......according to geologists, especially if you live down South,... so if one night you think the earth is moving, you could well be right.

http://www.costa-news.com/index.php?...008&Itemid=119

Apparently a bad one is just about due.
The last big one certainly caused a fair bit damage, as well as much loss of life.
Won't do the property market the world of good either.

Yeah right, name a year and I will have a bet against you.

Well even the experts can't name the exact year.
However if you allow me a little bit leeway,say within 50 years either side, then I'll be happy to take you on.

Over in our corner we seem to get one every year just off the west coast of Portugal how much damage depends on the depth of the epicenter. A couple of years back it was shallow and some older masonary properties in Portugal and Spain were damaged and I think 2 killed on the Algarve and one in Spain.

The Building regs in Spain have been pretty good for a few years with regard to Earthquake protection and if the property complies with the regs even a 6+ quake will not demolish it but internal and cosmetic external damage will occur. Old masonary properties are a different kettle of fish some might survive undamaged some might loose the chimney killing someone in bed and others might be demolished completely.

I`ll be long gone by then.

A lot of the village houses around here are stone built with no (or very little) mortar and the roofs are reinforced concrete slabs - I reckon they weigh at least a tonne per metre. If one of those comes down on you you'll know about it.

Why do you think I hedged my bet ?

Quite a few years ago,I recall seeing several deserted villages in remote areas of Andalucia which looked like they'd been affected by earthquakes or unstable ground.
Most of the houses appeared to be very old, certainly not of modern construction and had sizable cracks in the walls and roofs that had collapsed

We built our house nearly 10 years ago and had to have a full geological survey which included an assessment of the earthquake risk - we are right in the fault area.

The size of the foundations and the degree of reinforcement amazed me - at one point we had a queue of 5 cement lorries lined up to fill them.

Things have certainly changed regarding building regs in the last 20 years or so.

Same for us 5 years ago the amount of reinforcement in the basements and the quality of the concrete was suberb. My comment as a professional civil engineer was if there is a nuclear war thats the place for friends and family.

In our three years living in inland Andalucia I've felt quite a few earth tremors!
I'm not going to worry too much about there being a big one though.....the fact that the land all around here is unstable, with sink holes appearing after heavy rain is much more of a concern.

Anyone a bit nervous about earthquakes had better stay off the news channels this morning. The big one has hit Japan, but the tsunami is expected in Hawaii in five hours time and will probably get as far as the west coast of the US.

I too live in an earthquake zone, my nearest town was completely destroyed 150 years ago. You can take sensible measures to protect yourself but if an earthquake of the magnitude of the one hitting Japan right now strikes, there is little you can do.

Yes over 7 is a biggggg one but first reports suggest that Tokyo has not been damaged too much. Their Building regs have been amongst the best in the world alongside Calafornia for many years now. I would worry if I was in an area with sink holes I would think the kind of soils there would be susceptible to liquifaction as in the recent quake in NZ.

I think you'd better check again.

The Japanese quake is a real disaster
I just watched the waves sweeping over the countryside catching up with people fleeing down the roads in their cars

The oil terminal is just a huge ball of fire. Ten meter waves. Rivers sweeping buildings and cars down with them.

Google:

Tsunami Alert for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others. Waves expected over the next few hours, caused by 8.9 earthquake in Japan.

Sorry watched the 5am news on BBC and it was just coming in and the wave had not hit just looking at Sky news at the Tsunami wave coming and the commentary quite rightly is telling us of the incredable amount of energy in the millions of tonnes of water coming ashore at more than 96kph. Just told us that a fire has broken out at a Nuclear Power station. The whole of the west coast of USA has been put on alert. Now film of the fire and it is still burning. 8.9 off the coast is now the size. that is bad!!!!!