ClaimsScott Alexander

“No major earthquake (>10000 deaths) in the world: 60%”

Scott Alexander, blogger 25 January 2016 Predictions For 2016 (Slate Star Codex) archived copy

Prediction Other global risks

There will be no earthquake in the world killing more than 10,000 people in 2016.

Resolved true The record shows it happened or was so.

Prediction: Statements about events outside the person's control, checked once they fell due: did they come true?

What would count as true or false

Judge whether the predicted event happened; the 60% probability does not change what counts. True: no single earthquake anywhere in the world between 1 January and 31 December 2016 has a recorded death toll above 10,000 in authoritative catalogues (USGS significant-earthquake list or NOAA NCEI Significant Earthquake Database). False: at least one 2016 earthquake has a recorded death toll above 10,000. Mostly false: the deadliest 2016 quake's toll is disputed and sources differ on whether it passed 10,000. Deaths from secondary effects (tsunami, landslide) count where the catalogues credit them to the earthquake. Mostly true and mixed do not apply in practice.

Set before the research began.

Evidence (5)

  1. E1 2016 Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report Aon Benfield (Analytics | Impact Forecasting)

    “earthquake in Ecuador that claimed at least 673 lives.”
  2. E2 2016 Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report Aon Benfield Analytics / Impact Forecasting

    “Seven of the top ten events occurred in Asia, though the deadliest event was the April earthquake in Ecuador that claimed at least 673 lives.”
  3. E3 List of earthquakes in 2016 Wikipedia

    “Deadliest: 7.8 M_{w}, Ecuador 676 deaths”
  4. E4 Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2016 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) · October 2017

    “These numbers are however, far below the extremes of 222,570 deaths from an earthquake in Haiti in 2010”
  5. E5 Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2016 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) · October 2017

    “In 2016, 1,315 deaths from geophysical disasters were reported, representing 15% of all deaths”

Reasoning

The 2016 Aon Benfield annual catastrophe report says the deadliest event of the year was the April earthquake in Ecuador, which killed at least 673 people (E1, E2). The Wikipedia list of 2016 earthquakes also names the Ecuador quake as the deadliest, with 676 deaths (E4). CRED reports 1,315 deaths from all geophysical disasters worldwide in 2016 (E6). None of the sources is the USGS or NOAA catalogue named in the criteria, but all three put the deadliest 2016 earthquake far below 10,000 deaths, so the claim resolves true.

Cite this claim

Scott Alexander, “There will be no earthquake in the world killing more than 10,000 people in 2016.” (said 25 January 2016). Verdict: resolved true. Reliability API, claim c_116fd39200f0, method 0.1.0+8bea457b, dataset release v1.1.2. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_116fd39200f0

This claim is in dataset release v1.1.2, with the same verdict.

Reply to this claim

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More prediction claims by Scott Alexander

  1. Mostly true Prediction 15 February 2018
    “Global existential risks will hopefully not be a big part of the 2018-2023 period.”

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  2. Resolved true Prediction 15 February 2018
    “Paris Agreement still in effect, most countries generally making good-faith effort to comply: 80%”

    With 80% probability, by February 2023 the Paris Agreement would still be in effect, with most countries generally making a good-faith effort to comply.

  3. Resolved false Prediction 2018
    “If they are, it will be because somebody did something incredibly stupid or awful with infectious diseases.”

    If global existential risks became a big part of 2018-2023, it would be because someone did something incredibly stupid or awful with infectious diseases.

  4. Mixed Prediction 6 January 2017
    “Situation in Israel looks more worse than better: 70%”

    The situation in Israel will look more worse than better at the end of 2017.

  5. Mixed Prediction 6 January 2017
    “ISIS will not continue to exist as a state entity in Iraq/Syria: 50%”

    ISIS will no longer exist as a state entity in Iraq/Syria by the end of 2017.

All of them

Verdicts are made automatically; how verdicts are made.