1999 San Juan Earthquake

The 1999 San Juan earthquake was a 6.1 and 7.4 off the coast of San Juan, resulting in a one-meter tsunami after both earthquakes.

On February 3rd, 1999, the peaceful town of San Juan was shaken to its core by a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake, and the much lighter 6.1. The residents of this coastal community, nestled along the Telamon Sea, had no idea that tragedy was about to strike on an otherwise peaceful Friday evening. Shaking could be felt in cities all the way to Livetopia (even very slight), and damage occurred in the town of Bloxburg, over 115 KM away. This earthquake caused over 3 trillion dollars of Robux in damage, mostly due to the partial collapse of Bloxburg State Route 10, the collapse of one of the towers in the Emerald Plaza Complex completely destroying the Hall of Justice building next to it, and hundreds of residential buildings collapsing and/or burning.

It was a quiet Friday evening, right after lunch. Most people were working at school, traveling, or relaxing at home. This peaceful and quiet day would do a full 180 when at 13:34:02, a 6.1 earthquake struck. At the peak of this earthquake, it was only a V in the Mercalli scale in San Juan, which is light shaking. Most people looked around in confusion and shock. No early earthquake warnings were sent out. Only one house was damaged, as a tree branch fell and hit their window. Robloxians said that some dishes and other items like books fell off shelves. Otherwise, there was not much of a commotion, and most people went back to working.

Only 10 seconds after the earthquake was declared over, the 7.4 earthquake struck, the time being 13:36:33. 10 seconds after at 13:35:43, the earthquake warning was sounded. TVs and Phones sounded this, and Building/City Alarms sounded this (in English). Another 15 seconds after that, S-Waves reached San Juan, resulting in shaking rated X in the Mercalli Scale, which is the point when poorly built buildings collapsed, and it became difficult to stand up. Most buildings, especially in the Old Town District were not built up the modern code and were flattened or partially collapsed. A elevated portion of Bloxburg State Route 10 was quickly and cheaply built, but it pancaked as the building was rushed, cheaply made, and that there was no anti-earthquake technology.

Gas pipes and electrical wiring in houses burst due to the shaking and liquefaction in some parts, which resulted in hundreds of buildings burning in San Juan. They did not have any rules or technology implemented in housing to prevent the bursting of these pipes, so it was a very common occurrence to see single family homes burning, but not so many skyscrapers. It was reported by citizens during this time that one could smell smoke and gas from the burning buildings in Chula Vista, and other suburbs of San Juan.

Liquefaction was another major item that caused damage. The San Juan International Airport was built on liquified land, and resulted in the strongest shaking in San Juan, XI on the Mercalli scale. A famous video (till 3:00) showcases the shaking to the airport due to liquefaction. According to the RGS (ROBLOXIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY), other areas of liquefaction were Mission Beach, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach.

Aftermath

"It was a mess," citizen Daan Heerlijk states. "I took the trolley every day from Little Ro-Italy to San Juan State, but rails were completely destroyed, thus the trolly being completely down." A tourist from People's Republic of Luobu on a guided tour named Xue Hue stated that "...roads were destroyed, cars laid damaged to no repair, and debris like glass and steel scattered around the roads." In an interview with Director Tavares of BloxTrans he predicted repairs of the city would take over five years, possibly a decade due to large collapses of buildings.

The first few months were spend fixing buildings and cleaning up debris on the ground. Partially destroyed buildings were fixed in a week, roads (including highways) were mostly repaired back to a point of use in three months, the trolley was back up within four months, and partially collapsed/burned buildings were mostly fixed after six to seven months. The portion of the Bloxburg State Route 10 that was collapsed was completely renovated in a year. Collapsed low-rise buildings took over a year, and some bigger ones took two. The Hall of Justice took two years and six months, and the Emerald Plaza Building that collapsed was not repaired until seven years after the earthquake, being the last main thing to be repaired. However, at around 5 years, Robloxians said that San Juan was back to its original state.

During this time, financial aid was given to both the city and its citizens. For about the first month or so, the Red Cross was providing food, water, and more, before citizens got back on their feet. San Juan County, the state, and even some funding by the government was given to San Juan and its surroundings to pay for all the damage. The Robloxian government even gave funding to Bloxico to pay for the major damage also done to Bloxico, especially the border cities near San Juan.

Conclusion

The San Juan Earthquake was one of the most damaging earthquakes in the area, and maybe in the country in the 20th century. However, the city slowly recovered, and the city returned to its original glory.