The Devastating Occurrence Of Natural Disasters

Earthquakes form when two tectonic plates slide past each other, push against each other, or pull apart from each other.

On 11th March 2011 Fukushima, Japan was struck by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake which initiated a tsunami, as well as the damage of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor, creating a nuclear disaster. Japan is located at a plate boundary region, which makes earthquakes a common occurrence. From this Fukushima suffered from environmental impacts such as the contamination of food, health conditions such as thyroid damage as well as an impact on the economy that put Japan into even more debt. Since the disaster, Fukushima has undergone 128 more Earthquakes, indicating that the area in which Fukushima is located is prone to more future Earthquakes. Although these earthquakes cannot be predicted, technology such that assist in the Dilatancy Theory may help to determine if an earthquake is about to occur, through generalized patterns of activity. In the event of another earthquake systems like Earthquake Early Warning can help to alert citizens that may be in danger, to ensure that the number of fatalities is lower than Fukushima.

Large magnitude earthquakes occur on plate boundaries and can produce hazards such as movement along faults, landslides, and tsunamis. In North America, the western coast is an active margin, meaning that it is home to earthquakes and

Earthquakes are caused when two blocks of earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where the two blocks slip is called the fault. The earthquake starts below the earth’s surface at the hypocenter, and the location above the hypocenter is called the epicenter. Earthquakes can have foreshocks which is a smaller earthquake that happens before the larger quake. Earthquake can also

Since these earthquakes are caused by tectonic plate movement therefore displacing the ocean floor they are almost always accompanied by massive ocean waves, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 ft and reaching speeds of 500 mph, known as seismic sea waves or more commonly known as Tsunamis4. Alongside the catastrophic events that megathrust earthquakes ensue on an affected region these colossal Tsunami waves further destruct costal lines in their path, sometimes reaching many miles inland.

Earthquakes are caused when rock at an underground fault breaks. This release of energy causes seismic waves (Endsley). There are P waves, S waves, and surface waves (Hogan). This is the main cause of earthquakes, though there has been a few, rare occurrences

Tectonic activity varies due to geographical location and position of tectonic plate boundaries. The Earth's crust is made up of continental and oceanic plates, which move across the surface of the planet, meeting at plate boundaries. Plate tectonics cause volcanic activity, tsunamis and

The energy originates from the hypocenter which is usually deep below the earth’s surface. The epicenter is exactly above the hypocenter. There are three types of waves which occur during an earthquake: compressional (P) waves, seismology (S) waves, and surface waves. There are four different types of fault lines which include: normal faulting, reverse faulting, and strike slip, oblique slip. Earthquakes have different consequences on different landscapes. Some earthquakes cause surface faulting which appears as a crack on the ground. It is possible for ground failure to occur which can generate liquefaction, lateral spreads, landslides, etcetera. Depending on the location of the earthquake, it can cause secondary threats such as tsunami, building fires, dam failures and other disastrous

An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.

An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault of fault plane. The location below the earth's surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter. There are four types of earthquakes tectonic,volcanic,collapse,and explosion. Another good topic to study is deeper into the science of earthquakes. ”Most earthquakes occur along faults, or breaks, in the Earth's crust.” by Bill Haneberg.http://tremor.nmt.edu/faq/what.html

On the 22nd of May, 1960, the life of so many Europeans had changed and they could never go back for this natural disaster that struck in the South of Chile, caused effects that where not only As a result of the large shocks from the earthquake, a tsunami was produced that was damaging to surrounding continents and islands, this tsunami was abnormal for it wasn’t discreet, inhabitants of continents and islands such as Hawaii could see the tsunami from the coastline. The surface wave magnitude of the tsunami was an 8.6 with a focal depth of 33km, and an epicentre of 39.5° S, 74.5° W. The inhabitants of Chile attempted to seek refuge on sea, however they were ignorant of the tsunami that came around 10 to 15 minutes after the earthquake, the only structures that survived the

On Friday at 2:46 p.m. local time, near the northeast coast of Japan, there was a magnitude of 9.0 disastrous earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011 (“Poster of the Great Tohoku Earthquake”, 2012). Earthquakes occur at fault when a fracture in the earth along which movement occurs. When strain builds up, the fault slips and earthquake is created. Earthquake, the most destructive natural disasters of all is caused by the movement of the tectonic plates in the lithosphere. The ground shaking is produced by a rapid released of energy and stress in the Earth. When the stress is release, it sends vibrations known as seismic waves that produced at the focus of the earthquake. Honshu earthquake is considered as one of the deadliest earthquakes and

The subduction zone is when a plate goes under another, shifts and moves, violently pushing up the plate above it, causing devastating effects. When the earth’s crust breaks due to rocks and shifting plates, it causes a tectonic earthquake, which is the most common earthquake. A volcanic earthquake is any earthquake that happens due to volcanic activity. A collapse earthquake are small earthquakes in underground caves and mine shafts when seismic waves effect it. An explosive earthquake is an earthquake that happens due to the detonation of nuclear or chemical

Believe it or not, there are certain parts of the country where natural disasters are just apart of the day-to-day activity. In other words, it’s something residents are familiar with. On the contrary, natural disasters are events that can cause other residents to experience traumatic stress according to the Ohio University. Throughout the West Coast, for example, there are earthquakes. The East and Gulf coast, on the other hand, experience hurricanes. Then throughout the heartland of our country, there are those violent rotating columns of air we call tornados that rip homes to pieces in a matter of minutes.

The earthquake hit on January 12, 2010 at 7:16 p.m. local time. With a magnitude of 7.1, and a depth just five miles just below the surface, the earthquake caused some serious damage. “Haiti sits on the boundary of two tectonic plates- the Caribbean plate and the North American plate- creating a system known as the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault.” (Wishnia, 11). It also had a transform boundary, where the two plates grind past each other, causing stress, which eventually erupted in an earthquake. Lastly, an earthquake struck Japan on March 11, 2011, at 2:46 p.m. local time. With a magnitude of 9.0 and a depth of 24 kilometres, this earthquake was the largest to ever hit Japan. “Japan is situated near a subduction zone where the Pacific plate is thrusting beneath the North American plate on which part of the country lies.” (Crean, Cody and Karina Hamalainen, 16). Since the earthquake had such a massive magnitude, and the epicenter of the earthquake was 130 kilometres off of Japan’s coast, the movement of the earth generated a tsunami. The tsunami waves moved at a speed of 805 kilometres per hour, and as they approached the shore, the waves grew in height, and in amplitude. Conclusively, the kind of earthquake a country experience connects to the factors that contributed to the earthquake, such as the tectonic plate movement, and magnitude; and to how well the country is prepared for it.