Discuss the View That the Impact of Earthquake Hazards Depends Primarily on Human Factors

The Australian government was a major contributor of aid, the highest contributor after the United States. Immediately after the disaster struck the Australian government allocated 60 million in disaster relief and within 36 hours’ aid had been sent to Thailand.

Earthquakes can be created on any of the plate boundaries. Earthquakes occur when tension is released from inside the crust. Plates do not always move smoothly alongside each other and sometimes get stuck. When this happens pressure builds up. When this pressure is eventually released, an earthquake tends to occur. The point inside the crust where the pressure is released is called the focus. The point on the Earth's surface above the focus is called the epicentre. Earthquake energy is released in seismic waves. These waves spread out from the focus. The waves are felt most strongly at the epicentre, becoming less strong as they travel further away. The most severe damage caused by an earthquake will happen close to the epicentre.

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake tectonic setting was in the outermost shell of earth known as the crust this is composed of rigid plates that have been moving for hundreds of millions of years. Two of these moving plates meet in western California; the boundary between them is a zone of faults, the principal one being the San Andreas fault. The horizontal sliding of the Pacific Plate relative to the North American Plate, causes earthquakes along the San Andreas fault and similar plates near the region. The San Andreas fault is a transform plate boundary, accommodating horizontal relative motions (usgs.gov).

The tectonic setting for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was in the outermost shell of earth consisting of rigid plates that have been moving for hundreds of millions of years. Two of these moving plates meet in western California; the boundary between them is a zone of faults, the principal one being the San Andreas fault. The Pacific Plate (on the west) slides horizontally northwestward relative to the North American Plate (on the east), causing earthquakes along the San Andreas and associated faults. The San Andreas fault is a transform plate boundary, accommodating horizontal relative motions (usgs.gov).

A ‘hazard’ can be defined as a geophysical process operating within the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere or biosphere which could potentially lead to the loss of human life or property. However, an earthquake only becomes hazardous and therefore needs management if it occurs within close proximity to a vulnerable population. To some extent, any human settlement around the world situated close to or on top of an area of seismic activity is vulnerable. However, not all nations suffer equal devastation.

The Kobe earthquake in Japan 1995 struck at 5.45am. Many people were asleep in bed, causing the hazard to be increased because the people were unaware. Although many Japanese buildings were of aseismic design, the roofs of their houses were designed to withstand typhoons and so were very heavy. When the earthquake struck many people

Large magnitude earthquakes occur on plate boundaries and can produce hazards such as movement along faults, landslides, and tsunamis. In North America, the western coast is an active margin, meaning that it is home to earthquakes and

People have had many disasters happen to homes and people are getting affected by all of the commotion.Interior secretary Mar Rotas in a statement said he had ordered the national police to check on reports that some local officials had been “hoarding” relief goods and distributed the selectivity supporters. People have there own stuff and they don't want too let it go of there stuff so they will need help. Since the earthquake, the Philippine red cross, with the supports of international federation of red cross and red crescent societies or IFRC has provided at least 10,000 families with essential household items including blankets, water containers, personal hygiene items, mosquito nets and tarpaulins.(Documents C,A)

However the lack of available resources in Bam increased the damage and effects of the earthquake. The effects were phenomenal; 30000 dead, 20000 injured, 80000 homeless. Many of those killed by the earthquake in Bam died only because of poor building methods and a lack of proper regulation. In Iran, as in many developing countries, tremors that ought to be survivable often bring human tragedy on a vast scale because buildings collapse on top of people. Bam in contrast to Christchurch was a disaster waiting to happen. Efforts to bring industrial development to what was a backward agricultural area caused a population boom and a shortage of housing, which local builders tried to meet with cheap, jerry-built homes, or by adding extra floors to existing houses. Building materials are often inadequate for normal purposes, let alone for use in an earthquake zone. Typical houses are constructed of burnt brick, with mud and lime for the bonding. Looking back at the Bam earthquake the limited availability of resources meant that the effects were worsened. However if there was not building in the region then the Hazard would have remained natural with little if any consequences such as deaths or economic loss. The Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 cements my view that disasters are more often than not human disasters. As the large variances of effects

Earthquakes are caused when two blocks of earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where the two blocks slip is called the fault. The earthquake starts below the earth’s surface at the hypocenter, and the location above the hypocenter is called the epicenter. Earthquakes can have foreshocks which is a smaller earthquake that happens before the larger quake. Earthquake can also

Large magnitude earthquakes occur on plate boundaries and they can produce hazards such as movement along faults, landslides, and tsunamis if the earthquake occurs close to a large enough body of water. In North America, the western coast is an active margin, meaning that it is home to earthquakes and volcanoes, a physical manifestation of the plate activity occuring. On November 3rd, 2002, in South-Central Alaska, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake ruptured along three faults; the Susinta Glacier, Denali, and Totschunda faults (Eberhart-Phillips et al., 2003). The seismic hazards associated with this event included a few large aftershocks and liquefaction, which is when saturated soil losses its strength and behaves like a liquid

The reaction was not quick enough and the wave washed away towns and cities destroying motorway bridges and airports. This made the response process even harder as they had to not only cope with the initial unpredictable earthquake but the tsunami and the effect on the infrastructure which followed. The local government did build sea walls high enough to protect against the effects of the previous tsunami however they didn’t imagine a more powerful wave would ever strike the coast. Even when tectonic activity can be predicted there are still challenges for the community – however not being able to predict them at all clearly is the largest challenge for many. If there had been a tsunami warning system in place in Japan, maybe the death toll would have been reduced.

Discuss the view that the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors (40)

The San Andreas Fault is one of the most widely studied faults in the world. Scientists use an array of methods in collecting data and providing analysis of fault characteristics both past and present. Presently there are many differing hypothesis and models used to describe crustal movements and deformation within the Pacific and North American plate boundary. Historical earthquakes along this fault have proven to be rather large and devastating. This is important since the San Andreas Fault runs along many highly populated areas throughout Northern and Southern California. Through further research and analysis of this fault system scientists hope to solve

     Most of the worst earthquakes are associated with changes in the shape of the Earth's outermost shell, particularly the crust. These so called tectonic earthquakes are generated by the rapid release of strain energy that is stored within the rocks of the crust, which on continents is about 22 miles thick. A small proportion of earthquakes are associated with human activity. Dynamite or atomic explosions, for example, can sometimes cause mild quakes. The injection of liquid wastes deep into the Earth and the pressures