The Causes Of Earthquakes : Natural And Natural Disasters

The earth’s surface is made up of many separate pieces called tectonic plates. These tectonic plates are in constant movement. This

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

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.

Seismic events are occurrences in which energy is briefly released in the Earth's crust, resulting in a series of seismic waves which move through the crust. In some cases, the energy can be intense enough that it is felt in the form of an earthquake, while in other seismic events, the energy is so mild that it can only be identified with specialized equipment. A human disaster is an event directly and principally caused by one or more identifiable deliberate or negligent human action. Whereas a natural disaster is a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss

An earthquake would be classified as a sudden ferocious shaking of the ground, typically causing great obliteration because of manoeuvre within the earth’s crust or volcanic action.

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

The most common cause of earthquakes is movement along faults. Earth’s crust is divided into tectonic plates, which grind past each other at fault boundaries. As tectonic plates move,

The southeastern part of the United States should not encounter too many seismic activities because it is located in the interior of the North American Plate, a good distance away from plate boundaries where earthquakes mostly occur. However the southeast have seen some seismic, the latest was the 2011 magnitude-5.8 earthquake at Virginia.

     An Earthquake is the shaking of the earth's surface caused by rapid movement of the earth's rocky outer layer. The sudden shaking of the ground that occurs when masses of rock change position below the Earth's surface is called an earthquake. The shifting masses send out shock waves that may be powerful enough to alter the surface of the Earth, thrusting up cliffs and opening great cracks in the ground.

Volcanoes and Earthquakes are two of the most intriguing natural disasters that can occur on earth. Unlike hurricanes and tornadoes, they can awaken at almost any point in time throughout the year. These two natural disasters are also different from others because they occur on the layers of the earth itself. Volcanoes, while large to us, are actually small, conical patches of earth that spurt and ooze hot molten lava from the core, and can destroy areas of land triple their size. Earthquakes, on the other hand, are severe jolts felt on land due to the movement of earths tectonic plates. Some may describe earthquakes as being similar to riding a bike down a flight of stairs. The impact of an earthquakes can take down even the largest buildings and strongest structures. All natural disasters can have damaging effects on land, some more than others, and all can be measured or predicted in different ways. Although earthquakes and volcanoes are similar to each other, the two are still very comparable. A few of these similarities and differences include the cause of their occurrence, and how their occurrence impacts the environment.

It is no secret that earthquakes are natural disasters that can have devastating consequences. Earthquakes are defined as “vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release of energy” (Lutgens and Tarbuck, 2014, p. 548). These vibrations are the result of seismic waves, which are emitted from the epicenter during an earthquake (Lutgens and Tarbuck, 2014, p. 191). The epicenter is defined as the “location on Earth’s surface that lies directly above the forced of an earthquake” (Lutgens and Tarbuck, 2014, p. 548). Seismic waves are not all the same. There are two types used to determine the location of the epicenter: P-waves and S-waves (New York State High School Regents Exam Prep Center, n.d.). According the the New York State High School Regents Exam Prep Center, P-waves, or primary waves, travel faster than S-waves and go through solids liquids and gases. They are compressional waves and are smaller than S-waves which are shear waves (Southern California Earthquake Center, n.d.). As a result of P-waves moving faster than S-waves, P-waves reach measuring devices more quickly than S-waves (New York State High School Regents Exam Prep Center, n.d.). According the the U.S. Geological Survey (2016), seismograph is used to “detect and record earthquakes” by using a hanging mass over an unmoving base, so the mass records on the base when the ground moves.

When collisions between plates occur, the crust is pushed up sometimes forming ranges of mountains. This is the way that most

The tectonic movements in the earth’s crust are the initial causes of earthquakes. These movements bring about forces of tension and pressure, these forces stress up the earth’s crust. As the stresses increase, an imbalance in equilibrium of the rocks which results into breaking of rocks and displaced. The energy accumulated during the process is released giving raise to waves. The waves cause vibration of objects they come across with causing a lot of impact on them. This may include shaking and rapture of the ground. As a result there is damage of infrastructure, landslides, fires due to damage caused to electric and gas lines.

    On Earth, there are numerous types of natural disasters such as tsunami’s, earthquakes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, etc. Some occur more than other natural disasters, while others cause more destruction than others. Natural disasters form because of the shifting of earth, the weather, and floods and mudslides.

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.