet to check their status and register it as an observer. Heron still needs to log in personally to confirm it, but at least they know the family is safe.
"Ace of Ages"
After hearing that the Deep Old One warned San Francisco of the pending earthquake, Heron becomes fascinated. The oldest living creature is asexual -- all of the Deep Old Ones are necessarily ace due to the terminal reproductive strategy of their assorted species. So now Heron wants to meet her.
Officer Pink:
He is in Bluehill, Missouri when the earthquake hits and is perfectly safe.
Ansel and Turq help the refugees inbound from the West Coast. People at the Christian Care Rescue Mission also pitch in.
Conrad offers to host some of the veterans on his farm, particularly the ones who cope with stress by finding something constructive to do. The military is calling around to veterans asking them to help with recovery or logistical efforts, and he is happy to pitch in. Conrad and his family are used to playing disaster preparedness games among his massive collection.
https://www.climateinteractive.org/policy-exercises-and-serious-games/play-these-two-games-for-climate-adaptation/ (climate game, flood resilience game)
The Marionettes move some of their West Coast allies into properties they have bought in Bluehill through Ironclad Concern, scrambling to finish off the ones closest to habitability. Montay Peyton helps them with local knowledge. This is one of the places where community gardening really takes off.
[See "Whose Qualities Are Thwarted."]
Shiv:
He is in Omaha, Nebraska when the earthquake hits and is perfectly safe.
When Boss White finds out about the Cascadia Cataclysm, he offers to shelter any of the West Coast musicians who have performed at Blues Moon. They have a flop room and a guest apartment above the club, where some people stay.
Shiv shares his public housing apartment with three musicians. Two are brothers who can share the bed, and the other can sleep on the flip chair. Shiv picks up the baby jade sprouts raining off the parent plant, and takes them to his favorite greenhouse in hopes of getting one potted up. The owner is thrilled, because so many people are buying plants as housewarming gifts that he's running out. This gives him the idea to reach out to his regular customers and see if they'll share starts from their plants.
Eventually, Shiv goes looking for a new art studio so that he can let the other guys have his old public housing apartment. He winds up at Hanson Hall.
https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/4789541.html
Skink:
He is in Las Vegas, Nevada where the earthquake is barely felt at 3.0 with an intensity of III, only minor vibration and little if any disturbance of objects. The shaking only lasts a few seconds. So Las Vegas gets the casualty flow from southern Californian cities including Barstow, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It's the biggest city across the state line.
In Barstow, California the earthquake is 4.5 with intensity V, light shaking but little if any damage. It can handle its own trivial injuries, but not the deluge pouring in from coastal California, so it passes the buck to Las Vegas.
In San Bernardino, the magnitude is in the high sevens, probably 7.7 or 7.8. This typically correlates to level X intensity, with buildings damaged or destroyed. It lasts for 53 seconds. Much of the damage in this area happens due to poor preparation. Many buildings, roads, and other structures have not been reinforced at all, so they readily fail in a significant earthquake. San Bernardino has plenty of hospitals, but many are damaged, some beyond use. They are quickly overwhelmed with casualties and attempt to evacuate people as feasible. Some roads and bridges are damaged, but others may be passable. This is about as far west as the roads might still run.
In Claremont, the earthquake is 7.7 with intensity X. It lasts for 50 seconds. Even specially designed structures are damaged or destroyed, lesser ones wrecked along with their foundations.
In Los Angeles the earthquake is 7.8 with intensity X shaking, destroying many buildings. It lasts for 55 seconds. Even well-built structures are damaged, and unprepared ones crumble. They have many hospitals, and better retrofitting, but they still take a lot of damage and can't accommodate all the casualties. But so much of the infrastructure is damaged or destroyed that the only practical ways out are air or teleport.
In San Diego, the earthquake is 7.3 with intensity IX at 4:02 PM. Even well-built structures are damaged, while unprepared ones are destroyed. Because San Diego has not experienced many strong earthquakes, a lot of the older buildings collapsed. Most residents live within 15 miles of the fault, resulting in many injuries. The earthquake along the Rose Canyon Fault extends offshore, creating a tsunami that reaches the city within minutes. Little of San Diego lies in the inundation zone, so casualties are not too bad.
