Twisties Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 ...when the next great Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami hits will be the legal ramifications of this: ...the northwest edge of the continent, from California to Canada and the continental shelf to the Cascades, will drop by as much as six feet and rebound thirty to a hundred feet to the west—losing, within minutes, all the elevation and compression it has gained over centuries. But I wonder, how does the law address the movement of property. Ours will have moved that same 30-100' east over the last 315 years as the fault has remained locked and the North American Plate is compressing. When the fault releases it will, within the space of 3-5 minutes, move back west. Where we are, the land will also drop about 12'. So, do our property boundaries move with us, or does the land move out from under them? Could our house, assuming it remains on it's foundation, end up in our neighbor's yard? http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one Link to comment
Glenn Reed Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Based on this statement in the article - “Our operating assumption is that everything west of Interstate 5 will be toast.” I doubt that you'll be worrying about the law and your property... Just finished reading the rest of the article. Umm, wow. Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Wow is right......that was quite a read. As for your question Jan......I have no idea Link to comment
mneblett Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Will likely depend on your local government. I had a friend with ocean-front property in Hawaii. You'd think that when lava extended the property further into the ocean, his property line went with it. Nope, the State of Hawaii says anything new is theirs. Link to comment
greiffster Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Wow is right......that was quite a read. +1. Quite a pick me up. Now I have to finish my work today, which I just realized is mostly irrelevant. Link to comment
Danny caddyshack Noonan Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I wonder if Boeing is doing prelim design on any amphibious aircraft? Link to comment
EddyQ Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 315 years in a 243 year mean cycle is bothersome. 72 years late! Link to comment
AnotherLee Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 A favorite sig line: I was born in San Andreas but it's not my fault Link to comment
elkroeger Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Over here on the Big Island, as I understand it, all the newly formed land is state property. I'm guessing though, that if any land is lost, and it happens to be yours, you're just S.O.L.... All the more reason to live in an RV. Home is where you park it! Link to comment
John Ranalletta Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Good question. Just a guess... Given the legal descriptions of real estate parcels have descriptions beginning with a lateral reference to a principal meridian/baseline.... Picture a flat plane formed by a lot's metes and bounds description. If the land shifts beneath that plane, when the movement ends, that plane when overlaid on what's left should be what you own, regardless of change in altitude. If your neighbor's house shifts into that space and/or your house shifts into your neighbor's, I wonder who owns the improvements. Looking at this graphic, it would seem that a lateral shift in the earth's crust leaves the legal description intact; otherwise, every parcel in the US would require a re-survey and the legal description amended (which would be necessary in any case to visibly re-establish lot lines). Except if it doesn't. e.g. if a military base, oil well or gold mine shifted to your advantage, but then there are always mineral right issues. My brain hurts. Link to comment
Sonor Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Did ya ever hear the term Arizona bay? Or Nevada bay? Just sayin' Link to comment
Twisties Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Did ya ever hear the term Arizona bay? Or Nevada bay? Just sayin' Link to comment
4wheeldog Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Did ya ever hear the term Arizona bay? Or Nevada bay? Just sayin' Idaho has a seaport (Lewiston). It may get a whole oceanfront, when the wiggling stops. Link to comment
Danny caddyshack Noonan Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Idaho has a seaport (Lewiston). It may get a whole oceanfront, when the wiggling stops. And a submarine, maybe part of one, on the side of the road in Arco. Or, one of the towns along 26/93 nearby. Link to comment
Coinneach Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Did ya ever hear the term Arizona bay? Or Nevada bay? Just sayin' "Learn to swim! Learn To Swim! LEARN TO SWIM!" -MJK Link to comment
Huzband Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Ya know, there are some of us on the right coast that may think parts of the left coast falling into the sea isn't such a bad idea. Except for losing some friends. Like you. Oh, and if it happens, I doubt you'll have time to think of property rights. Link to comment
Twisties Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Ya know, there are some of us on the right coast that may think parts of the left coast falling into the sea isn't such a bad idea. Except for losing some friends. Like you. Oh, and if it happens, I doubt you'll have time to think of property rights. Link to comment
1springer Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Interesting article, sounds like it assumes the whole thing unzips. More probably individual segments will slip. I live north of SEA and a half mile from I-5. Earthquake doesn't bother me. However ya'll should be worried about our volcanoes (Baker, Glacier, Rainier) since many of you are downwind. http://pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/csz Link to comment
Twisties Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Interesting article, sounds like it assumes the whole thing unzips. More probably individual segments will slip. I live north of SEA and a half mile from I-5. Earthquake doesn't bother me. However ya'll should be worried about our volcanoes (Baker, Glacier, Rainier) since many of you are downwind. http://pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/csz The fault has historically always slipped beginning on the S. segment and propagated varying distances northward. The intensity depends on the length of the rupture. Being in the S. segment, we get all the quakes. However, many are only 8 ish. These produce similar shaking, but much smaller tsunami (30-50'). The big thing, the area affected is much smaller and emergency response will be much better, accordingly. Should the entire fault slip, that's when we get the 9+ with the truly huge tsunami... up to 150' in some locales and the entire PNW is in trouble all at once. So I forget exact numbers, but the geological record shows something like 40ish great quakes over 10k years, but of these IIRC it's only about 5 that are full length ruptures. Link to comment
Twisties Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 For our area on the S. Oregon Coast, they say a 40% chance of an 8 ish 'quake or a 10% chance of a 9+ in the next 50 years. So, naturally, we are building our new hospital in the tsunami zone, but only within the reach of a 9+ event. Not that anyone will be able to get to the hospital, anyway. Link to comment
Coinneach Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 However, many are only 8 ish. LOL "only". Link to comment
Glenn Reed Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Well, now I see there's at least some planning going on - article here. Link to comment
Bud Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The Midwurst is looking better all the time. Link to comment
Red Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Me thinks land ownership is based on a tax lot. tax lots are based on land surveys. Land surveys use positioning relative to points which will not move (out of the quake impact zone). Therefor for those properties or portions of properties that move west and under the sea, those are gone. For the rest that change position relative to those fixed points, you will own some of your neighbors property from the east and your neighbor to the west will own some of your former property. That's my guess. It will be a great boon to land surveyors and attorneys. Go down to your local county assessors office and ask them. I'd be real interested in their response. Maybe second visit is to your home owner insurance office to see if you can be compensated to sort it all out. Link to comment
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