Health & Fitness
One Blogger Predicted A Quake For East Coast Days Before It Happened
Blogger used scientific data to predict an East Coast earthquake.
that shook much of the East Coast on Tuesday was not unexpected, at least not to a blogger known as dutchsinse. In fact, on August 13, 2011, he predicted that a strong earthquake would soon rattle this part of the country.
utchsinse does not appear to be some kind of Dooms Day prophet. I do not know if he is a scientist or not (he has not responded to some questions I sent him by email), but his prediction of an earthquake seems to have been based on logic and intelligent review of available data.
I am not a scientist and I can not simply explain plate tectonics, the geological events that trigger earthquakes, but what I gather from the video produced by dutchsinse is that there is a very old tectonic plate known as the North American Craton, lies below much of the American and Canadian Midwest, with a boundary that resembles a "U" shape, that runs down from western Canada, through Colorado, along north Texas, and then swings back up the East Coast of the United States into eastern Canada.
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According to dutchsinse, the Pacific Plate, which the Pacific Ocean sits on, is currently highly active and its movement is causing pressure on the North American Craton. Based on his reading of scientific data, he observed an "up-tick" in earthquake and volcanic activity along the boundaries of the Pacific Plate (known as the "Ring of Fire") and the North American Craton. dutchsinse noted that the earthquakes along the North American Craton boundary were moving eastward.
In an August 13th video, dutchsinse said (at the seven minute mark):
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"The earthquake threat watch [in the United States] extends pretty much across the entire country for the next week. And that's because of the amount of earthquakes creeping eastward. You are looking at a 3.0 or 4.0 watch up here in New England, up into Ontario, over the next week. So, right up here [using pointer to indicate area], look for it!"
Okay, so he was off a little on the strength of the earthquake (it was stronger than dutchsinse predicted), on the location (the actual epicenter was a few hundred miles south of where he predicted), and the date (he was off by five days), but it is clear that the reason behind Tuesday's quake was not as random as many in the media would have us believe, if dutchsinse if correct.
Here are some links to videos made by dutchsinse regarding the up-tick in earthquake and volcanic activity from August 13, 2011, up until just after Tuesday's seismic event on the East Coast.
August 13, 2011:
In this video, dutchsinse explains why he expects a strong earthquake on the East Coast.
August 22, 2011:
In this video, one day before the East Coast earthquake, dutchsinse discusses a fairly large earthquake along the North American Craton, in Colorado. He also shows the "U" shape of the North American Craton and the recent earthquake activity along its border.
August 22, 2011:
dutchsinse discusses a even larger earthquake occurring in Colorado.
August 23, 2011:
This video discusses the East Coast earthquake and its relation to the Colorado earthquake. dutchsinse says, "...we have some serious movement in the United States. I think that is pretty much undeniable now."
August 23, 2011:
More discussion about the up-tick in earthquake activity along the North American Craton and some advice on how to prepare for survival after a major earthquake.
August 24, 2011:
In this video, dutchsinse shows recent earthquake clusters and says the East Coast should be aware of potentially more seismic activity.
The long and short of it is that this guy dutchsinse seems to know what he is talking about and, in any event, his videos sure are fun to watch.