Ethical Dilemmas Of Earthquake

The San Andreas fault line has caused constant development nightmares for large urban areas such as San Francisco as well as the other cities built on top of it. Fault lines are one of the side effects of the earth’s tectonic plates shifting that can result in devastating earthquakes. Some of the most devastating earthquakes in our modern era have occurred along the San Andreas fault line due to a dense population. The most notable and destructive earthquake on the San Andreas fault line occurred in San Francisco in 1906. The reason this earthquake was so deadly was because of its magnitude and the city’s poor planning. This earthquake was a wakeup call for San Francisco and force the city to revolutionize its knowledge on earthquakes and how to protect their city. Today San Francisco is one of the most well prepared cities for an earthquake and has made great discoveries in earthquake safety measures. The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco has drastically changed how the city has developed its zoning and building code policies, and its earthquake research.

California’s unique geography as a state makes it a very appealing place to call home. From the odd east to west transverse San Gabriel mountain ranges of the Los Angeles Basin, to the bumpy coastal ranges of the Bay Area, any person can find a compatible topographic terrain to their liking. California may seem to be the perfect place to live with its ideal climate and extensive geographic features. However, due to California’s location over the shifting continental plates, coupled with its enormous and also multiple faults, at any time this great state can fall victim to a seismic disaster. After examining evidence from both Rong-Gong Lin’s II Los Angeles Times article of April 18, 2016 and the NOVA videos Killer Quake ( 2006), Earthquake (2007), as well as Geologic Journey II – Episode 3 (The Pacific Rim: Americas) – Part 3 (San Francisco) and The Great San Francisco Earthquake (American Experience ~ 2005), one can take a comparative account of the three major earthquakes of California’s past. Although each earthquake was very devastating on is own; the Great Quake 0f 1906, the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, and the NorthRidge quake of 1994 each amounted to an extensive forfeiture of property and life. Each of these earthquakes created much suffering and loss. It is imperative for each citizen of this great state to understand the damage that a California quake can actually do and be prepared; for the threat of one always looms.

Despite decades of research and the use of modern technology, scientists are still not able to detect in time an imminent earthquake. Even though seismologists mostly know where the faults are and are able to closely monitor the rate of activity on them ranging from a scale of a year to a decade and even a century, a solid short-term day to month forecasting in order to identify the places at risk, still is an insoluble problem. Although this may be true, some scientists in diverse fields choose to follow a different and a rather controversial approach on the subject by studying the unusual animal

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.

• This earthquake may not have released all of the strain stored in its rocks next to the fault this reveals a potential earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the near future. The occurrence of the earthquake showed that the Earth did not exhaust all its strain and hence other earthquakes could be expected. However, the dates could not be predicted. The extent of the damage could have been much more devastating for the region, but with the earthquake occurring near the coast this made half of the felt area westward in the Pacific Ocean. The occurrence of aftershocks ten days later reinforces the unpredictability nature and hence makes Geology to be a study that is always evolving. In conclusion, the Earth and the study of cannot be exhausted as every natural occurrence provides a new puzzle to be solved.

Type of event, training, or exercise: (actual event, table top, functional or full-scale exercise, pre-identified planned event, training, seminar, workshop, drill, game, etc.)

Over more than 50 decades there has been multiple earthquakes that have been caused by the activity that takes place beneath and above the surface of the earth. For every earthquake there are various effects and consequences, these are generally not preventable but teachable moments. As we study and explore landforms we learn and better understand how today 's structures came about, what took place decades ago and where do we go from here. Thanks to the technology and inquiring minds we are able to study past events like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1964 Alaska earthquake. In comparing these two events we can get an overview of what happened and better prepare ourselves for something like that in the future.

The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada, an area of approximately 200,000 square miles. The ground motion caused by the earthquake source is recorded by instruments called seismographs. The zigzag trace made by a seismograph, called a "seismogram," reflects the changing amplitude and frequency content of the ground shaking beneath the instrument (usgs.gov). Using seismograms, scientists can determine the time, the epicenter, the depth, and the type of faulting of an earthquake as well as estimate how much energy was released by it.

California, and thus San Francisco, lies on the San Andres fault. The earthquake was caused when this fault suddenly shifted, with the rupture spreading for a total of 476 kilometres in northward and southward direction. “This fault is a continental transform fault, which forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate.” (1906 Earthquake: How long was the 1906 Crack? USGS Earthquake Hazards Program – Northern California, Accessed September 3, 2006). 1 The distance of the fault is of about 1300 kilometres, which runs the length of California from Cape Mendocino in the north to the Salton Sea in the south. Geologists have estimated that the fault moved as quickly as 2.74 kilometres per second. The San Andreas Fault, the source of this disaster, lies ten miles or deeper, at the meeting point of two tectonic plates, the Pacific and the North American. “The right-lateral strike-slip fault is characterized by mainly lateral motion in a dextral sense, where the western plate (Pacific plate) moves northward relative to the eastern plate (North American

Imagine if you had to restart your life, new shelter, new job, new lifestyle. Well locals or people in the Philippines had to restart their life when an earthquake with an magnitude of 7.1 hit the country and destroyed people’s lives. The earthquake had a devastating 7.1 magnitude. The earthquake hit the Philippines on October 15th, 2013. The likely culprit of the earthquake was the East Bohol Fault because the two tectonic plates were sliding against each other and the creates an earthquake. Sadly, earthquake killed more than 90 people. Ports, schools, and airports were damaged. A hospital collapsed then that lead to a killing of 18 people. Children were also injured at sports complexes because people rushed the exits when the the ground started to shake. Lastly, 5 people were killed in a landslide that was triggered from the earthquake. What really matters though is how people respond 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

‘Natural disasters are often not natural disasters, but in fact human disasters. Discuss this statement according to seismic events’

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.

Another human factor is the earthquake mitigation through education and community awareness. Schemes such as the one in Sichuan, China helped to save thousands of lives. The weekly intervals of training in case of an earthquake, educated children and adults of what to do when the quake struck. Evacuation schemes such as the window slides or hiding under tables was reported to have saved thousands when the magnitude 8.0 hit the area in 2008. However, some were not saved due to their unwillingness to move and evacuate the area. Some people of the village, notably the poorer and elderly refused to leave as they didn’t want to leave all they owned behind.

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