The effects caused by earthquakes are devastating. They cause loss of human life and have effects on infrastructure and economy. Earthquakes can happen at any time anywhere. In January 12, 2010 an earthquake of a magnitude of 7.0 hit the nation of Haiti. An estimation of 316,000 people were killed, and more than 1.3 million Haitians were left homeless (Earthquake Information for 2010). Haiti was in a terrified chaos. After the earthquake, families were separated because many of the members were killed. Homes, schools, and hospitals were demolished. People lost their most valuable belongings. It will take time for the country to recover from this terrible disaster. The long damages are economic issues, health-state, and environmental
On August 24, 2014 a magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred in and around the city of Napa, CA. The earthquake killed one person and injured over 150 people. And these people were treated at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa [1]. More and more earthquakes occurred on this earth. So this grasps people’s attention.
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.
California is due to be hit by an earthquake with an high magnitude of 8.0 comparable to the 1906 San Francisco 7.6 earthquake.
Earthquakes have the potential to destroy and cause a lot of harm or they just make the ground shake a little. Sometimes earthquakes with low magnitudes cause a lot of harm, and a high magnitude one causes a small amount of damage. This usually isn’t the case. Two Earthquakes with high magnitudes each caused a different amount of damage. These two are the earthquake that happened in Sumatra, Indonesia in December 26, 2004, and the earthquake that happened in Rat Island , Alaska in April 2, 1965.
According to our textbook, it appears that an earthquake poses a greater threat to the Pacific Northwest than a volcano does. The text states that “California’s San Andreas Fault runs diagonally from southeast to northwest for nearly 800 miles.” In the lecture notes, it shows a diagram of the earthquakes that have occurred since 1977 along the Pacific coast, and the area is riddled with earthquakes. The likelihood of a massive scale earthquake occurring in the Pacific Northwest has been predicted; however, our lecture states that we are unable to predict an earthquake and are only able to gauge the probability of one occurring. Those who would be in harm’s way would be those people who fall within the Mercalli Intensity scale area, and those
Breaking news on Fox today, It is May 20,1960 and the ground is shaking. Scientists are saying one of the biggest quakes in the 20th century now happening in Valdivia located in southern Chile. The magnitude, how vast the size of something is, in this case the earthquake was 9.5 and great damage is reported. Now, we are reporting from the remains of the city and are not sure if there is going to be an aftershock,which is an earthquake that occurs after a larger earthquake in the same area. I am your news reporter Dasha Krumer and today I am with Shreya Srihari an expert on earthquakes a seismologist.
A swarming number of 30 earthquakes have happened in less than 19 hours, weather.com reports. Two earthquakes happened within 30 seconds of each other. The first had a magnitude of 4.7, and the second had a magnitude of 4.8. All 30 earthquakes have happened in the state of Oklahoma. Home to Oklahoma City, Fairview, and other highly populated cities. The earthquakes were felt as far as the eastern Texas panhandle, Kansas, Wichita, and many other near places around the map. What is so crazy about this certain event is that there were only 42 earthquakes TOTAL in Oklahoma in 2010. Within 19 hours, Oklahoma has managed to almost reach the number. According to USA Today, the state has hit 70 earthquakes in a week. Oklahoma is home to huge gas and
On Saturday, the 3rd of November a 6.0 earthquake hit the Westfield Belconnen mall in Canberra. The earthquake frightened many in the mall and went outside. The damage that was caused inside the epicenter was moderate. Pictures and books in stores fell down. Dishes, glass wear and windows were broken during the earthquake. Some of the heavy furniture was moved around during the earthquake. Plaster in the mall varying between considerable and large amounts. Chimneys cracked and some of the walls cracked. Some tiles and bricks were loosened and the corner to the 1st entrance way came off. Major destruction was caused to the weakest parts of the mall. Water pipes in the mall were ruined and the electricity stopped for about an hour, which was disruptive for shops that had electrical appliances or stores that sold game consoles and computers. Stores that had food in them had to shut down and remove the food. They then had to find other places to store the food since fridges weren’t working. There was also some damage that was outside of the epicenter. The damage spanned
An analysis on the mechanism of destruction, impact, recovery, responses and future steps of the 2011 M6.3 Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
An earthquake is where two transform plate boundaries slide and creak the earth. This is what happened in the Philippines. Although it was in 2013 the people are still in need of help to get back to their daily lives. The Philippines earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1. This earthquake was gigantic, and it took down many buildings that were in its path. Lucky the children were not in school that day because of the Muslim holidays the earthquake caused the school to collaspe. If the children were in school, then it would have killed most of the kids.There were 2,100 aftershocks. The day of the quake was October 15, 2013. People respond to a natural disaster by gathering materials and donations, spreading the word, and the government's aid.
A natural disaster has the capability to cause large scale damage and destruction to an area. Seismic events have been known to alter landscapes and affect the livelihoods, health and development of communities. No two earthquake events are the same and the level of threat posed by an earthquake can vary due to both the human and physical factors of an area. The 2010 magnitude - 7.0 earthquake that occurred in Haiti is an example of where a natural disaster caused a previously vulnerable area to suffer tremendous loss and debilitating socio-economic impacts, to an already poverty-stricken nation.
Have you ever been in a deadly earthquake? In 2013, the people of the Philippines experienced one. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake that affected around 43,000 people with 2,211 aftershocks that ended up killing a total of 185 people. Earthquakes are known as one of the most dangerous natural disasters. This horrific event happened October 15th, 2013. The earthquake hit hardest in the central Philippines, it was reported to be caused by the East Bohol Fault. People act in a response to a natural disaster by gathering resources, spreading word, and government aid.
The New Madrid Seismic Zone has remained relatively quiet in the last 2000 years, with the largest earthquake only being rated a 6.3 on the richter scale, occurring in 1895. Since 1974, seismometers have been utilized to capture earthquakes that are too small to notice, known as microearthquakes. These microearthquakes have been recorded in numbers greater than 4,000 since 1975. These shocks were first thought to be aftershocks of the earthquakes that occurred 165 years ago, but with the exponential amount of recurrence, there is something rumbling deep in the earth's crust. Clearly, the New Madrid Seismic Zone is anything but quiet. The candid truth is it is not a matter of if , but when. The Seismic Zone is long overdue for an earthquake. Susan Hough, a seismologist of the United States Geological Survey told NPR ,that “Even though we can't predict earthquakes, we can predict the rates of aftershocks over time. The frequency of aftershocks - smaller quakes that follow the big earthquake - decreases with time, known in seismology as Omori's Law. And in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the aftershocks aren't following Omori's Law." So will America experience another 1811 quake? Although time will tell, we better
Earthquake Hazards occur when there are adverse effects on human activities. This can include surface faulting, ground shaking and liquefaction. In this essay I will be discussing the factors that affect earthquakes, whether human such as population density, urbanisation and earthquake mitigation or physical such as liquefaction, magnitude, landslides and proximity to the focus.