 |
| Aerial photograph of downtown Charleston overlain on the present day geologic map. Note that much of the present day city is built on formations labeled as “Artificial Fill” “Tidal Marsh” or “Estuarine Deposits”. These materials are extremely unstable under conditions of severe shaking present during a large earthquake. |
 |
| Topographic Hazard Map of Charleston with Shaded Danger Zones |
Key
C of C: College of Charleston
B: Important bridges in high damage zone
F: Important fire stations in high damage zone
H: Important hospitals in high damage zone
I: Coast Guard
MB: Important municipal buildings in high damage zone
P: Important police stations in high damage zone
S: Important streets in high damage zone
Red: Zones that would experience HIGH damage
Yellow: Zones that would experience INTERMEDIATE damage
Green: Zones that would experience LOW damage
Key Infrastructures Located in High Damage Zones
Hospitals: Medical University of South Carolina
Murray Hospital
Baker Hospital
 |
| Medical University of South Carolina |
Bridges: Ashley River Memorial Bridge
Cooper River Bridge
 |
| Cooper River Bridge |
Coast Guard
 |
| US Coast Guard Logo |
Police stations: County Jail
Charleston County Police Station
 |
| Charleston Country Police Department Logo |
Streets: Calhoun Street
Lockwood Dr.
 |
| Francis Marion Hotel on Calhoun Street |
Municipal buildings: U.S. Customhouse
 |
| United States Customhouse in Charleston, SC |
Fire stations: Charleston County Fire Department
 |
| Charleston Country Fire Department |
Why They Are Located in High Risk Hazard Zones
As you can see from the Generalized Geologic Map of the Charleston Peninsula and Surrounding Areas above, all of these important infrastructures are built on artificial land (see Words You Should Know!) and modern barrier island! This means that the ground is unstable during an earthquake and susceptible to liquefaction. Liquefaction happens when the ground becomes soft due to ground shaking and sand behaves as a liquid. As a result of liquefaction, buildings will topple and sink into the ground. Another important factor is that a lot of the buildings in Charleston are made of brick. Brick buildings sustain more damage than wood buildings because they do not allow movement causing buildings to crumble and crack rather than simply shaking.
Here is a helpful video further explaining liquefaction:
What Would Happen If These Infrastructures Were Lost
If these important infrastructures were lost, there would be no way to get emergency medical attention or help from the police department. Eventually, fires would spread throughout Charleston without a fire department to put them out and severely damage the city and even be the reason for fatalities. Furthermore, the flooded and destroyed streets/bridges would pose a problem because even first responders wouldn't be able to travel to help anyone! Essentially, Charleston would be in complete chaos!
References:
No comments:
Post a Comment