2015 Great Bloxburg Earthquake

The Great Bloxburg Earthquake of 2015 was a magnitude 8.4 earthquake that occurred about 30 kilometers from downtown Bloxburg. This is the second most felt earthquake in 2015 and the second most felt earthquake on a Roblox scale in 2015. It was also the second costliest earthquake of 2015.

Before Earthquake
Until August 2014, the area was quiet. In December 2014, a tremor, a magnitude 4.4, impacted around 9 miles south of the main earthquake's epicenter. Few speculations went into this tremor as it was thought to have been an aftershock of a 6.0 earthquake in Jailbreak City. This wasn't the case. 3 weeks later, another, slightly larger, tremor impacted the same area, with a magnitude of 5.5. More speculation went into this, as foreshocks, on average, increased in size and seismologists prayed this will be the main earthquake.

Bloxburg issued an extra precaution warning for the city of Bloxburg. 2 months before the earthquake, 4 more tremors ranging between 4.7 and 5.7 struck in the same area. The Roblox Geological Survey (RGS) put the area surrounding Bloxburg in "High" risk of a major earthquake until 2019. A month before the earthquake, a non-significant magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Bloxburg, injuring 2. 20 days before the earthquake, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake impacted. 10 days before the earthquake, the area was quiet for the third time until 3 days before the earthquake, when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake impacted.

During Earthquake
On April 27, 2015, the 8.4 magnitude earthquake struck violently. Shaking was strong enough that a tsunami was triggered.

After Earthquake
At 2:40 p.m. on April 27, 2015, an 8.4 earthquake struck Bloxburg City and Metropolitan area, according to the Robloxia Geological Survey, the epicenter was about 30km east of downtown Bloxburg and was felt throughout the northern Bloxburg Valley, also several collapsed buildings were reported in Bloxburg City, San Juan and as far as Sacramento. Likewise, the quake caused the city's airports to close, and several flights bound for Bloxburg City were cancelled. A 2016 study says the city's main airport's elevation rose by 1.1 meters because of the quake.

The Great Aftershock
On April 28, 2015, on 6:22 AM, the strongest aftershock, a 7.1 magnitude tremor occurred, which also triggered an 18-meter-tall tsunami. The tsunami hit the city at 10 meters, Brookhaven at 6 meters, and Blox City at 2-5 meters. Shaking lasted for 8 minutes. One Robloxian even decided to record the earthquake on tape, which sparked massive criticism online. So much massive criticism was received that the Robloxian removed the recording from Bloxtube.

The Second Great Aftershock
On May 31, 2015, on 2131 UTC, the second strongest aftershock, a 6.5 magnitude tremor occurred, which did not trigger a tsunami. Read more: New Bloxia Earthquake of 2015

Post-Analysis
The earthquake was initially categorized as a Magnitude 8 earthquake, but later close analysis found out that the earthquake was actually a Magnitude 8.1 earthquake.

Tsunami
The seismic waves went over the coast of Jailbreak City, pushing the water away from the shore, which exposed a 3-mile portion of the coast of Jailbreak City to be barren. The result was a 300-foot wave that leveled the coastal communities of the Bloxian Sea and 250 miles inland, but when it hit Jailbreak City, it was already a 380-foot-high wave.

In Jailbreak City, the wave destroyed the Jailbreak-Amazeman Bridge. The wave held its 380-foot height until it hit downtown, knocking over the already majorly damaged skyscrapers. It went as far inland as 3 miles, causing hills to become lone islands.

In Jailbreak City, 50,000 buildings collapsed to the tsunami, with another 150,000 with moderate-major damage, making them uninhabitable. Many subway trains were caught off-guard, with a subway train outside of Jailbreak City getting derailed due to the tsunami. This was, by far, one of the most felt tsunamis in 2018. Researched by scientists, they discovered that this was once every 116,000-year event. This is also made it place second for the strongest tsunami in the Jailbreak City in 2018. Medium-sized areas of the Jailbreak City lost power. Some of the older houses in Jailbreak City reported being without power. Older apartments in Jailbreak City lost power. Water also was cut off significantly in some localities. Few aqueducts were completely destroyed due to the tsunami. Medium-sized portions of Interblox 27 also collapsed and/or sustained major damage, making them partially inaccessible. Jailbreak City's subway was closed due to damage to the subway trains and the tracks, and due to medium-scale inspections. Many robloxians got broken arms and legs.

In the rest of the Bloxian Sea, 134,000 buildings either collapsed to the tsunami or survived with moderate-major damage, making them uninhabitable. Many trains were caught off-guard, with a train outside of Roblox City getting derailed due to the tsunami. This was, by far, one of the most felt tsunamis in 2015. Researched by scientists, they discovered that this was once every 116,000-year event. This is also made it place second for the strongest tsunami in the Bloxian Sea in 2018. Medium areas of the Bloxian Sea lost power. Some of the older houses in Bloxian Sea reported being without power. Older apartments in Bloxian Sea lost power. Water also was cut off significantly in some localities. Many aqueducts were completely destroyed due to the tsunami. Medium portions of Interbloxs also collapsed and/or sustained major damage, making them partially inaccessible. Robloxia's rail system was closed due to damage to the trains and the tracks, and due to medium-scale inspections. Robloxians died in trains from being thrown into the roof or receiving a major concussion. Many robloxians also got broken arms and legs. Robloxians also died because of collapsed buildings.

Ironically, Bloxburg was immune to the tsunami.

Over 3.2 million Robloxians were displaced or rendered homeless, and many tens of thousands were injured, with Robloxian Red Cross and charities establishing camps to treat the wounded and temporarily house nearly two hundred thousand refugees in Bloxburg often in crowded and unsanitary conditions without electricity or running water.

The tsunami was the deadliest, but not the costliest in 2015, taking some 99,000 lives. The event triggered a recession and devastated the economy of the Bloxburg region. The disaster was the center point of the 2015 mid-term election of Robloxia, and public dissatisfaction with mayor's treatment of the tsunami, and Robloxian Red Cross and Charities mismanagement. The tsunami is widely considered to be the second greatest Robloxian tragedy of 2015.

This earthquake was the first earthquake in Robloxia that proved to scientists they had underestimated (i.e., tapped and scratched the surface) the potential of the Eastern Robloxia fault and they still had a lot to learn.