History

 

 

Seismic Activity in Massachusetts

The news of a magnitude 4.7 earthquake over the weekend near the Kilauea Volcano in the Big Island of Hawaii most likely did not even cause much of a “ripple” in the local news here in Boston.

We are all aware of the revamped building codes in Massachusetts for seismic protection in new construction and retrofit projects. Again, for all of us in the HVAC design industry, seismic protection has become a “big deal”, seemingly tantamount to the big explosion of activity in IAQ during the 80’s after the tragedy of Legionnaires disease in 1976.

Did you know that in recorded history, there have been nineteen earthquakes that have been centered in Massachusetts? A shock in 1755 reached an intensity of VIII (modified Mercalli scale) and was felt across the entire State. On November 18th of that year, Boston walls and chimneys were knocked down, at Pembroke and Scituate small chasms opened in the earth and the quake was felt from Lake George to 200 miles east of Cape Ann, and from Chesapeake Bay to Nova Scotia.

The Northern States Emergency Consortium issues an index of 4.81 for the Commonwealth’s preparedness for an earthquake. The national average is 5.21. The scale is from 10 to 1, with 1 being the most prepared.

The lesson drawn is not an “out of sight, out of mind” approach as with the aforementioned Hawaii quake, but perhaps a harbinger of “hard knocks” or perhaps is could be “shaking our foundations” as HVAC Engineers.