Role Of Earthquakes In California

“Scientist say strong earthquakes can sometimes alter stresses nearby, leading to subsequent quakes.” (p.4, Stevens 2017) Natural disasters are based on many things, but I think the single most important is physical geography, or location. If you lived in the drier parts of california, then you would be more prone to wildfires. If you lived in alaska, then you would be more prone to avalanches. Unfortunately for those who lived in Mexico, where the North American and pacific plate meet and create transform plate boundary making it a prime location for earthquakes. Mexico is located on something scientists call a subduction zone plate boundary. “Subduction zones are the part of the earth where one slab of the crust is slowly sliding under another”(pt.6, Stevens 2017) in simpler terms when two plate boundaries meet at a subduction zone, earthquakes are like a ticking time

One of the most significant earthquakes to hit the San Fernando Valley in the past was the 1971 San Fernando/ Sylmar earthquake. On February 9, 1971 at about 6 o’clock the cities of San Fernando and Sylmar experienced an earthquake that ruptured along the Sierra Madre Fault Zone (Oakeshott, Gordon B). The epicenter of this earthquake was reported to be in the San Gabriel Valley Mountains above the valley. The citizens of both cities felt tremendous shaking. The magnitude of the earthquake was measured as a 6.6 on the Richter scale and the shaking had the intensity of a level 11 (extreme) on the Modified Mercalli system (U.S. Geological Survey). The shaking of this 6.6 magnitude earthquake lasted about 12 seconds with a very strong ground motion. The source of this faulting was located about five miles to the north of the San Fernando valley. The surface faulting of this earthquake was reported to be seen along the surface of the San Fernando fault zone from a point south of Sylmar, the faulting stretched 6 miles more as far as east to the little Tujunga Canyon, also more surface faulting was reported more east as well. In total the maximum surface rupture was 12 miles and the amount of slip was about 6 feet (U.S. Geological Survey). The type of fault scientist label this earthquake to be was an oblique-slip or also known as a thrust. The depth of this earthquake was 13km (8.1 mi) and the peak acceleration was when it reached the Pacoima dam having the speed of 1.25g (U.S.

On March 11, 2011, Japan was devastated by a 9.0 earthquake that also created a 30 foot tsunami wave. This earthquake killed 15,000 people and injured more than 6,000. It is said that every 250 years on the Cascadia fault, an earthquake larger than the one that hit Japan, erupts. Scientists have determined that the Cascadia fault hasn’t erupted in 300 years. This means that the West coast is 50 years overdue for an earthquake that is powerful enough to destroy every bit of civilization. The probability of the Cascadia earthquake erupting in our generation is extremely high because an earthquake on the Cascadia fault happens every 250 years; plus the fault is hanging by a thread and could slip at any minute.

A hazard can best be defined as a 'situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property or the environment.' The overall impact of earthquakes as a natural hazard varies greatly from one place and timeframe to another. As do the types of hazards, which are categorised into primary and secondary. Primary hazards are created by the direct seismic energy of an earthquake; this could include liquefaction, slope failure and tsunamis. These primary hazards can in turn trigger secondary hazards such as floods, fires, disease and destabilisation of infrastructure. A number of factors play a part in determining the severity

When most people in California think about earthquake damage, they think of the damage to buildings and bridges. They never personalize the possibility of recovering from an earthquake; however, damage to your home as a result of an earthquake can be substantial. In fact, earthquakes are the expensive disasters in the state of California.

“I felt very at home in California, but the place is prone to earthquakes, and the one in 1944 scared the life out of me. For months afterwards, I felt that every time I sat down, I should have to put on a seatbelt.” Earthquakes are when tectonic plates slip past each other causing a “snap’. The ground shakes violently and can even crack. Though the occurrence of an earthquake is dreadful, familiarizing yourself with the causes and effects can be useful, and in turn make it less scary.

Because of the mass number of Hurricanes that have hit Texas, Puerto Rico, and Florida a majority of AMericans are focused on cleaning up the damages caused by the hurricanes and hoe to be better prepared when the next one comes. Because of this the American population is too preoccupied to focus on other matters at hand. If we pay attention to the recent earrthquake that took place in Mexico City we can see that the hurricanes aren't the only thing we should be worried about.

Earthquakes are usually formed when tectonic plates move against each other. For example, when a plate goes under another plate, or even scrapes a plate. Usually the states near the Pacific Ocean are prone to earthquakes like California, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska. Japan and Italy are also prone to earthquakes. California and Japan have the most earthquakes out of all.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a long dipping fault that separates the Juan de Fuca and North America plates, and it also stretches from northern Vancouver Island to northern California. Volcanoes and earthquakes are two of the tectonic and geological activities that occur in the “zone”, which create the hazards, such as ash falls and mudflows. The subduction zone has a long sloping fault, therefore it is capable of producing large earthquakes. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is also “scarier” than the San Andreas Fault because it can deliver a bigger earthquake and even tsunami than San Andreas Fault. It has produced earthquakes that were magnitude 9.0 or greater before, and it is predicted that it is likely to happen again in the future. The

Earthquakes are one of the most destructive natural disasters. They destroy buildings, collapse roads and bridges, change landforms, and have cause millions of deaths throughout the years.

This is North America's most quake prone area and is subducted. Subduction zone quakes account for nearly half of the world's destructive seismic events. For example, Back in 1989 there was a huge earthquake the happened in San Francisco, California with a magnitude of a 6.9. In the article “San Francisco Earthquake of 1989” stated that “A 1.25 mile segment of the two level Cypress Street Viaduct along the Nimitz Freeway, just south of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, collapsed during the quake, resulting in 42 fatalities when the upper level of the road crashed onto the cars on the lower level. One person was killed when a portion of the upper deck of the Bay Bridge which had been scheduled for a retrofitting the following week collapsed onto the lower level”(History). Ever since big earthquakes like this have occured Seismologists have been paying more attention to earthquakes to see how violent could one be, better prepare for them, and track down where the worst earthquakes happen most

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

The San Francisco earthquake was caused by a rupture in the fault line. The more the fault line brakes the higher the magnitude will grow. In other words if the fault brakes more the shake will get stronger and harsher. During the quake there was about twenty feet moved during it. More than twenty feet moved which caused that they were stuck in that place they could not go anywhere. There was a massive energy that radiated out. The energy radiates out which causes it to shake like a ball there is a force that spreads. The were the causes of the San Francisco disaster.

Have you noticed the amount of natural disasters that have occurred lately? Recently, natural disasters have been happening such as hurricane Harvey, Irma, and the 7.1 magnitude earthquake Mexico experienced. Sadly, California could be next to be hit from an earthquake.

Among many natural disasters in this world, there are three natural things that are responsible for natural disasters. These three are earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanos. We humans call them Natural “Disasters” because they could destroy all of us or all our homes and important things we need to survive. Without humans, they would only be called natural events because they would not have anything to destroy. Starting with the earthquakes, they have the potential to cause harm and injury, cost loved ones and other people their lives. Earthquakes also have the potential to weaken the foundation of buildings, roads, and bridges and cause them to collapse. During an earthquake, some buildings even collapse imminently, after that the