Seattle Earthquake

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Since Seattle is a big city with high population density, the damage caused by secondary hazards induced by earthquakes should also be considered. These hazards include fires, landslides, hazardous materials release, etc. Fires could be very dangerous, especially in crowded high-rise buildings. Historical data showed that more people died from fires than from building collapse in 1995 Kobe earthquakes.
Impact of Nisqually earthquakes in 2001
The earthquake happened in 2001 caused significant public as well as damage. The air traffic control tower at Sea–Tac Airport was heavily damaged. Over $20 million were spent on earthquake response and repairing damages including city-owned facilities, roads and bridges. The earthquake also has an adverse impact on business. Downtown Olympia, Seattle's Pioneer Square and Seattle's industrial Harbor Island. Although there is no
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Based on history and geological data, there is a chance that Seattle will experience powerful earthquakes. USGS estimates that the Seattle area will experience three different types of earthquake trigged by different causes. The first one is crustal or shallow quakes, which occur is expected to occur in Seattle Fault zone. It will cause intense shaking. The second type is intraplate or deep quake. This kind of earthquake occurs in the deep ocean crust. Damage to buildings will be diminished by the depth of the quake center. Nisqually earthquakes happened in 2001 belongs to these type. The third type is called subduction zone or megathrust quakes. These are the largest types of earthquakes in the world. This type of earthquakes is triggered by Cascadia fault. The magnitudes of megathrust could be up to 9.0. Frequency of megathrust is 500 years along Pacific coast. In this scenario, the earthquake will cause $20 billion in damage and indirect losses. Over 6000 buildings will be destroyed while 15000 people will have critical