Earthquakes In Oklahoma

It seems like every year Oklahoma is hit by massive storms and tornados that kill people and wound many others. Although some may say Oklahomans are used to getting hit by storms and tornados, but the outcome is never something we get used to and this year, just like any other, we got hit. On May 20, 2013 an EF5 tornado started to develop and little did we know that this tornado would be talked about everywhere. This tornado did major damage to houses, towns, and buildings, but what got this tornado so much attention was that it tore through an elementary school, that was unprotected from tornados, and killed seven children. According to the National Weather Service’s Top Ten Deadliest Oklahoma Tornados (1882-Present) this specific

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.

George Heinrich Crist, a resident of Kentucky, was settled with his family in a well-built house when the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 came across their path, unlike a storm this “thing” had no warnings. He chose to share his account of this quake, or quakes. This was part of his life and also a part of history in the making so that is why I believe he shared his personal essay. It’s not an argumentative account but rather short entries from 5 months from his life. Kentucky wasn’t the only state that was hurt, 6 other states were involved. The term “New Madrid Earthquake” refers to portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. This was the biggest earthquake (series of earthquakes) as it changed the course of the Mississippi river.

With earthquakes on the rise, we must figure out the cause of them and determine a solution to help limit or even prevent them from occurring. Since early 2009, earthquakes have been sweeping across the state of Oklahoma, causing many people to worry about their own well-being. Many scientists speculate the source of the earthquakes might be a result of Hydraulic Fracturing deep down in Earths’ crust. Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which oil and natural gas companies pump up to millions of gallons of wastewater, sand, and chemicals down drilled holes in order to release pockets of shale within the earth. This use of technology is in question of the potential cause or inducement of earthquakes in

Earthquakes in North Texas have been popular in the past couple of years. Texas has never been a state to host earthquakes like the ones being experienced. There has been many theories from locals about the causes of minor earthquakes. What are their theories about the increasing in earthquakes in North Texas? One, is the Hydraulic “fracking”, the drilling that effects the underground soil to crack. It only gives airways for gas or oil to work its way up to the surface. The theory of hydraulic fracturing does not add up for some but that the wastewater disposals theory is a better conclusion. Wastewater disposals or water injections are related to “fracking” institutions. Wastewater disposals are water tunnels filled from underground that can

The Northridge earthquake in southern California used a bottom up process. The local and state government reacted swiftly and then the federal Government stepped up immediately after. The earthquake reached a magnitude of 6.7 and the rumblings were felt across the state impacting 214,000 square Kilometers. Rescue missions and inspections were done right after the quake and directed local citizens to safe areas. Even though the government reacted appropriately there was a small gap between the population and the governmental action. Citizens overestimated the relief efforts and felt that they were unable to address some of the critical issues cause by the earthquake. People in California were used to disasters and handled the situation to the

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

The earthquake that rocked Kobe, Japan in 1995 veered Japanese culture into another direction in regard to mental healthcare. Remembered as the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck # regions and claimed the lives of 6,400 (Baba et al.,1996). At least 55,000 people were placed in shelters, and among them included mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled (Baba et al.,1996). The demographics mentioned are specified because of research suggesting each group had pre-existing conditions or heightened stress that became exacerbated due to disaster-related trauma. As emotional suffering became so vast, many in positions of power could not overlook the emotional devastation caused by the disaster. However, they continued

When I was woken up by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake from Pawnee, Oklahoma on last Saturday morning, I just thought I was in a dream. Is Texas near a seismic zone? Again, I heard my cousin, a petroleum engineer, talk about the hydraulic fracturing which causes the frequent earthquakes recently.

Last night a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the greater salt lake area causing severe damage to a number of vital areas in the valley. Experts have pointed to the I-80 and 1300 East as the epicenter of this quake. There is severe damage to buildings in this immediate area as many building here were built with un-reinforced brick. Many of the roads including the I-80 are inaccessible making travel in the area very difficult to navigate. Another tragedy in this event is the damage to the area around many of the hospitals in the north east part of the valley. While the hospitals themselves did not suffer as much damage the roads leading up to them did not fare as well. If we look further to the west at the airport, there is considerable damage

This land assessment will recommend which community would be the best and safest place to live. Hazard City is made of up of five communities. Riverside is a mobile home community with most of the current homes located upon the sandy soils of the floodplain. Downtown consists nearly of one-to-three story buildings constructed of unreinforced brick and masonry. Ralston contains mostly large wood-framed, single family, Victorian-style homes built in the late 1800's. Hickory Estates contains of single-family, multi-story, wood-frame homes that were all built before World War II. Walnut Heights is a planned, gated residential community of single-family homes founded in 1981.

The result was a “nightmare” on the roads, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said, exacerbated by some employers letting people off early from work to beat the rush hour on Friday.

In California, water pipes and electrical lines could be built or retrofitted with similar flexibility.

The media yearly reports on natural disasters. However, certain natural disasters impact the entire nation. In May 1999, a series of F5 tornados torn through several counties in Oklahoma leaving more than 50 casualties and 800 people injured. The estimated costs for the property damages within the state of Oklahoma valued over 1 million dollars. As with the majority of tragedies the first phase is to recover followed by the rebuilt period.

Earthquakes are common to California. In 2010 a 6.9 scaled earthquake struck San Diego resulting in minor damage to property, but no actual injuries (Azpiri 2010). Earthquakes have amplified throughout California over the past 5 years, so it is reasonable to prepare for a earthquakes as a possible natural disaster in this community (USGS 2012). Earthquakes can cause serious property damage and have large victim totals when reaching magnitudes greater than 8.0 on the Rictor Scale (USGS). While most of the sky scrapers in California are up to code to handle earthquakes, there are many urban areas with homes that are over 70 years old. An earthquake of a 7.7 magnitude killed 20,000 people in Gujarat, India in 2001, an earthquake even higher on the scale would be devastating to even the most modern areas. These areas along with the many bridges and highways must all be planned for in the event of an