Job Discussion Forums

[creeper1]

Do you take tectonic plates into consideration when applying for jobs? Sichuan is famous for the earthquake that occurred and killed many people.

I do see some jobs advertised in this region but I think I'll avoid it.

What other cities/places would be considered risky for quakes?

[sistercream]

If you think Sichuan is bad, for heaven's sake avoid Tangshan, and never even think of teaching in Taiwan, Philippines or Indonesia.
Never mind earthquakes, what about the pollution in any of the major cities? And steer clear of the southern provinces; they have typhoons. Those in the north and west are subject to serious sandstorms.
Oh yes, and avoid any city where enforcement of building standards means building have fallen down without so much as an earth tremor...

[TexasHighway]

Four our of the five and five out of the ten worst earthquakes in recorded history have taken place in various parts of China. In the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, 7000 schools were destroyed due to shoddy construction while government structures stayed largely intact. If earthquakes are a major concern in finding a place to teach, you might want to give China a pass. I happen to be more concerned about making it across a busy street in one piece.

[Zimmer]

Avoiding earthquakes has never been a factor for me but if it was, I guess I'd be looking at where tectonic plates and fault lines are.

[Kiwi303]

Hey, I'm from New Zealand, my house back home sits right on top of the main fault line that is long overdue for a big one, to the point we have had Japanese sesmiologists wanting to place sensors on the farm...

Earthquakes are so far off my radar they may as well not exist... does a fish notice water?

[rogerwilco]

Earthquakes ??????

I never worry about earthquakes.
Just walking across the street in China kills more people than earthquakes.

I am sure it is very easy to find statistics that will prove that being a pedestrian in China kills more people than any earthquake or all the natural disasters combined.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

I was in Taiwan during an earthquake and that was enough for me. I have to be honest and I turned down a job in Tangshan because of it's history.

Where I am now has never had an earthquake in the recorded history of mankind (knock on wood).

[MisterButtkins]

I'm in a section of the northeast which, to my knowledge, doesn't have earthquakes

[choudoufu]

i'm not too worried about earthquakes. here we're more concerned
with volcanoes and tsunamis. at least there's no pollution.

[Murat]

I think about earthquakes a lot and have done some reading on the Sichuan earthquake...

Before that earthquake in 2008 happened, geologists, not just Chinese ones, didn't think the Sichuan area was capable of such a large quake, and this is reflected in the standard seismic hazard map that was published in 2001 (I think). What happened, according to MIT geologists, is that pressure on the Wenchuan fault gradually accumulated. The accumulation of stress was so slow that geologists didn't think much of it. But the stress had been accumulating for 2000-10000 years! So when it slipped, it went went big. The good news is, though, that a similar quake at the Wenchuan fault (Sichuan quake) is predicted to occur in another 2000 to 10000 years.

Here's the link to the MIT report: http://qzgy.cug.edu.cn/lwjs/Sichuan-burchfiel.pdf

This brings up a very important aspect of earthquake geology. The processes behind earthquakes sometimes take thousands of years. This means that there are many things going on that scientists have not had the chance to observe yet (like the Sichuan quake). Thus areas that are thought to not have big earthquakes do in fact have them; it's just that they don't occur that often. In other terms, geological time is so long that we can not see everything that is going on -- we can't pick up on quakes that happen every 10,000 years until they happen. Of course, in some areas earthquakes happen much more frequently and thus predictions are possible -- for example, Taiwan, Japan, the Pacific NW, and so on...

[Murat]

Regarding considering potential earthquakes when deciding where to live, it's your responsibility. I'm not saying not to live in an earthquake-prone place -- I live in Taiwan! -- but to educate yourself the best you can...that is, make sure your building is safe -- there is info online that can help you do this -- and that you have the proper safety equipment. You should also be aware that by living in an earthquake-prone place, you may end up under a pile of rubble. I've had several students here that have been rescued from collapsed buildings. One of whom has scares all over his arms and legs. After he was dug out, he spent 5 days in a hospital by himself thinking his family had died in during the quake. He was lucky -- they all survived. This is the reality for those who choose to live in such areas...The worst thing you can do is put it out of mind, like some posters suggested...Earthquakes are nothing like typhoons...The risks posed by typhoons are super easy to mitigate...

[steve b]

We had a 4.8 quake here in the spring festival this year and I never felt a thing!

[Kiwi303]