Seattle can glide into the water in an upcoming earthquake

When you register an earthquake, it's easy to focus on major structural damage that results directly from the concussion. But the secondary risk of landslides can also be problematic. With all its hills, the city of Seattle, in the United States, faces enormous risks in this respect â€" a new study from the University of Washington advances to more than 8,000 buildings in landslide zones.

Kate Allstadt, PhD student and sismóloga in the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, is co-author of this study. He became involved in the investigation after moving to the city and realize the enormous amount of steep inclines which has â€" the city lies upon the Failure of Seattle, who is believed to have been responsible for an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude in 900 a.d.

"I thought about what would happen to these slopes if there was an earthquake on this fault or in its vicinity," she says. "No one is really studying quantitatively how many landslides have occurred. I thought it would be important, because we need to prepare. "

The earthquake of the year 900 was of such size that caused a deadly tsunami and brought down large tracts of forest, today submerged in Lake Washington. Nowadays, the slopes around water are densely populated, so the impact of a similar phenomenon would be catastrophic.

Using computer simulations and a seismology tool called Newmark method, Allstadt and his colleagues John Vidale and Art Frankel created several maps showing areas where the threat is greatest.

There are some aspects that could minimize or maximize the landslides. If an earthquake occurs during the height of the year as wet in early spring, the soil can be humid and more conducive to catastrophic landslides. The intensity of the earthquake, obviously, also matters.

Unfortunately it is difficult to measure seismic activity patterns-earthquakes are difficult to predict and the human history of Seattle not dating back to as far as that of many other countries prone to earthquakes, like Japan.

It is therefore essential to start preparing the city for this possibility, defends Allstadt â€" discover the most vulnerable regions, micro planning rapid responses within and outside these areas, provide that basic sanitation and electrical infrastructure could be implemented, educate homebuyers about the risks of living on these slopes. "It may be now or in a few thousands of years", says the researcher. "We just don't know."

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