A magnitude 9.9 megathrust earthquake struck Pacifico on January 17, 2022, on 10:00:26 Telamon Sea Time, entirely ripping and further destroying the city after six EF0 tornadoes formed by Winter Storm Eunopial struck Pacifico. Aftershocks from The Big One, such as an 9.5 earthquake in Pacifico, would further destroy the western half of the North Bloxmerican continent. However, it was just a foreshock for a 10.6 earthquake in Bloxy City.
| UTC time | 18:00:26 |
|---|---|
| Roblox Seismological Centre event | Unknown |
| Local date | January 18, 2022 |
| Local time | 10:00:26 |
| Depth | 0 miles |
| Epicenter | Interblox 1 |
| Fault | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Western Half of North Bloxmerica |
| Tsunami | Affected Block Island |
| Casualties | 1,453 confirmed dead, 6,450 injured |
| Required Information | |
| Downdip rupture width in miles | 82.11 |
| Rupture area in square miles | 133,063 |
| Surface rupture length in miles | 2,363 |
| Subsurface rupture length in miles | 1,671 |
| Average displacement in feet | 342.4 |
| Fault slip rate in inches per year | 5.052 |
| Chikorita Magnitude | 9.9 Mchikorita (Great) |
Seismological Synopsis
The earthquake caused more fatalities than usual despite it striking when Robloxians were awake. The earthquake started on the surface causing the earthquake to be more intense. The earthquake hit and buildings crumbled. The shock was felt all throughout Bloxifornia and nine neighboring states. There were ten foreshocks and 90 aftershocks. The last two foreshocks had an intensity of 1.8 and an intensity of 3.5, respectively. The strongest aftershock took place over 3,957.3 miles from the epicenter, namely Bloxy City. The epicenter of the main shock was right on Interblox 1, causing the interblox to collapse alongside overpasses around it. Pacifico suffered the worst damage with over R$200.4 trillion in damage. The earthquake threw debris into the sky, and some landed as far as 501 miles away from Pacifico. Some debris landed in the Telamon Sea, while some debris landed in uncultivated and unpopulated areas. The earthquake triggered a tsunami in Telamon Sea, crashing into the island of Block. The earthquake was felt for ten more hours after the main shock. Fortunately, no bridges collapsed by the earthquake.
The Telamon Sea Tsunami started at 10:10:26, just ten minutes after the earthquake occurred. The tsunami hit the island of Block around 19:21:26, and the waves were at least 251 feet high. The tsunami crashed into a state park in Block Island, destroying campsites and everything else in it. It also demolished the beaches of Block Island as the tsunami went into a lake in the island and proceeded to strengthen. At 19:56:26, the tsunami hit the downtown portion of the island and went south towards an Bloxican village. The tsunami hit the Bloxican village and dissipated shortly after, causing R$2 trillion in damage. The tsunami was later rated a major tsunami. 536 Robloxians died in the tsunami.
Aftermath
The earthquake's aftermath was considered to be horrific. 437.2 trillion ROBUX in damage was caused by the earthquake and 90 aftershocks raised the price up by 200.4 billion. The earthquake caused 1,453 deaths, 6,450 injuries and 61,135 missing. The original death toll was 1,468 before the Robloxia Emergency Management Agency found out that 15 deaths were not caused by the earthquake. The earthquake caused everybody in Pacifico and its surrounding nine counties to perform a mandatory evacuation, which lasted until 2037. A total of ten museums (five of them art museums, five of them public museums) collapsed, causing R$6 billion in damage. The earthquake demolished sidewalks and buildings, causing five cities that were near the mandatorily evacuated counties to be closed off until it was safe to enter again in August 2030.
Legacy
It took until 2047 for Bloxifornia and two other states to fully recover from the earthquake. The last city to recover was Pacifico, where at least half of the 1,453 deaths were caused. It took until 2052 to recover from the aftershocks. Ten cities, including Pacifico decided to make a collaboration group to be more prepared for earthquakes after the earthquake occurred. The Robloxia Weather Service decided to make ten hurricane and tsunami warning centers in Block Island. Block Island also built flood levees after the tsunami. Pacifico and four other cities became icons to always be prepared for earthquakes. The collaboration group made by Pacifico and Block Island to be prepared for earthquakes became popular around five states, and the group was later made official by being supported by three of the five state governors. The Earthquake Awareness Group stood out towards five countries and became a continental icon. Robloxians later became aware of how dangerous earthquakes could be, and nobody was more prepared for them since. The 2022 Bloxifornia earthquake became historical because of this. Block Island never fully recovered from the tsunami, but they managed to almost fully rebuild and be happy again. Eventually, this earthquake would be mentioned in Robloxian history textbooks, and in electronic encyclopedia articles such as this one.