Causes And Effects Of Earthquakes

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Have you ever wondered just how powerful an earthquake can be? How much destruction it can cause? Well right here is where you want to be. Earthquakes are known for how powerful and destructive they can be when it comes to “bringing the house down”. Even though this powerful natural hazard can be disastrous or even catastrophic, you can learn more about them so that you’re more aware and prepared of what to do in case you are put into that situation. Lets start off with the consequences of an earthquake. The consequences depend on a combination of factors like the magnitude, depth, distance from a populated area, the nature of local earth materials, and also the way structures like houses, buildings, roads, railroads, utility lines, and pipelines are built. (Natural Hazards, Second Edition) Earthquake losses, like those of other disasters, tend to cause more financial losses in industrialized countries and more injuries and deaths in undeveloped countries. Earthquakes can also cause secondary disasters like tsunamis, a natural disaster where a series of waves of very great length and period, are usually caused by large earthquakes under or near oceans that are close to the edges of tectonic plates. The waves created by a tsunami can travel long distances and increase their height as they hit shallow water. Tsunamis are able to create great damage and destruction far away from their source. (American Public Health Association, 2005) To help prepare buildings for earthquakes in certain regions, they estimate the probability of how often an earthquake will occur in that area. Other factors include: the shaking intensity that is produced by the earthquake (which can also be expressed as the peak acceleration), how frequent the s... ... middle of paper ... ...citizens before the earthquake happens. Why we cannot find a way to predict when and where an earthquake will happen is because there are no obvious signs that show when an earthquake is about to happen until it’s too late. Vibrations can be detected just before an earthquake occurs, but this doesn't give us enough time to be able to have people escape the disaster. It’s hard for scientists to be able to study the many tectonic plates that are constantly interacting with each other deep under the earths surface. Their interactions are really complex which makes it really difficult to study them and understand what’s going on. Scientists at USGS and other organisations are working hard to develop methods where we will be able to predict earthquakes. Hopefully, scientists will eventually find a way to predict earthquakes specifically where it could save many lives.

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