Skink is part of the distant emergency response. He actually notices the earthquake before the waves reach Las Vegas: "My lizard is going nuts." Rizal gets on his computer and checks first the hospital, then the local, and finally the national emergency channels. When he first sees the earthquake reports, he tells Skink to run for the emergency room, knowing that southern California will pour its casualties into Las Vegas. Moments after they start running, the hospital alarms go off as the surge plan activates in anticipation of the casualties. All elective plans are cancelled. After Skink heals the first amputation, he realizes that there are others within reach. One of them is an Australian girl only five years old. So he tries healing as many amputations as possible, until he passes out.
Rizal is pissed with Skink for working himself to collapse. Skink is panicky because, by the next morning, his hand is just beginning to grow back. The Australian family sends witchetty grubs, which help him recover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchetty_grub
Stylet:
He is in Easy City when the earthquake hits, perfectly safe.
He calls his adjudicator and says, "Put the goats in the cooker." The adjudictor is baffled, so Stylet walks him through the menu to the right file. It turns out that Stylet has made giant black goats on commission from ScarpGat users, the size of a horse but much more sure-footed. They can be speed-grown to birth in two weeks, and mature size two weeks after that, but they do still require training -- unless you have someone with Animal Control or the like. The adjudicator asks, "Why not just do it yourself?" Stylet said, "Because I'm still not allowed to make vertebrates." "You are now." So then Stylet melts down and his advocate has to put him back together and chews out the adjudicator for dropping that on Stylet with no warning. But they do get the project going, and Stylet makes giant white goats to carry emergency supplies through the ruins of the West Coast. He even manages to buy back a few black ones from ScarpGat clients for immediate deployment.
Syncope and her housemates:
They are in San-Francisco. The Deep Old One sends a telepathic warning two minutes before the earthquake arrives. where the earthquake is 6.8 with an intensity of IX. A grove of redwoods in Muir Woods reduces the local earthquake from 7.8 to 6.8. The shaking of the main quake, not counting aftershocks, lasts for 40 seconds. The intensity is IX, with some damage to well-built structures and great damage to unprepared ones. Fortunately, San Francisco has invested heavily in quake-resistant architecture and retrofitting, so it fares better than many other cities.
They have wheelchair-accessible earthquake-resistant furniture. Nobody has more than scrapes and bruises. The house is intact but some parts are bent off-true, and nobody wants to use the elevator.
Earthquake-resistant Furniture
https://www.storage98110.com/new-lgs/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Products_2016sm.pdf
https://www.lifeguardstructures.com/
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Other Scenes
Hummingbird Caravansary is a cooperative owned by migrant workers who follow the western stream. Its home base is located in central Washington, around Ellensburg in Kittitas County. They spend the winter there, then when the farmwork season begins, they caravan down to southern Texas. From there, they work their way north, following the crop sequence. There are currently two other caravansaries for migrant workers; the midwestern stream has Monarch Caravansary in northern Minnesota and the East Coast stream has Warbler Caravansary in eastern Maine. Ellensburg has a 6.7 earthquake with intensity IX, with substantial damage to well-built structures and worse to everything less. The shaking lasts for 35 seconds.
At Hummingbird Caravansary, most of the cabins dance themselves off their foundations. Many of the nice concrete slabs for RVs crack or crumble. Ironically, the cheaper gravel parking spaces are fine, as are the grassy areas for open camping. The service connections from the Ellensburg utilities are cut and connections to individual parking places are damaged. However, the caravansary's sewage system feeds into a marsh filter that lets into a reservoir, which is undamaged. The pumphouse and its UV rig are wrecked, but that's all drop-in equipment, easily replaced.
