New York Earthquake

Erdbeben gehören zu den schlimmsten Naturkatastrophen überhaupt. Doch was geschähe, wenn ein solches Beben die heutige Stadt New York erschütterte? Selbst ein relativ seichtes Beben, wie sie in Kalifornien ständig stattfinden, würde Schäden in Milliardenhöhe verursachen und Tausenden von Menschen das Leben kosten. Diese Dokumentation beleuchtet die mögliche Gefahr in New York City und erläutert die verheerenden möglichen Folgen.

An earthquake in New York City may seem like the plot of a bad movie, but a magnitude 5 quake occurred in 1884 and could happen again. Two faults run under Manhattan Island, including the 125th Street Fault where the landscape dips and the subway crosses on an open bridge. Since skyscrapers are designed to withstand windspeeds of 100 mph, most would survive sans windows; however, mid-sized masonry structures would collapse. As well, buildings (including smaller skyscrapers) built on landfill in Battery Park are subject to soil liquefaction, tipping over entirely in a major earthquake.