At 12:34 AM 6/30/97 -0400, Tempest wrote:

	What I'm trying to get at is, in 35 years, it'll be 2032.  Yes, THAT
2032.  Do YOU see a future of giant Mecha or MegaCorporations taking
over?  Is THE Earthquake going to hit Kanto or California? 

  I don't know about THE Earthquake, but it is likely that California will
suffer at least one major earthquake between by 2032.  However, because of
building standards in California, unless the epicenter is directly beneath
a major city, even a huge earthquake (Richter 7+) is not going to destroy
the economy of the state.  Of more concern to the US is the New Madrid
fault which in a 3 month period (1811-1812) produced four earthquakes
greater than magnitude 7.3 (1 or 2 of them are estimated to be greater than
magnitude 8).  Because there have been no major earthquakes since that time
(but thousands of small quakes), the risk is quite high that by 2032 there
will be another series of powerful New Madrid earthquakes.  Unlike 1811,
St. Louis, Memphis, and even Chicago would suffer heavy damage since none
of these cities require that buildings meet the same standards as those in
California or Tokyo.  Collectively, the New Madrid quakes of 1811-1812 were
considerably more powerful than the 1906 San Francisco quake or the 1995
Kobe quake.  

  Japan is almost certainly going to be hit by more earthquakes, but they
have more to fear from an offshore quake creating a large tsunami than from
a quake hitting Japan itself.  A large tsunami hitting Tokyo Bay would be
devastating.  

	Is our future so bleak or is it filled with sunshine and happy days?

  Both.  

                                                                    dml