Pacific Flyway (various hummingbirds)
https://www.perkypet.com/articles/pacific-flyway-migration
Washington Map with Counties and Towns
https://www.maps-of-the-usa.com/maps/usa/washington/large-administrative-map-of-washington-state-with-roads-highways-and-cities.jpg
Washington Cascadia Earthquake Map
https://media.king5.com/assets/KING/images/e646f95b-99bf-4fd0-9639-10221131c8f3/e646f95b-99bf-4fd0-9639-10221131c8f3.jpg
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
http://afop.org/cif/learn-the-facts/
Migration of Farm Workers Map
http://afop.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/CIF-Page-2B1.jpg
6.0 – 6.9 about 130 VII – IX strong – damage variable depending on building construction and substrate
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-magnitude-versus-intensity/
Earthquake Songs
"Day After Day" (playing in Los Angeles when the earthquake hits)
https://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/d/dayafterdayshango.html
https://archives.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2010/10/27/top-8-songs-to-listen-to-during-the-next-earthquake
https://ask.metafilter.com/192759/Songs-about-California-falling-into-the-ocean
New Manifestations
Super-Speed
Teleportation
Healing
Earth Powers
Thunderbird Form
Random Factors
For purposes of randomly generating which structures fail in an earthquake, where specific projections are not available, translate the magnitude to a percentage and roll 1d100. So a structure threatened by a 7.8 earthquake would have a 78% chance of failing. Roll 79 or higher on 1d100 and the structure survives. Modifiers may be used to reflect retrofitting or earthquake-resistant construction, or conversely, old structures especially susceptible to damage. You can also set a range for partial damage, say 10-20% above and below the pinpoint. Make the window narrower for lower magnitude and wider for higher magnitude.
https://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm
Aftermath
Terramagne-America doesn't have FEMA. Instead it has the far more effective Governmental Emergency Management. GEM trains people to handle various kinds of crisis and deploys them at need. It stockpiles emergency supplies, from personal kits to bulk goods to mobile offices and modular homes that can be dropped into place as soon as possible after a disaster. GEM emergency housing is rated to last for at least 20 years, and different models are designed to withstand local hazards across all the regions in America.
"The Mother of Trees to Come"
A woman decides to give up on her previous efforts to start a family, and adopts redwood seedlings by digging them out of unsafe places after the earthquake and moving them to her yard.
In response to the near-total loss of West Coast agriculture in 2016 -- which is 35% of America's vegetable production and 64% of its fruit -- the United States Department of Agriculture launches the Recovery Garden program encouraging everyone to plant a garden if they can. It quickly outstrips the old Victory Garden program from World War II, due to advances in small-scale gardening such as tabletop gardens and hydroponics. Happy Hearts Television promptly launches the show Crockette's Recovery Garden, which proves enormously popular. The USDA also pours money into the Corn Belt and Cotton Belt to encourage farmers to plant fruit and vegetable crops instead of their usual cash crops. Making a fast switch is difficult, and can't make up all the losses, but since it's right at the start of the growing season there's time to compensate considerably. Community Supported Agriculture experiences a huge boom in demand. It's too late for large-scale expansion this year, but again the USDA steps in with massive assistance programs to support as much expansion as possible. Most CSA poll members to see if people are willing to take smaller shares, allowing more households to get at least some fresh produce, and a majority of memberships vote in favor.
Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese-American company that offers nature therapy. The name means "forest bathing." Guided walks are available, and the home page of the website has short poems on different aspects of restoration. In T-America, there are also open woods days when members can walk through the forest on their own, and daily classes in the visitor center. Their neighbors include a tea house and a small Buddhist temple. Shinrin-yoku is one of the few companies on the West Coast to meet the Cascadia Cataclysm with resilience instead of collapse. None of the employees leave, probably because they're either Japanese or Japanese-American and Japan has a long familiarity with earthquakes and tsunamis. Originally, they offer access to a bamboo forest consisting primarily of temple bamboo with groves of chocolate bamboo and goddess bamboo, along with various other species in the understory. Two other properties feature a native Californian forests: one of live oak, California buckey, and bay laurel; the other with juniper, pine, red alder, white alder, poplar, and willow. After the disaster, Shinrin-yoku buys property in the Panoramic neighborhood of Mill Valley in Marin County, where many elderly residents flee the state never to return. The company then petitions the government for some adjacent properties, focusing on those containing redwood trees. They bundle all the plots together to form a new nature park, which becomes enormously popular with emergency workers, many of whom move into the vacated properties nearby. Due to the proximate assistance from Muir Woods, this area has sustained the least damage from the earthquake, leaving utilities intact or barely impaired. This makes it a precious refuge in a region battered by disasters.
