Earthquakes can devastate a city. They are a force of nature that can destroy any structure. The earth is made up of moving tectonic plates. Earthquakes occur along or near tectonic plate boundaries where two plates meet. These plates are solid rock and sit on the mantle which is a layer of molten rock. This molten rock is constantly moving in a convection current. The earth’s core is what generates the heat. The hotter rock rises away from the core and pushes up against the crust. Here it cools and then moves away on both sides. The now cooled rock sinks back to take the place of the hotter rock that has risen as shown in the diagram on the right. When the rock pushes against the crust it moves sideways. This moves the tectonic plates that are floating on top along with the molten rock. When two different plates collide they can cause violent tremors called earthquakes. Most of these tremors are very minor and are happening all the time. They are so small that we can’t feel them. Plates can also slide past each other which can cause very minor micro quakes. The plates are slipping about 10 millimetres a year, about the rate of fingernails. When plates aren’t slipping enough it can cause major problems. When plates aren’t slipping enough it shows that something is preventing the plates from sliding. When enough pressure builds up it will restart the sliding with a jolt. When this happens it causes major damage to any cities or towns near the epicentre. The epicentre is directly above where the movements began. Where the movements begin is called the focus. The devastation of a city depends on the size of the quake and the location of the epicentre. On April the 18th in 1906 one of the most devastating earthquakes in history struc... ... middle of paper ... ...s of shootings and looters were to be killed immediately. Children caught looting were spared but were publically humiliated with a big sign put on them. By 10:00pm the city had surrendered. There was nothing to do but watch. South of market was gone, the financial district was gone and china town would go in the night. In the morning the residents were dumbfounded. Possessions, homes and their whole lives had been destroyed. There were ferries taking people across the bay. Smoke was everywhere and there was a great silence over the city. By mid-day on April 19th, 250,000 were homeless and over 3,000 were dead. This was only the beginning and the city would burn for another two days. The costs were substantial. $235 - $500 million dollars which in today’s money would be about $4.8 – $10 billion dollars.However there were some positives to come from it Positives?
Earthquakes are a natural part of the Earth’s evolution. Scientific evidence leads many geologists to believe that all of the land on Earth was at one point in time connected. Because of plate tectonic movements or earthquakes, continental drift occurred separating the one massive piece of land in to the seven major continents today. Further evidence supports this theory, starting with the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a large mass of plate tectonics, which are increasing the size of the Atlantic Ocean while shrinking the Pacific. Some scientists believe that the major plate moveme...
The earth is split into four layers, inner and outer core, the mantle and crust. The top of the mantle and crust make up what is like the skin of our earth (see source 2). The skin is split up like a puzzle and we call these puzzle pieces’ tectonic plates (see source 1). These plates are constantly moving and the plate boundaries (edges of the plates) move and slide past one another. Sometimes as the plates move the plate boundaries become stuck. Pressure builds up in the stuck area over time and eventually breaks. This is why earthquakes occur due to the sudden movement of the plate sliding and breaking creating a fault line to go off. The fault line is the line on which the
In conclusion, on the night of September 25th, two beautiful churches burned and many other buildings were scorched by the flames. The fire brought fear to some residents who thought they would lose everything and exhaustion to the fire fighters. No deaths were reported, and only a few people were severely burned. It was a night that would not be forgotten easily by those who lived in the “Burning District.”
On the afternoon of March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the 10-floor Asch Building, a block east of Manhattan's Washington Square. This is where 500 mostly young immigrant girls were producing shirts for the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Within minutes, it spread to consume the building's upper three stories. Firemen at the scene were unable to rescue those trapped inside: their ladders weren't tall enough. Exits were locked, and the narrow fire escapes were inadequate. Panicked, many jumped from the windows to their deaths. People on the street watched in horror. The flames were under control in less than a half hour, but 146 people perished, 123 of them women. It was the worst disaster in the city's history.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes in the United States. Even though it only lasted less than a minute, the damages and aftermath of the earthquake were disastrous. These damages were not just from the earthquake, but also from other hazards that occurred because of it. It also had a huge effect on the people living in San Francisco. Many people, the government, and other countries helped the city of San Francisco with relief goods like food and clothing. The city used up their resources in order to rebuild the city and spent a lot of money. This earthquake also started a scientific revolution about earthquakes and its effects.
