Power of the Quake Essay

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.

Earthquakes have afflicted the world since its inception. The sudden release of energy from volcanoes or displacing of earth plates can result in disasters of extreme magnitude. These usually naturally occurring phenomenon have been responsible from wiping out entire towns throughout history and until today continue to produce major loss of life and infrastructure. It can take years for a city or country to recover from a major event of this kind and when a third world country is involved, the result is usually exponentially worse than in a developed country. In the past decades Japan, Chile and Haiti have suffered the devastation an earthquake produces. This document will concentrate in Haiti, a small country in the Caribbean. On

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.

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.

Of all the naturally occurring events on Earth, earthquakes are among the most devastating and bring a lot of truth to the statement, “Just because something is natural does not mean it is not dangerous.” Earthquakes are one of the most natural things I can think of that can cause massive damage and loss of human live in many instances, and the effects are sometimes long term. “Nothing happens without a force. Many geophysicists accept the theory that continents move as a result of the forces generated by mantel convection deep within Earth – motions driven by our planet’s internal heat energy” (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). According to National Geographic (1996-2012), constant movement in the tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s

The pictures from the L.A. Times are a snap shot of the devastation that occurred in San Francisco on April 18, 1906, and they are riveting. There are men and women in period dress standing in the streets surrounded by swirls of water, and looking ahead down a hilly street to the plumes of smoke overtaking the city. It began with an earthquake between 7.8 and 8.3 magnitude on April 18, 1906 at around 5:12 to 5:13 AM, and ended in three days of fires with 90 percent of the city in ruins and an estimated 3,000 lives lost. After several days of fires, building and houses laid gutted and in ruins. Why was the earthquake so deadly and how could it cause such devastation?

The San-Francisco earthquake caused quite a lot of damage in the area, but what is an earthquake? An earthquake is the movement of tectonic plates along a transform boundary and what plate is California sitting on? The Pacific Plate which is not connected to the North American plate and the plate boundary is a transform boundary. Earthquakes occur so often there that people say it is like a rainstorm that is ignored. The place where the Pacific Plate is grinding along with the North American Plate is called the San Andreas Fault. As stated before the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 which caused so much destruction a fire broke out. Nobody really knows where the fire started but it burned for 7 days and scorched over 500 city blocks leaving the once proud and powerful city into dust. The combination of the earthquake and fire is said to have killed “ Over 700 deaths by the earthquake and fire is now believed to be an understatement the total loss of life by a factor of 3 or 4.” (The Great 1906 San-Francisco Earthquake.)

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.

An earthquake also causes the ground to shake. Which some buildings can’t take the intensity

The San Andreas fault line has caused constant development nightmares for large urban areas built on top of it. Some of the most devastating earthquakes in our modern era have occurred along the San Andreas fault line, due to dense population that resides near it. 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 due to its magnitude and the poor preparation by the city. This earthquake was a wakeup call for San Francisco, forcing the city to revolutionize its knowledge on earthquakes and protocols on 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

There are many historical disasters associated with past earthquakes. The greatest Southern California earthquake in modern history was the Fort Tejon Earthquake on January 9, 1857 that measured 8.0 on the Richter Scale. Damage was not nearly as serious as it would be today, mostly because Southern California was sparsely populated. The effects of the quake were quite dramatic, even frightening. If the Fort Tejon shock were to happen today, the damage would easily run into billions of dollars, and the loss of life would be substantial (County of Los Angeles). There were also earthquakes in China, Shansi on January 23, 1556 with damage of about 270 miles away and 830,000 in deaths, Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004 with 227,898 in deaths from the earthquake and tsunami, and in January 12, 2010 in Haiti with 222,570 deaths and

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.

     Although it is certain that violent Earth tremors in themselves are destructive, there are often other kinds of Earth movements that are triggered by earthquake shock waves. Thus, the violent shaking that accompanies many earthquakes often causes rockslides, snow avalanches, and landslides. In some areas these events are frequently more devastating than the Earth tremor itself.

In the U.S. alone, the average annual cost to repair damage caused by earthquakes is $4.4 billion USD. The worldwide figure is much larger than this but unquantifiable due to poorer countries unable to accurately determine the amount of damage that occurred. Year after year the cost of damages barely fluctuates from these ridiculously high figures and money must be pumped into repairing the damage done. Although a lot is being learnt about earthquakes and the fact that humans are now normally able to be alerted in time to evacuate the area the earthquake will affect, there have been no breakthroughs into reducing the amount of damage earthquakes cause to buildings and infrastructures.