| From: | graht1@*****.com (Graht) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | California - Earthquake, Flooding, and The Map |
| Date: | Wed, 28 Sep 2005 11:21:54 -0600 |
"In early 2069, a pair of major earthquakes coming from
the San Andreas Fault line and the San Pedro Shelf caused widespread
flooding and destruction, killing tens of thousands. Much
of Southern California and the Central Valley found themselves
dropped below sea level and were inundated with tidal waves.
While San Francisco and the Bay Area were mostly spared, waters
have flooded most of the Central Valley and Los Angeles
(which, if nothing else, had at least fortified their sea walls in
the more affluent corporate areas decades ago). They say that
the floodwaters may recede after a year or two, but we'll see."
Okay, I've taken the time to look into this and it is so wrong on so
many levels.
Let's start with Los Angeles. If the San Pedro Shelf dropped or rised
I concede that it would create a tidal wave. No question. Would it
flood all of LA, which has an average elevation of 300' above sea
level? No. It would have to create a 300+ wall of water and there
would be *millions* of deaths, not tens of thousands. Okay, but what
if the shelf and LA both dropped? We're still talking about 300'
here. If LA drops 300+ feet then the energy released in the
earthquake alone would wipe it off the map (not to mention every
structure within several hundred miles).
Which leads us to the next problem: the Central Valley dropping below
sea level. The Central Valley is *huge*. In order for the Central
Valley to drop below sea level almost the entire state of California
has to sink. We're talking about continental mass here. That just
doesn't happen. Not no way, not no how.
Okay, maybe the author exagerated. The shelf and dropped 20-30 feet
and a tidal wave hit the coast of LA and sections of LA along the
coast are now under water. See Hurican Katrina and New Orleans for
the results. LA's port is now gone and it's completely hosed. I can
go along with that.
Which brings us back to the Central Valley. ....nope, can't reconcile
that one. Sorry, didn't happen.
And now for the lovely map. I don't know about you guys but if I'm
the guy making the map I'm going to at least find out where the
Central Valley is before I start drawing in flooded areas. According
to the map in the back of the book the Central Valley wasn't flooded
at all, and mountains that were several thousand feet above sea level
are now underwater. Given that, I do not trust anything on the map in
the back of the book.
There, I've had my little rant and I'm done. Other than the
California fiasco I really do like SR4 and would heartily recommend it
to anyone, but I would also let them know that the California
earthquake as presented in the rules is completely bogus. Or, it's
one hell of a PR spin that will get cleared up in a published
adventure where the runners are hired to go up against Network 23 and
find out that the California earthquake was a 100% manufactured story
and that they've been perpetuating it ever since. This adventure will
of course include an updated and accurate map of North America.
--
-Graht