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18th, 1906, the California city of San Francisco was awoken by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Chaos erupted with the earthquake leading to fire break outs throughout San Francisco (Cameron and Gordon. Pgs 69-73).The earthquake and the resulting fires caused destruction to majority of the city with buildings crumbling and igniting into flames. Many people died along with thousands and thousands of people being left homeless. This devastating earthquake left the city and United States in a financial crisis. Although the 1906 earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the city of San Francisco was able to overcome these substantial physical, social and economic impacts it had.
Earthquakes are best described as a shaking or vibration of the ground caused by breaking of rock. Sometimes they are very strong and other times you would hardly notice them. This shaking occurs when stress that builds up in the crust is suddenly released as the crust breaks free and/or slides against the other pieces of crust. Earthquakes may also be thought of as the breaking of a popsicle stick by applying pressure to both ends at the same time. Should you try this experiment , you will feel the pressure build up as you apply more force until the stick snaps. When the stick snaps you will feel an instant of pain at your fingers as the stress reduces and energy waves move throughout the stick. When the earth's crust is placed under similar types of stress, binding as the stress builds, it will also snap and release the energy into the surrounding rocks, 'ooch'. Thinking about earthquakes will become more clear if you try another experiment.
San Francisco and Chicago are cities that will always be remembered during their time of massacre. Many were lost but through the losses they gained new structures that protect the citizens today and the ones yet to come. Although the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 were both horrific events that created huge destruction on the United States, they took a big toll in people’s lives in many different ways and encouraged them to take charge and rebuild back their hometowns that they loved.
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake hit the Northern California coastline. The San Andreas fault shook 296 miles of the coast causing major damage throughout San Francisco, destroying about 80% of the city. Fires broke out throughout the city that lasted for several days. This was one of the worst Earthquakes recorded in history, killing 3,000 people.("The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake")
Before examining the Northridge event, understanding the naturally occurring hazard that is an earthquake will help to better understand exactly what happened and why it was such an important geological event. With four distinct layers, two layers, the crust and upper portion of the mantle, compose the skin that is the surface layer of the Earth. The crust is not a single, continuous piece. It is actually several different pieces, or plates, that come together to form the puzzle that comprises the surface of the Earth. These plates are in constant motion rubbing against one another. These areas, known as fault lines, where the plates rub up against one another have spots where one plate ”gets stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. When the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick and is how most of the earthquakes around the world occur” (Wald, 2012). The energy stored from the friction of the two plate...
"The Great Quake: 1906-2006 / Rising from the Ashes." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
More than five thousand people attended the funeral. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed and many of them were won. The explosion damaged one hundred million dollars worth of buildings, parks, hospitals, and many other things. Congress granted Texas City seventeen million dollars to repair the town and start to rebuild. And another way that people helped out was by doing fundraisers for the city.
As the tectonic plates slide over each other, they cause earthquakes. Earthquakes produce various damaging effects, this includes damage to structures of buildings, bridges and other standing formations which then result in injuries and people getting killed, wildlife getting disrupted as well as humans. An earthquake can affect the earth as it’s easier to let the lava come out of the earth. Tsunamis- Can cause financial problems such as home loss, job loss which will then result in being homeless, loss of crops and food supplies which causes a lot of harm to us ‘humans’. A tsunami is a series of waves that send surges of water that can travel thousands of miles.
In the early morning hours on January 17th, 1994 a very violent tremble took place across Los Angeles, California area that left fifty-seven people dead, more than 7,000 injured, more than 20,000 homeless and left over 40,000 buildings damaged. Around 4:30 a.m. a horrific 6.7 magnitude earthquake, that tested building codes and earthquake-resistant construction, shook Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Orange Counties with the most intense damage occurring in Sherman Oaks and Northridge. The earthquake caused several bridges and overpasses to collapse closing sections of the Santa Monica Freeway, Simi Valley Freeway, Golden State Freeway, and the Antelope Valley Freeway. There were also several fire outbreaks throughout the San Fernando Valley, Malibu, and Venice area because of underground gas lines that had been ruptured during the earthquake that caused additional damage.
Earthquakes belong to the class of most disastrous natural hazards. They result in unexpected and tremendous earth movements. These movements results from dissemination of an enormous amount of intense energy in form of seismic waves which are detected by use of seismograms. The impact of earthquakes leaves behind several landmarks including: destruction of property, extensive disruption of services like sewer and water lines, loss of life, and causes instability in both economic and social components of the affected nation (Webcache 2).