Catastrophe Mitigation

Below are some thumbnails that are links to depictions of how the quanafi and yawurenyi handle geological hazards. Below each will be a description of the image and an explanation of the process.

here we see how quanafi and yawu determine the epicenter of a quake. The red boxes represent severe damage, orange is moderate damage, yellow is minor damage and green is no damage.

First they note the locations that report damage and how severe it is. They take into account that some structures are more resistant or some areas have better foundations [bedrock vs clay] than others.

They overlay a circle encompassing as many non anomolous points as possible matching each damage level. They mark the centers of the circles and use that to approximate the epicenter. The size of the quake is determined by its intensity. Not unlike this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercalli_Intensity_Scale

I will post my quanafi intensity scale as soon as i find the paper.

This takes that same style of map and shows two nearby earthquakes. When overlayed they can connect the dots to determine an approximate fault line (black) and zones in which it is safe or not safe to build. If there were more points the red and yellow zones would expand to include the fault line's projected path.

Here you will see how this plays out for the average quanafi. This is the quanafi territory on vanafanyu. The dots represent hazards according to the following key (i apologize to the colorblind):

red- volcanoes

blue-light quakes

green-moderate to large quakes

yellow- megathrust quakes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megathrust_earthquake

brown=landslides (the two shades don't mean anything)

light blue/purple=tsunami

Fault lines are determined as above. They are not marked on this copy but are in gray on my personal copy, you can probably determine them yourselves. The fault (note the line of green dots) running parallel to the volcanic arc is presumed to be a plate boundary of the convergent-subduction type. Based on the various hazards and the fault lines the quanafi and yawu mark red zones that you may not build in and you probably don't want to visit. Yellow zones restrict housing and places that attract many people but you can build other things there so long as you move if future events move you to a red zone. Yellow zone and near yellow zone residents are expected to have an emergency plan in place including needed supplies and evacuation procedures.

The red dot got covered but in the largest red zone along the line of volcanoes you see one with many blue and brow dots and a slightly pinker red. That is Daome Pachara. It is considered laukini [sacred/taboo/blessed/cursed] and only outcasts and certain people performing sacred rites may go there. Later on, human volcanologists and geologists get to visit it but only for scientific research and their base of operations is not in the red zone.

Let it be noted that there are mountain and yawurenyi living in those mountains, as well as some quanafi. This is a historical map and some of the volcanoes are very much extinct (but not Daome). Yawu maps have a much smaller red area as they are in much less danger from quakes (they can sense them before the surface waves come). Daome is still forbidden territory.

A future map may depict where the alarm bells are at.

This s part one of the Quanafi Mitigation Directive: "Map the danger and stay away." Part 2 will come when I feel like it.

What do you think?

[for trebor: the pictures show multicolored maps that basically say that the lower part of the quanafi lands are screwed and show that quanafi aren't dumb like humans. ]

_________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab

Last edited by Dazi on Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:04 pm; edited 4 times in total

Not very qualified to say much is what I think (that I am).

Looks good though. I can see that there's a lot of hype about the hurricanes etc over in America, eh? There is a bit here but presumably not as much.

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--Resident blonde fool

Very interesting Dazi. What is their technology level, what tools they use to assess damaga?

And do they have big cities in the earthquake zones, like the silly humans? _________________

The cow went to the swamp.

Well done!

How is the technique adapted to finding the epicenters of tsunami-causing earthquakes? After all, it'd only give about half a circle...

_________________

I have met the enemy, and she is me.

Often, the shadows of the past are the worst to live under and the hardest to chase away.

Their tech level is fairly low. They can cast giant bells out of copper and make knives of stone or most any metal.

They judge intensity/damage much the way we figure out the intensity of historical quakes...

look at this, ignore the richter rating

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-09/21/content_3521190.htm

based in the intensity scale and the description i'd put it at no more than a VI and probably lower, maybe as low as an IV.

Compare that to the dec 26 quake which was likely a IX to a XII.

as I tried to explain, they aren't allowed to build in the red areas and don't generally build in the yellow ones. those are the danger zones. silly humans live there though

_________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab

I'm guessing you realize why humans usualy build near volcanos, the soil is very fertile and eruptions always seems so far in the future...

