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“Even though you’re the masters of air, land, and sea?” she asked.
They all laughed, even Shark. “Right, but now that we’re informed, we’re true masters.”
“Exactly. If you have any more questions. Let me know.”
She looked around and realized they were close to her designated point. “Oh, pull off here, Shark.”
He maneuvered the car onto the shoulder, and Maddy got out and closed the door. She surveyed the area. “Could you grab one big box and one small one, also my computer?” She used her phone to check her coordinates and started to walk. When she reached the epicenter, she stopped and found a patch of ground. She looked back to see Brawler carrying the big box. He’d let Beast off the leash, and he was exploring the area with his nose to the ground. Shark was carrying the smaller box, and she took a moment to admire the man’s strength, those bunched biceps and strong legs.
She reached into her pocket for the box cutter she’d slipped inside before leaving the house. Pulling it out, she opened both boxes, checking the contents. Her equipment was intact and ready to be installed.
“No wonder this was so heavy,” Twister said. “You have a concrete slab in here.”
Maddy looked at him. “Yup. That’s for the rotational sensor and the seismometer to sit on.”
He pulled it out of the box and asked, “Where do you want me to place this?”
“Right here,” she said. It took about thirty minutes for her to get everything up and running, then set the official signage in the ground in French, Spanish, and English that this was private equipment monitoring seismic activity and wasn’t to be touched. The seismograph would record activity that would be sent to a server where she could access her data.
Throughout it all, the guys were very helpful. As they headed back to the vehicle, Shark asked, “What’s your research paper on? What are you studying?”
“Mitigating Hazard to New and Future Construction through Identification and Characterization of Potentially Hazardous Faults in Urban Areas in Haiti,” she responded. “We want to advise the government about the engineering specifications to earthquake-proof their homes, businesses, and government buildings to keep not only them safe, but to save them from rebuilding every time an earthquake happens, also to preserve their irreplaceable cultural heritage, and infrastructure that needs to survive natural disasters intact. A lot of people aren’t aware that earthquakes cause fires, water and food shortages, and disease outbreaks.”
“So, when you find out the maximum expected magnitude for an earthquake in a given area, the government of Haiti can tailor their preventive engineering to these local conditions?”
“Exactly. Rebuilding is always an issue, and costly.”
“It’s been fourteen years since the last quake.”
“Right. That was a devastating quake, and back then Haiti was extremely poor. They rebuilt, but most of the construction won’t stand up to another massive earthquake.”
“And when is that expected?”
“Well, we can’t predict an earthquake, but we can forecast one.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Predictions need to be accurate, which means whatever method you use, it must be consistent and repeatable, and we haven’t achieved that. That’s simply impossible. But forecasting relies on science and the chance or the probability of a range of future earthquakes in a given region. Like, for instance, the Nepali earthquake. We expected it. It was only a matter of time and that 7.8 quake was devastating, with nine thousand fatalities and over one hundred thousand people injured. Whole villages were wiped out.”
“Probability based on?”
“Four events of 6.0 or greater have occurred within 250 kilometers of the 2015 quake over the past century. You have to understand that the boundary region of the India and Eurasia plates have a history of intense earthquakes. The events, one in 1934, rupturing an even greater area and causing a high magnitude 8.0 quake, responsible for more than ten thousand fatalities, are indicative of continuing quakes, but unfortunately, earthquake preparedness wasn’t well-received at that time, even with a clear warning. Then there was a 6.9 one in 1988, causing over fifteen hundred fatalities, so there was widespread devastation. Prior to the twentieth century, there was a large earthquake in 1833 in the same area.”
“You really know your stuff, lady,” Brawler said.
“Bro, you saw the name tag on the equipment boxes. She has enough letters after her name to start a whole new alphabet. What were you expecting?” Twister said.
“Right. So, what about Haiti? What do you forecast for this area?” Brawler asked.
“There is medium probability of another large quake. Since 2010, this island has had seven earthquakes from 3.5 to 5.9 in magnitude. It’s also an active plate area like Nepal.”
“So, one could hit at any minute?”
In the next one hundred years? Absolutely. Today or next week? Certainly, it’s possible but not necessarily likely.”
There was a moment of silence and Maddy looked over at Shark. He was intent on driving. It was easy to remember the two times they kissed. She knew passion, and she understood it. But the thing between the two of them took passion up a notch. It didn’t help that they had just met and really didn’t know each other that well, so her curiosity about him was almost unbearable.
Then she thought about what she’d decided. She had to work through her own shit before getting involved with him. Seven relationships in eighteen months. That was…excessive. Her stomach dropped a little then she got nauseous. None of them had been long-standing either.
