Earthquake

[Griff]

Originally Posted by squirell nutkin

You're right. I noticed the same thing, last time I poured a concrete wall the rebar cost more than the concrete and insulated forms combined.

ditto
They probably would have to import it making it even more expensive.

[Elspode]

This is a particularly financially tight time for me, but I'm gonna come up with $10 at a minimum. Every little bit helps, right?

I think I'm going with the Red Cross. This whole country has effectively been leveled. It's just horrific to see.

[Shawnee123]

Wow. Text 90999. I heard about this in a couple places, and wanted to check it out, so I found this article.

This is remarkable not just because of the technology, but because it changes the landscape of America's philanthropy.

Less than 48 hours after the deadly 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, the American Red Cross received $5 million in donations through mobile texting, all at $10 a click.

It could create a whole new generation of philanthropists. Young adults who sometimes text more than they talk will step into the world of charity the same way they download another ringtone.

"They're not going to donate by direct mail, and they're not going to a $200, black-tie gala," Naegele said. "But this is something they can do."

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by glatt

Looking at those pictures, I'm struck by the lack of rebar poking out of the chunks of concrete. I know they are poor, and building practices are different all over the world and throughout the years, but I thought rebar was pretty standard when making stuff out of concrete. Concrete just isn't strong enough when it isn't reinforced internally with metal bar. They didn't have a chance.

I read an article yesterday which hinted that building codes there are just not enforced for whatever reason. I can't image a concrete code that doesn't require steel rebar. It could hold against idealistic pure compression alright but once put into tension, which is impossible to avoid as well, the concrete loses about 10 times its strength.

[tw]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

I read an article yesterday which hinted that building codes there are just not enforced for whatever reason. I can't image a concrete code that doesn't require steel rebar.

Listed among fallen buildings was Citigroup's new (3 year old?) bank building. That would have been to superior standards.

Appreciate the lesson. Haiti has not had a serious quake in 200 years. The North American and Caribbean plates meet there. About 11 years ago, geologists warned that tremendous pressures had concentrated in this region. Nobody was building for a quake of that magnitude. 200 years and nobody wanted to know.

The New Madrid quake is also overdue. That Missouri quake was the most violent in American history. So the new TN stadium was built without any earthquake protection - to cut costs.

It's not just Haiti. Central USA is ripe for the same problem where everything is built using standard construction. That earthquake typically occurs every 100 years. Is decades overdue.

How serious is this Haiti quake? Well, a 7.0 tremor was followed by at least 42 aftershocks - everyone registering 4+ and 5+ on the Richter scale. That much energy was ready to go. Even the new Citibank building that used standard reinforced concrete techniques completely pancaked - all floors. Even Haiti's 100 year old presidential palace did not disintegrate that completely.

[monster]

All the reporting is about how much money is being poured into aid. For one, stfu and just send people with crates of water, buckets of drugs and earthquake know-how. I don't care what is costs. I don't care what you label me. Those are real people.

[glatt]

The airport is overwhelmed. Planes full of aid are circling and then flying away to land on other nearby islands because the single runway airport can't handle them. The control tower isn't working and the terminal is heavily damaged. There's no room to park multiple planes once they land.

The seaport is damaged as well.

[morethanpretty]

Originally Posted by glatt

The airport is overwhelmed. Planes full of aid are circling and then flying away to land on other nearby islands because the single runway airport can't handle them. The control tower isn't working and the terminal is heavily damaged. There's no room to park multiple planes once they land.

The seaport is damaged as well.

Guess we need to send boats with aid. Big boats with lotso little boats that can land on the beaches, ect, to ferret stuff and people back and forth.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by monster

All the reporting is about how much money is being poured into aid. For one, stfu and just send people with crates of water, buckets of drugs and earthquake know-how. I don't care what is costs. I don't care what you label me. Those are real people.

The money is to pay for stuff that's already on the way, and the years of aid they'll need in the future. It's important the companies scrambling to put all the shit together are reassured they'll get paid eventually, and not have to worry about being bankrupted.

I was surprised when I went to my employer's internal website, to donate by payroll deduction.
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami = $1 million, plus 100% matching of all employee donations.
Haiti = $50k, plus no matching.

There are so many people/groups collecting, I worry how much will be siphoned off, or just plain stolen?

[monster]

I'm not saying they don't need money, I'm saying the money is not the most important thing to be reporting on. Tell me to send money then show me people getting help, or not getting help, not a groomed clean presenter telling me how much money the government has promised and how that compares to other governments and other disaster. as I switched channels it was all about the money -grand totals, not that more is needed.

[glatt]

Google Earth has overlays that you can install in that program so you can see the latest data from satellite imagery. Each one of these red dot can be clicked on to read details on what it is. Most are collapsed buildings.

[xoxoxoBruce]

You know, this is a good reminder. When the shit hits the fan, whether bum fuck Haiti, or Peoria, Illinois, you best be prepared to take care of yourself, at least survive, for a week or more. It takes that long for governments and large organizations to get up to speed.

[monster]

too right.

[glatt]

That's true in most cases, but if all your supplies are at the bottom of a pile of rubble, it doesn't help you too much.

[monster]

Still, there's stuff you can make sure you know - and maybe you can have more than one emergency base