Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Earthquake

There's nothing like a few tremors to bring out the terror in people. That being said, we were fortunate that we were nowhere near the 5.8 earthquake on Tuesday or nowhere close to suffering the wrath that took over Haiti. Other than this big gaping hole left in South Sound, there was no other reported damage here on Grand Cayman. I got this picture from Ms. Stop Your Noise, my former Bermuda landlady. Looking at this picture, you have to remind yourself that Cayman is mostly either rocky or swamp land, and these types of holes can occur occasionally, especially if not enough earth was compacted during construction. I'm just guessing!

What we did experience today was the after shock of that 5.8 earthquake. For where I was located, the building began to vibrate, like jello! Two tremors, each a couple of seconds spaced a second apart. And after our initial shock wore off, it was business as usual. Work had to get done but that was not without any humour. We kept joking that this earthquake was a warning to 'someone' and that they better shape up. We still don't know who that someone is. Hey, it could be you!


6 comments:

Unknown said...

Umm... such sinkholes are usually caused by natural geological activity rather than improper construction. :-)

An underground river/water stream usually eats away at the soil (and even rock in some cases), leaving large cavities underneath.

In Oman, most of the mountains are limestone, and slightly acidic water has left huge caverns that are still growing. Some are almost big enough to house the Empire State Building. (Ref. MAJLIS AL JINN)

But, you could be right if the material used for the landfill was rubble or debris from a demolished building. Using such rubble would leave huge amounts of airspace. Its like marbles in a bottle. A slight jiggle would cause them to move around and settle down under the slightest weight from above!

Hmm... makes me wonder about the 3 meters of gravel they've used as a foundation bed for the Burj Khalifa! he he he....

MS CUTE PANTS said...

Cayman uses soil from Cuba to fill much of its swampland to make way for construction of buildings.

I still think about Burj Khalifa and the Palm Islands and their foundation, God save them all!

I am so glad you visted & commented. Thank you! :-)

bichonpawz said...

I'm really glad that you are all ok and sustained no damage by the earthquake. I never felt safe working on the 30th floor of my office building. The always told us...in case of fire...go UP...the roof was the safest place as we could be picked up by helicopter! Stay safe!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ms Cute Pants,

Regina here, for ExpatWomen.com.

I would like to personally invite you to list your blog on our Expat Women Blog Directory (www.expatwomen.com/expatblog/) so that other women can read about and learn from your expat experiences.

Many thanks in advance for your contribution and keep up your great blog!

Regina

MarkD60 said...

Did you feel the earthquake? I didn't

MS CUTE PANTS said...

@Regina: Thank you! I will list up!

@MarkD60: Yes I did. I was at work and the building felt like jello for a few seconds.