h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think so, and they're definitley tougher than they used to be. That's the general reasoning as to why so little damage happens here. I'm not convinced of that totally - I just read something about proximity to epicentre (eg bad if you are within 50km). So I think if that 7.8 had been on the Wellington fault line there would have been alot of damage. I think Civil Defense etc operate on the notion that when the big one hits, lots of people are going to be homeless (and many dead). Mostly everyone lives in denial of that, although after the Asian tsunami more people will have gotten extra food and water and a torch I expect.

I remember lots of CD education when I was a kid, so there must have been a big earthquake then or maybe research. Mostly I remember it being about tsunamis though, and how you have to familiarise yourself with the back of the phone book where it tells you what to do. In the last two decades or so I think people just haven't thought about it much until the last few years when it's been in their face again with various things.

At school in the southern bits of the country we all get told what to do in a bushfire - not that there's any guarantee there'll be enough time to do anything much. Up north, they get told what to do if there's a cyclone. Earthquakes tend to get overlooked because they're so rare here.

What did they tell you to do for bushfires?

We had earthquake drills where we had to get under our desks (not that they would offer much protection if the roof collapsed but I guess there's not much else to be done for a room full of 30 kids).

For bushfires:

1. Leave, and leave early.
2. If you choose not to leave, then block the downpipes, fill the gutters on the roof with water, dampen everything down. (You will of course have kept the gutters clear and vegetation cut back as a matter of course.) Make sure in advance that the garden hose can circle the entire house.
3. If the fire's coming straight towards you, go inside, close all windows and doors, put wet towels under doors. Fill the bath and the sink and so forth with water. Stay in the house until the main front has passed.
4. Wear natural fibres - long trousers, long-sleeved shirts. Closed shoes, of course.
5. Have a battery-powered radio and keep it tuned to your local ABC station.

There are variations on this general outline, all of which assume a decent supply of water and a house designed to eliminate crevices and gaps where embers can enter the building.

One of the more useless bits of advice is to dig yourself a hole and hide in it as the firefront passes. I can't help thinking this'll make a person into a human hangi.

So the schools would be assuming they'd evacuated before the fire?

Have to say I'd rather deal with a big earthquake. But maybe it's what you grow up expecting. Bushfires just aren't on the agenda here so I've not had to get used to the idea of them

I think the school assumed a bushfire would only happen during the holidays. I mean, we had no buses or anything useful like that, so there would have been no way to evacuate without outside help. I used to think being in a built-up area would be a defence measure in itself, but after the firestorm here in 2003 I no longer believe that.

Was that the first time in a big city then?

Parts of Hobart got burnt in 1967, but the terrain in Hobart is so steep and difficult and so studded with bushland there were other accessibility issues at play there. The parts of Sydney that got burnt in 1994 were similar - suburban fringe housing built into bushland. Canberra, on the other hand, is classic suburbia.

Going back a bit (not that I haven't enjoyed the bushfire vs earthquake discussion - very illuminating thank you ) ... the 7.8 quake last week actually opened up a new bit of fault, which is getting geologists and quakeologists very excited I have no idea of the significance of course, but I'm sure it *is* terribly exciting.

It is exciting, I agree - and no, I'm not sure what it all means either.

At last, here's the reason for the quake. It's a cunning, underhand invasion plan.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/22/2633505.htm

We're used to Kiwis coming across the ditch in large numbers, but it seems now they're all coming at once...

We thought we'd wait 'til we were closer before we said anything, maybe in a few million years time. I have a feeling Tasmania will be our initial destination

That'll liven things up in Tasmania - and at just the sort of speed they can cope with.

Maybe it's time to start talking about a single currency again, as it'll take a while to get agreement.

Glad you brought this in, I was coming to do just that, but in a less witty manner

Thanks.

As invasions go, this one's quite civilised so far; most invaders don't actually bring land with them...

I know, aren't we so kind