http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_therapy
http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/programs.html
http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/bamboo/
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/plants/semiarundinaria-fastuosa/ (temple bamboo)
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/plants/borinda-fungosa/ (chocolate bamboo)
https://bamboosfbayarea.com/plants/bambusa-alphonse-karr/ (goddess bamboo)
http://www.trampsofsanfrancisco.com/a-foresting-we-will-go-a-history-of-trees-in-san-francisco/
https://nextdoor.com/neighborhood/panoramic--mill-valley--ca/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_Valley,_California
9NT is a San Francisco organization supported by the University of California, Berkeley. It offers nine programming tracks, one of each of the nine intelligence types, along with testing to identify your stronger and weaker intelligences. For children, programs focus on play and learning activities with a sprinkling of current events. For adults, programs include multiple intelligences on the job and current events through the lens of each intelligence, along with how to teach to all nine intelligences for teachers and parents. Public performances and presentations help to attract new participants to classes, lessons, and other activities. After the Cascadia Cataclysm, the Berkeley campus is largely destroyed, but 9NT continues. Out-of-state members update the website with lessons and other materials about the disaster formulated for each intelligence. This helps all different kinds of people process it in their own ways.
http://thetutorreport.com/howard-gardners-9-types-intelligence/
https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/multiple_intelligences/#.W5Gozc5Kg4c
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=251
https://www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/EJ985547.pdf (play) https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/clip-save-checklist-
learning-activities-connect-multiple-intelligences/
http://www.teachhub.com/5-brilliant-tips-teaching-current-events-younger-students
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/teach/ami_theory.pdf (adults)
https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/assets/look-inside/9781904424659.pdf (multiple intelligences in the workplace)
https://connection.sagepub.com/blog/sage-connection/2016/12/08/10-ways-to-integrate-current-events-into-classes/
https://www.lauracandler.com/mi-theory-growth-mindset/ (teachers)
https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/9-unique-ways-to-be-amazingly-smart/
I found the downline organization that bridges the gaps for superpowers. They're not live before the Cascadia Cataclysm. We're looking at pieces of what will become ESSENCE: Emergency Superpower Services Essential Neutrality Coalition of Exchanges. What we have now are a bunch of small local services/coalitions/exchanges made of soups and their allies who specialize in different crisis control operations, along with larger organizations which have an official cape alignment even if they all do some networking across the lines but under the table. What Terramagne needs is a way to connect all those soup resources to mobilize the planet's greatest resources in case of catastrophe.
The President of the Maldives is the one who pulls the emergency handle on that situation, mobilizing the (by now considerable) soup resources of his nation to respond when the west coast of America goes smash. And through those connection, effectively extends throughout a majority of the principled soups in the world. It's not perfect, it's not cohesive, but it gets the job done. ESSENCE is what arises out of that, both from the contacts people make in action and from the realization that a more codified version of this would be to everyone's benefit. Because it's growing out of medical neutrality, which is something Terramagne folks respect, it can evolve with minimal political complications. It's what SPOON almost was, what it was originally trying to be, before Granny Whammy's steadfast alignment pulled it onto the white side of the cape.
Hertha makes a surprise comeback as a girl's name, and Rocky surges in popularity for boys, over the following year.
After the Cascadia Cataclysm, the West Coast is changed forever. The coastline looks different because subsidence and other factors changed the outline. New laws are quickly established to prevent people from building vulnerable structures or rebuilding at all in some areas, and requiring people to use maximally safe structures such as domes as much as feasible. Population shifts significantly inland. The smaller towns that got totalled are completely abandoned, such as Ocean Shores, Washington and Seaside, Oregon. Substantial parts of the new coastline are set aside in national parks, some designated for specific purposes such as restoring redwood forests or salmon watersheds.
* * *
Additional Resources
Calendar for 2016
The Cascadia Cataclysm happens on the afternoon of Saturday, May 28, 2016 (Memorial Day weekend).