Have the Quanafi and Yawu realized this valuable trait of their "danger zones" and have some been tempted to settle near them? Is the chaos that surely ensued the reason why this type of event feel into the second directive?

Are these regions still useful? i.e. do the humans sell fertile soil to the others? Do they mine it themselves?

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Fmra: how can ppl just assume that conlangers are also trekkies! I hate star trek!

I'm not too hot about being plopped next to Tolkien either, but at least he didn't run around in lycra.

Captain of The Boat

I know the reasons.

Quanafi do build along the rivers and plains of long extinct volcanoes, but not along active or dormant ones. Most farming is subsitence farming.

The second directive is mostly what to do if an event happens.

no, the humans don't do much with the soil as the quanafi keep shooing them away.

they are approximate. they guess at the unknown half and note the tendencies of the tsunami and go from there.

also, they care more about noting that they happened and where the effects, such as the tsunami, were felt. _________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab

A nice idea. However if as you say, the Quanafi are not very advanced technologically, then do they have any relegious dogma etc associated with this scientiic process of earthquake analysis, with somesort of head-priest type character doing the calculation etc?

Sort of the way astrology was important for the ancients? Do they have theistic theories of how and why gods cause earthquakes?

_________________

豫 武 綏 砮

(シャンタヌ)

Shiro Swan

Row, row, row your boat!

Do the quanafi have an accurate idea of the faults in their area?

_________________

LIVE THE SUBJUNCTIVE!

TB

Quanafi theology isn't as clean cut as polytheism or even spiritism.

I can explain what the yawurenyi think a little more clearly.

there are 4 hegemons: water, fire, earth, air

each is and controls their element, to understand natural processes is to understand the hegemons.

Quanafi cosmology in a nutshell: there are 4 realms (some claim five) of existence. Some groups within the realms have abilities others don't but no realm is made of deity like beings (not even kami like)...except maybe the legendary fifth realm. They believe that volcanoes and such are alive and will often apologize to them or ask them nicely to not erupt with such a big eruption next time. Quanafi may be low tech but they really like to understand the world around them. Not evacuating a hazard zone is a crime [it ruins their 98% track record for saving lives] and you become scorned by society for being an idiot.

in both communities everyone has a part in the mitigation, rescue and recovery...even small children. Children as young as four [both groups have more socially mature children btw] are often sent into reinforced gaps in debris to bring water and food to those trapped. They also traditionaly walk over the debris and tie ropes on it because they don't weigh enough to cause most debris to slip and crush people underneath. Adolescents and young adults are generally bell ringers as they are fit enough to do it and old enough to learn the codes. Able bodied adults move debris. The elderly, disabled and infirmed generally tend to children while their parents work and draw up maps and charts. The qua, quanela or tsi of the clan or the elder or "mayor" of the village

oversee the process. Owners of general stores and meeting place type establishments generally have the task of making sure everyone is accounted for and identifying the dead or unconcious. Generally the ultimate hazard maps are done by professionals hired by the government.

If a yawu senses a quake and does not tell anyone they are outcast if no one is maimed, or executed if people die because they were not alerted. To ignore a bell call for assistance when you are reasonably able to is a crime in all the societies and humans have often been shocked to see myuri, quanafi, yawu, and yawu outcasts show up to help with rescue and recovery after a quake.

that help?

@grath, yes they do. human geologists with their fancy equipment have proven that with the buffer zones the quanafi allot around a predicted fault line the difference between human and quanafi measurements are negligible. Most of these maps and such are actually done by yawu who even map quakes with no surface waves, giving a highly accurate picture of the faults.

[that image is currently down, when it comes up it'll be a manadlaesque representation of the 4 hegemons]

Daome Pachara = sun=mountain big-seat

Daome with vanafanyu fireweed [aka kelki]

_________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab

I hope the earthquakes don't hurt the lemmings! _________________

--Resident blonde fool

they won't...but i'm worried what the lemmings will do if they encounter a scarp _________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab

Is there anything about my conmitigation you'd like to see?

If i don't have it i can make it up _________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab

Finlay killed my thread! /me throws his lemmings off a cliff Where were we?

