2016 Kaikoura earthquake
The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 (Mw) earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied". It has been subsequently modelled as having a megathrust component set off by an adjacent rupture on the Humps Fault. Over $2.2 billion in insurance claims were received. There were two deaths, in Kaikoura and Mount Lyford.
Rapid Metro Gurgaon opened
Rapid Metro Gurgaon is a light metro system serving the city of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Rapid Metro has a total length of 12.85 kilometres (7.98 mi) serving 11 stations. The system is fully elevated using standard-gauge tracks. The trains are composed of three cars. The power is supplied by 750 volt direct current through third rail. Services operate daily between 06:05 and 22:00 running with a headway of four minutes. The metro system was the first in India to auction naming rights for its stations.
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai construction started
The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Hotel is the world's second tallest hotel, a 72-storey, 355 m (1,165 ft) twin-tower skyscraper complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The AED1.8 billion complex features a 1,608-room hotel run by Marriott International.
2001 Kunlun earthquake
The 2001 Kunlun earthquake occurred in China and had an epicenter near Kokoxili, close to the border between Qinghai and Xinjiang in a remote mountainous region. With a magnitude of 7.8 Mw (8.0 Ms), it was the most powerful earthquake in China for 5 decades. No casualties were reported, presumably due to the very low population density and the lack of high-rise buildings. This earthquake was associated with the longest surface rupture ever recorded on land, ~450 km.
The Channel Tunnel opened to passenger service
Located beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover, the Channel Tunnel is a 50.46-kilometre (31.35 mi) underwater railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles (Hauts-de-France, France). With an underwater section of 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), the tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for road vehicles and international freight trains. It consists of two rail tunnels and a service tunnel, for the drilling of which eleven tunnel boring machines (TBMs) were used.
Tung-Yen Lin was born
Tung-Yen Lin was a Chinese-American structural engineer who was the pioneer of standardizing the use of prestressed concrete. Lin's master's thesis was the first student thesis published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. He returned to UC Berkeley to join its faculty in 1946, and began to research and develop the practice of prestressed concrete. He did not invent prestressed concrete, but he did develop it for practical use. Lin was also the first recipient of the A.S.C.E. lifetime achievement in design award, and the society renamed the prestressed concrete award to the T.Y. Lin award.