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?country=1&year=2016
America Population Dotmap
https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/trX5tiX8eIiK3f3yEsWxe9CEcGE=/800x600/filters:no_upscale()/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/2013082012302308_20_2013_population-America.jpg
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-map-with-a-dot-for-every-american-shows-the-countrys-racial-divisions-432230/
America Earthquake and Population Map
https://prd-wret.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/Map%20-%20Population%20and%20Ground%20Shaking.jpg?itok=1YilTeVm
Earthquakes
https://web.archive.org/web/20160302055716/http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/earthsc202notes/quakes.htm
North America Faults
http://quake06.stanford.edu/centennial/tour/images/11-06-fig6.jpg
North America Fault Types
https://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/migrated/CUS934.gif
Cascadia Subduction Zone
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a major part of the Ring of Fire which encircles much of the Pacific Ocean, a loop of terrain prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Because the crust is a jumble of comparatively thin plates rubbing together, and faults can form long branching lines, it is possible for an earthquake in one place to trigger quakes in other places along the line, although scientists have not paid much attention to this. But you can see analogs in any crackle system, such as ice on a lake, where disturbing one part of it can destabilize something quite far away. Since Cascadia is over 315 years into a 234-year cycle, it's overdue for action, which makes the probability of a megaquake high -- and the longer the pressure builds up before releasing, the worse it tends to get when it does let go.
https://pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/csz
http://www.crystalinks.com/rof.html
https://www.opb.org/news/series/unprepared/meet-the-really-big-one-the-northwest-imminent-megaquake/ (overdue)
/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/2013082012302308_20_2013_population-America.jpg){kind=link}
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-04 07:47 pm (UTC)question is, how is san francisco doing?
and is the golden gate bridge more destroyed than it was in pacific rim
Well ...
Date: 2018-09-04 07:53 pm (UTC)The damage covers much of the West Coast. It began at one end of the Cascadian Subduction Zone and ripped all along that, with ... I think three epicenters. That enormous shift triggered the San Andreas, which also ripped all the way down, although the middle part didn't have much tension built up. Other faults also went off, including Rose Canyon offshore of San Francisco and San Jacinto from San Andreas. That's why the description looks like someone took a shotgun to the coast.
>> question is, how is san francisco doing? <<
Fairly well. They had a 6.8 quake in a heavily reinforced city, with two nonhuman forces helping. Two minutes of warning from the Deep Old One and a magnitude's reduction of intensity from the redwoods left the city jumbled instead of shattered. It's within the range San Francisco is equipped to cope with.
>>and is the golden gate bridge more destroyed than it was in pacific rim<<
Less. If the quake had hit at 7.8 that bridge probably would have collapsed. As it is, it's even navigable, although it must need some repairs. I expect it popped a few cables.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-09-04 08:08 pm (UTC)ok, so who is the Deep Old One and how did the redwood (trees I think?) provide a magnitude of reduction?
(I live in the sf bay area and i'm trying to figure out how destroyed my home would be)
Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-09-04 08:19 pm (UTC)I introduced Her in Leviathan
The Red Woods are Ysabet's idea.. but think of a forest as an intelligent, super-organism with super-powers.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-09-04 08:19 pm (UTC)Meet the Deep Old One in "Leviathan" and "Poseidon Arises" by
>> and how did the redwood (trees I think?) provide a magnitude of reduction?<<
A few redwoods have superpowers beyond the species standard of terraforming. There are two surviving groves with the ability to minimize earthquakes. It's kind of like when something is vibrating and you put your hand on it to make it stop. Now imagine that you are 300 feet tall with a root system to match and have a bunch of giant friends. A grove's range seems to be about county size.