Oh, yes... building codes... the general quanafi and yawu idea is cheap, lightweight buildings. Basically, "earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do" is their mantra and they note that if a building's ceiling ways 20lbs (e.g. a thatch roof) it will hurt a lot less than if it weighs 100lbs (e.g. thin concrete). All buildings must have a certain number of support points (quanafi notably use a dome with coecentric rooms that all have potentially loadbearing walls) and should be made from either common (like grass and tree brances) or renewable (like mud) materials to speed up reconstruction. Strangely enought their houses rarely have foundations of any sort (so in a quake your house might relocate itself

) Decorations are generally light-weight, unbreakable and soft like tapestries. Quanafi will sometimes keep fancy pottery in a display case on the floor (before humans showed up it was generally a reed or wood fence around the item and you looked at it from above, now plastic is often used so you can see all sides). All furniture is wooden with an area below it that is the right size to seek shelter under. Cribs and beds for the bedridden or basically bedridden are designed with a little roof to protect them (one long side has a fancy latching thing that has to be moved in about 5 directions in order to open it...people can move it, quakes can't).

Also, culturally there is not much attachment to ones home city or even their actual home. If your city is severely damaged but your house is somehow fine the city is still deemed laukini and you still move. If you object the government first offers to build you a new house and if you still won't move they move everyone else and declare you a hermit (as any areas that have no communities are considered wilderness).

One way they force the building codes on humans is by offering to rebuild for free after a quake (as human houses tend to not fare so well) so long as it is not a human-style house. They also use human media to say that a structural retrofit will bring you great prosperity.

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At UNPEAS we just don't care!

Dazi at work...survival by apathy a la Wally

Ultra-Neutral Pickle Existence Aptathy Society

Muchly. Though I'm still intrigued by the Quanafi take on philosophy and religion, would like to know more.

Wow! The pics are awesome! Are they rendered? or photoshopped? How didja make 'em? Tell me, tell me, tell me. _________________

豫 武 綏 砮

(シャンタヌ)

Shiro Swan

Row, row, row your boat!

Quanafi realms of living things are:

rasi (spirit), physical(reshtu), concrete (shol), and mutable [the fifth would be unchanging]

nonliving things are:

feeling, idea (tsim), object (anila), and mutable [no fifth realm here]

good examples:

spirits, humans/animals/plants, trees/ocean/volcanoes, rivers/time

love, communism, books, water

the pics are in terragen except the elements one.

_________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab

/me hijacks this thread!

Terragen seems really cool. Is there a port for Linux or some other similar program for Linux?

/me hands over the thread back to Dazi

_________________

豫 武 綏 砮

(シャンタヌ)

Shiro Swan

Row, row, row your boat!

http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/ no linux version yet...

any comments on the building codes?

_________________

At UNPEAS we just don't care!

Dazi at work...survival by apathy a la Wally

Ultra-Neutral Pickle Existence Aptathy Society

Hmmm ... the building codes seem very suitable for an earthquake ravaged region, but I don't know if it wouldn't be a better solution for the whole tribe to shift to a non earthquake-prone area and build with stone/concrete as they wish. Their system is definitely very interesting and, in case you're interested there are actual tribes in North-Eastern India, which do something similar and build very lightweight houses propped up on bamboo stalks (a few meetres above the ground) so that when there are seasonal floods their houses are unaffected, and if the water does manage to rises high enough and detach the house from the bamboo poles it is on, the house still floats on water being made mostly of bamboo, and thatch.

_________________

豫 武 綏 砮

(シャンタヌ)

Shiro Swan

Row, row, row your boat!

The problem is that it isn't tribes that are in this area, it's a whole species. There are far less of them there than there are of humans on earth, but that would be like telling japan to pack up and move...rather unfeasable. they tend to live in the green areas but even there they build the same ways out of tradition.

also, their houses are reconstructable enough that if most any disaster comes and destroys it they can rebuild with ease.

those houses you descibe sound really cool!

_________________

NotW Ms Osperpup

wuyi wuyaya tita walawala biba

BOAT!

"Rianila gendari anan" KalvingunHab