Coastal
Post Online
July, 2003
Earthquakes and Mega Cities
Fifty percent of the world's super-cities
are now located in zones where earthquakes of 7.5 (Richter) magnitude are
likely. According to EOS, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical
Union, a massive earthquake each century could cause devastating damage and
hundreds of thousands of deaths unless buildings are constructed to be more
earthquake resistant.
There has never been a devastating mega quake before because it simply
wasn't possible. That is mega cities are a recent phenomena. There are now 200
mega cities and that number is expected to double before the earth's population
stabilizes.
J.S.