>> (I live in the sf bay area and i'm trying to figure out how destroyed my home would be) <<
You want these maps. Especially look for the yellow areas in the last one.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-09-04 08:28 pm (UTC)You want these maps. Especially look for the yellow areas in the last one.<<
that's for the city proper. https://www.wpmap.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/San-Francisco-Bay-Area-Map.jpg
how does the rest of the bay area fare? (i use home to mean my geographic region. where a heart is, where you say you're from, etc)
not to be rude (sorry)
EDIT: I read Poseidon Arises and I suspect that nothing would be the same, but most municipal buildings would still be fairly stable or at least standing up and so it would be ok in the end
Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-09-04 08:53 pm (UTC)According to the ShakeOut map, much of the Bay Area has a high risk of severe shaking, streaked with some lower-risk bits. That means outside the redwoods' influence, most places will experience worse shaking.
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From:(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-04 09:56 pm (UTC)Unless Terramagne is a *lot* better than L-America, we'll lose a *lot* of un-reinforced masonry buildings (here landlords are complaining that they can't afford to do seismic refits and would worsen the housing shortage because they'd have to close down building if refits are made mandatory. Me, I 'd like to shake them and say "So you'd rather pay off the lawsuits for all the people who will *die* if you keep them open without the refits?")
I'd have to dig up maps for Oregon, but I'm betting lots of slides in the West Hills as well as some "interesting effects in other spots.
Thoughts
Date: 2018-09-04 10:22 pm (UTC)I think you're right. Here is the DOGAMI earthquake map for a 9.0 Cascadia earthquake scenario. Portland has intensity VII to VIII which is moderately serious. That's only 6.0-6.9. Here's an article that talks about 8.0 or higher. So how do we get that bad, that far away from the CSZ? Portland is sitting on a mess of shallow faults and loose alluvial soil. Instant quicksand, just add idiots. >_<
>> Unless Terramagne is a *lot* better than L-America, we'll lose a *lot* of un-reinforced masonry buildings <<
Bend over and kiss it goodbye. The only things standing will be retrofitted or modern seismic structures, and even some of those will be damaged.
>> (here landlords are complaining that they can't afford to do seismic refits and would worsen the housing shortage because they'd have to close down building if refits are made mandatory. Me, I 'd like to shake them and say "So you'd rather pay off the lawsuits for all the people who will *die* if you keep them open without the refits?") <<
They probably can't afford it. The big corporations could, sure, but most landlords aren't that big. If the government wants to mandate improvements, then taxpayers have to subsidize that to make sure everyone's able to do it. Otherwise, lots of people won't. You see this playing out all along the coast. Some cities like San Francisco have vigorous upgrade efforts backed by grants and other funding. Some like San Bernardino don't, haven't done much, and are basically fucked.
Portland? Is fucked, although not as totally as several whole towns that melted into the ocean. O_O
I'd have to dig up maps for Oregon, but I'm betting lots of slides in the West Hills as well as some "interesting effects in other spots.<<
Yeah, I haven't gotten around to landslide maps yet.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-05 01:36 am (UTC)So for Abd-Qadir, is the assumption here that agreeing to help out is part of the immigration package? (they were being recruited to help the maldives survive global warming, after all) or is Abd-Qadir status only granted to those who've agreed to help? Or some third answer I haven't thought of, the Maldive's doesn't seem like the kind of place to force people who haven't agreed into service but the announcement wasn't super clear
Well ...
Date: 2018-09-05 02:36 am (UTC)Nobody is required to volunteer, because if it's a requirement, it's not volunteering. Soups can negotiate their own immigration package, although there are a bunch of standard options now. Refugees are not required to contribute anything -- Muslims have an obligation to help distressed travelers, slaves (they're counting soups from bottom-10 countries here), poor people, etc.
Non-Muslims aren't even obligated to pay zakat although in practice the vast majority of them do so. Because that gets you into the zakat network in case you get stranded or impoverished, and it is frankly one of the world's cheapest insurance policies that's worth having.
Anyhow, volunteers provide their contact info, skills, and customary availability. Some have a regular volunteer activity, others intermittent. In an emergency, officials can activate the whole network to contact all volunteers at once. People then respond with their current location and availability.
This is a small island nation with a lot of experience handling things like violent weather. They know how to jump into action at a moment's notice. They're doing that for a disaster clear across the globe because many immigrants and tourists have ties to America.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-09-05 02:41 am (UTC)Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-09-05 09:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-05 08:49 pm (UTC)• Los Angeles, and San Deigo
→ Diego
Thank you!
