Tremors 2 Aftershocks Cast

[Marcelo Chaplin]

Tremors causes a disruption in the magical aura of an area, causing the area to begin shaking in what seems like a very minor earthquake, complete with aftershocks (except that it is an illusion). The strength of the initial tremor is randomly strong or weak, and the series of aftershocks progressively weaken in strength from the initial tremor. As an area of effect spell, everyone outside of the caster's group is subject to a warding roll to remain standing. Any targets knocked down by Tremors will become Feeble, suffering a penalty to their evade block parry (EBP)% by a base of 5% for 10 seconds. The targets' EBP% penalty can be increased with training in Elemental Lore, Earth, as described in detail below. Prone targets that would have failed the knock-down roll also receive said penalty.

Tremors can also be self-cast by preparing and then channeling the spell. This will imbue the caster with 5 charges of Tremors, which can be increased with training in Elemental Lore, Earth. The caster can then STOMP the ground, causing a single set of tremors at a cost of 5 mana and one charge (no aftershocks). Mana cost per charge can be reduced by training in Elemental Mana Control. There is no round time for using such a charge. (The caster can also TAP with a runestaff or quarterstaff in hand or POUND with a maul to trigger the tremors.) This version will be somewhat weaker on average than the initial shaking of the open cast version, but stronger than the aftershocks. The self-cast version of Tremors has a duration of 20 minutes + (Wizard Base ranks * 60 seconds). Re-channeling Tremors refreshes both the duration and the number of charges.

As with all earthquakes, this event will trigger some aftershocks. Aftershocks are simply earthquakes that occur after other earthquakes, and are therefore thought to be related to stress changes caused by the first event. Most aftershocks will be small - many of them too small to feel. As of this post, six events smaller than magnitude 2.5 have already been detected.

Based on records from past events, the USGS has developed an aftershock forecast. This forecast shows that aftershocks of at least magnitude 3 are likely; magnitude 4+ events are also possible (30% chance over the next year). It is possible, but not likely, that this earthquake could trigger an event above magnitude 5. If that happened, that event would renamed the mainshock, and the M4.8 would be described as a foreshock.

A 3.8 magnitude aftershock hit 37 miles west of New York City near Gladstone, New Jersey, around 6 p.m. Friday. It struck 9.7 kilometers deep and was felt as far away as Long Island, where there were reports of houses shaking.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said there were no immediate reports of significant damage after that aftershock, which came on the heels of Friday morning's 4.8 magnitude earthquake - one of the largest quakes to hit the region in a century.

The quake hit at approximately 10:23 a.m., startling everyone. It struck 4.7 kilometers below the surface and was centered in Readington Township, N.J., about 40 miles west of New York City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were multiple aftershocks after the earthquake hit. Before Friday evening's 3.8, there were several earlier in the day. An hour after the initial impact, a 2.0 aftershock struck west of Bedminster, N.J. At around 12:30 p.m., there was a 1.8 magnitude aftershock, another 2.0 aftershock at 1:14 p.m., and another 2.0 aftershock shortly before 3 p.m.

"We're taking this extremely seriously and here's why. There's always the possibility of aftershocks. We have not felt a magnitude of this earthquake since about 2011," Hochul said. "This is one of the largest earthquakes on the East Coast to occur in the last century."

"Earthquakes don't happen every day in New York, so this can be extremely traumatic - the number of texts, calls and inquiries that people sent out not only to our administration, but to family members. Check in on them. We know how this can impact you," Adams said.

"We activated our protocols for this earthquake. We immediately started coordinating with all city, state, federal and our utility partners. Public notifications were sent out both by Notify NYC and our wireless emergency alert system," New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zachary Iscol said.

"We are putting on additional construction and engineering professionals from this point on over the weekend, so if reports do come in, we will be ready to respond," Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said.

"Parents do not need to pick up their child early as a result of today's earthquake. Additionally, all after-school programs will continue as planned," New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said. "All of our students across the school system are safe. All of our staff are safe. We have no reports of any structural damage to any of our school facilities, while many schools in fact felt some tremors from the earthquake."

"I would encourage all New Yorkers to use this as a wakeup call to make sure that they are prepared for future seismic activity. Know what to do - know not to evacuate outside your building. Know if you are outside to stay away from power lines or things that can collapse. Make sure you have emergency supplies on hand. Make sure you have a plan for your family," Iscol said.

"I was sound asleep. I got home late last night, had a little bit of water in the basement, so I was up until like 4:30. I was sound asleep at 10:23. This thing rattled me up," CBS New York's Lonnie Quinn said. "I initially thought it was wind, because my windows were rattling and shaking. Looked outside, the trees were not blowing. I thought, what is that?"

By way of comparison, a 4.0 earthquake is the equivalent of 33,000 pounds of explosive going off at any one time. A 5.0 earthquake is the equivalent of a million pounds of explosives. The record for New Jersey is a 5.3.

In Saletta, a hamlet of 20 homes on the outskirts of Amatrice, one of the few buildings left standing was prefabricated temporary housing erected when a quake in 1979 destroyed several homes. Back then, the aftershocks lasted for three full months.

What makes it worse still is that aftershocks vary. Some, like the one that knocked down a building I happened to be standing in front of during a broadcast report for CNN, were low rumbling rolls, as if someone was moving floorboards in opposite directions.

Others, like the 4.8 level aftershock that knocked out a vital bridge on the main access road near this epicenter city at around 6:30 a.m. on Friday are sharp and violent, as if the floor boards are being broken in half while you are standing in the middle.

Of course, the obvious thing to do during an earthquake event is to get the out of the affected area as quickly as possible. But often that is impossible for simple logistical reasons, whether because there is nowhere to go or because you are a rescue worker or journalist.

For journalists and others, the aftershocks simply change the landscape as the rubble resettles, and it is hard not to spend the time between aftershocks focused on when the next one is coming. But, moments of calm are, in their way, worse.

One studies piles of rubble, trying to find in them recognizable pieces of familiar objects or trying to figure out how a car that was surely inside a garage ended up on top of what remains of the garage, or whether the corner of a bed protruding from between heavy stones still has someone in it.

In fact, it was much better to focus on the botanical wonders than turn around and look at the rubble the other side of the yard, where a two-story house had collapsed on the family car. There, pink and red geraniums in flowerboxes seemed to hang, suspended in air on a balcony railing that had no balcony or building attached to it.

Even worse than the vegetable garden was the area in between. It was littered with surgical gloves, some spotted with blood. A cardboard box with stacks of white fabric had been cast aside in one corner. I suddenly remembered where I had seen this garden. This was the area where recovery crews stacked the 22 victims found in the neighboring houses in the initial hours after the quake. This lovely garden with its ripe tomatoes had been the temporary morgue and the box was full of body bags.

Throughout our time in the garden, a big white dog, some sort of shepherd, I guess, wandered in and out of the area, stopping and sniffing. He rested comfortably by the fence where the gate used to be. He was disheveled and his coat was covered in burrs. Civil Protection officers fed him and gave him water, and we tried our best to keep him company. Our video journalist worked to pick some of the burrs from his coat. He had, most likely, forever lost his people in the collapsed house, but the garden was clearly his. He seemed a living ghost.

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