Mexicali a little shaken up
So far, no word from the Governator on the California earthquake. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Residents of Southern California border towns should be thankful that the earthquake in California today caused little damage. The Los Angeles Times says no major damages or injuries have been reported in Calexico or Mexicali. There was brief shaking in San Diego, but it was hardly enough to even interrupt anyone’s work day.
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit at about a quarer to 11 a.m. PT. Though many are referring to it as a California-Mexico border earthqake, the quake was felt in Arizona as well. Earthquakes like this are common; the majority of earthquakes cause little or no damage and simply manifest themselves through brief shaking. But while California, Mexico and Arizona won’t need a cash loan for damages or aid, some cities in the past haven’t been so lucky.
Deadliest earthquakes
None of the top 10 deadliest earthquakes have happened in the United States. The worst earthquake this century, in terms of death toll, took place in Tangshan, China, in 1976. Wikipedia says the death toll was first reported to be about 655,000, but that number has been updated to 242,000. Regardless of which number is correct, the Tangshan Earthquake had the highest death toll of any quake since the 16th century. In the past 100 years, the top three deadliest earthquakes happened in China.
The Tangshan earthquake, not surprisingly, is also listed as the earthquake that caused the most damage this century. It destroyed four miles of city, leveling hundreds of thousands of buildings. It cost China 10 billion yuan in economic losses, or about $1.5 billion. Then length of the quake? Ten seconds.
Earthquakes in the United States
The U.S. has been incredibly fortunate, comparitively speaking, when it comes to earthquakes. Only one U.S. quake even shows up on Wikipedia’s “deadliest earthquakes” list, and it’s at the very bottom.
More than 100 years ago, in 1906, The San Francisco Earthquake and resulting fires killed more than 3,000 people. The event had a long-lasting effect. Economic growth was greatly slowed in the area because of the