Date: 2018-09-05 08:57 pm (UTC)Fixed now.
I think my audience has put as much info into this as I have by now. \o/
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2018-09-05 10:47 pm (UTC)And I'm just getting started! Don't know about the others, but I'm viewing myself as one of your field reporters on the scene. I'll keep on with it as long as it's useful.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2018-09-05 10:53 pm (UTC)I'm hoping to collate information from conversations on this post, to make a list of what survived or collapsed.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2018-09-05 11:23 pm (UTC)Yeah, sounds like he knows a whole lot about how the airports are and what can be done with them. I can spot the places that might work, and the weak spots, but it's a long way from there to setting scenes in them. Speaking of which, don't overlook golf courses as good places to land planes. The ones that are more forgiving for learners are often pretty flat, and don't have too many trees. Line up a couple of par-4s and you have better than half a mile to use.
Speaking of weak spots, I guess it was a good thing this wasn't thirty years ago, when a lot more chip production happened here than it does now. Still a lot of R&D and prototyping-oriented fabs (more than most people realize), but the high-volume consumer stuff has mostly gone overseas where it's cheaper, and looser about externalized environmental costs. Something like this happening in 1988 L-America would have stood a pretty good chance of converting everything south of Palo Alto into a gigantic Superfund site, and thoroughly poisoned the water table, possibly for good. Especially given the predominance of pop-up everythings. Still, there are going to be a lot of collapsed buildings full of leaking or broken containers of nasty stuff. Not sure how things are in T-Silicon Valley.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2018-09-06 05:19 am (UTC)Re: Thank you!
From:(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-09 05:30 pm (UTC)I'm in New Mexico so we didn't get hit but I know a LOT of people on the west coast & I remember being TERRIFIED for them, not having heard from more than one or two. There was a big SCA event that weekend, & I knew some people there, & while being in a tent is a LOT safer than being in a building, the poles for a big canvas tent can still do some damage if the tent comes down wrong. Plus SCA events are way out in the sticks, as often as not, & if a lot of people wind up stuck way out & didn't bring enough water for more than the weekend...
Most of the dream, though, was exhaustedly explaining again & AGAIN to people (mostly blood relatives) with NO IDEA of how deserts & earthquakes work that NO, we can't just 'send people out there to bring them home', there's no ROADS to get there with, there's no THERE there, any more. We can't just send a few people out to 'march them back to safety', there's not enough WATER for a journey like that, do you have ANY idea what it's like trying to bring people through the desert in summer even if there WERE?
It was vivid enough (& the arguing part is a thing I dream often enough) that for a while even after I woke up, I thought I'd dreamt the arguments but the Big One was still real...it was maybe ten minutes before I realized that no, the Big One wasn't _here_, at least, & that my West Coast folks were safe, at least for the moment...
(& YES I'm off to make sure my bugout bag is set to bolt if I need to, it's fire season here & I know when my brain is tryna tell me something...)
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-19 02:35 am (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2018-09-19 03:23 am (UTC)Yes, that's exactly what happens. The rest of T-America pours resources in and pulls refugees out. Friendly nations respond with foreign aid, which T-America accepts eagerly.
Most cities have a "sister city" they pair with for disaster support, some of which are international, others somewhere else in America. So a lot of the refugees have a "second hometown" to go to that they already know. They've got a penpal or two there, and have visited it on field trips.
>> (There have to have been atomic reactors that were damaged by the quake - Atomica might be able to make herself useful). <<
Nuclear reactors in California:
Diablo Canyon Power Plant (6.0 earthquake, 35, substantial damage necessitating emergency shutdown)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_Canyon_Power_Plant
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (7.5 earthquake, 98, no damage due to T-American upgrades)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Onofre_Nuclear_Generating_Station
Vallecitos Nuclear Center (7.8 earthquake, 76, minor damage requiring immediate repairs)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallecitos_Nuclear_Center
Nuclear reactors in Washington:
Columbia Generating Station (5.0 earthquake, 36 substantial damage necessitating emergency shutdown)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Generating_Station
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-09-19 06:55 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
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