The Kathmandu Valley and the Constant Terror of Earthquakes
One important climatic feature that plagues the South Asian region of the Kathmandu Valley is earthquakes. A few severe earthquakes have taken place in the country's history and caused many deaths and nearly irreparable damage to impoverished Nepal. The residents of the Kathmandu Valley experience small tremors nearly every day, whether they can feel them or not. The world and the nation is waiting for the 'next big one' to terrorize the small country.
The Kingdom of Nepal is a landlocked nation that geographically lies between India and China. The narrow country also located at the boundary between the Indian and Tibetan tectonic plates and is thus extremely susceptible to earthquakes.[1] The entire kingdom falls into highly seismic zones, including the mountains. The Himalayan mountain range was even formed by the collision of the Asian and Indian plates that started about 50 million years ago, and ended with the subduction of the Indian plate underneath Tibet.[2]
The Universities of Alaska and Colorado, in order to help these poor nations, have made precise measurements in both the Nepal Himalayan range and Tibetan Plateau since March of 1991.[3] The researchers have discovered that the Indian plate moves 53-63 millimeters closer to Asia at the same time as Tibet moves the same direction by 34-39 millimeters each year.[4] Therefore, Nepal is rowed about 19-24 millimeters per year.[5] As these steady movements have continued throughout the years, and slip events have also occurred causing great earthquakes on a north-sloping surface underneath the Himalayan mountains.[6] And as lakes long ago occupied the Kathmandu Valley,...
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...ismological Centre.
[9] GeoHazards International: A Nonprofit Working Towards Global Earthquake Safety. ÒA
Nonprofit Organization Kathmandu Project.Ó
http://www.geohaz.org/contents/projects/kathmandu.html.
[10] GeoHazards International.
[11] GeoHazards International.
[12] National Seismological Centre.
[13] National Seismological Centre.
[14] Shakya, Naresh Man.
[15] GeoHazards International.
[16] GeoHazards International.
[17] Shakya, Naresh Man.
[18] Asian Disaster Reduction Center. ÒChapter 3: Nepal.Ó National Society for Earthquake
Technology- Nepal (NSET). 2003.
[19] Asian Disaster Reduction Center.
[20] Asian Disaster Reduction Center.
[21] Asian Disaster Reduction Center.
[22] Asian Disaster Reduction Center.
[23] Asian Disaster Reduction Center.
[24] Asian Disaster Reduction Center.
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...
You see, Nepal gets a lot of its income from courageous explorers craving a rush of adrenaline by climbing the highest mountain known to mankind, Mount Everest. Now this alone is very dangerous. There is obviously a lot of risks involved in this task but Nepal does not care. All they know is they are making profit and people want to climb their dangerous yet beloved mountain.People would pay upwards amounts of $70,000 for a chance to climb this mountain. Even though they are very inexperienced and some aren't even in the correct health conditions, Nepal still only cares about making money and not for other people's safety. One quote that explains this can be found (1.8) “Why did veteran Himalayan guides keep moving upward,ushering a gaggle of relatively inexperienced travelers into an apparent death trap?” This quote shows even Jon knew something was wrong however the industry didn't care, as long as they got their money they had no other worry. This was one of the big factors that played a role in the death of the
D.J. Dowrick (”Earthquake Risk Reduction”in Wiley) explains that seismic hazard is any physical phenomenon associated with an earthquake that may produce adverse effects on human activities. Earthquakes occur very suddenly without any warning. Thus, earthquake not only destructs people’s living environment, but also affects people’s mental health. People are more scared of earthquake. In 2010, there are two severe earthquakes, which are Haiti Earthquake and Chile Earthquake. Both of these two earthquakes produced the various impact considerably across countries and regions. The purpose of this essay is to analyse those two earthquakes according to knowledge such as why they occur, how strong they are, and what the impact they made. Even though people still can not predict earthquake, through analyse earthquakes, they can prevent it bring huge losses.
Earthquakes have been recorded throughout history for thousands of years. Even before seismographs in early times, there are records and accounts of mysterious ground shaking. Earthquakes occur when rocks break along an underground fault (UPSeis, 2007). This, in return, causes vibrations through the earth which causes ground shaking. The magnitude of the shaking varies depending on how great the movement along the fault is; the greater the movement, the bigger the earthquake. Some earthquakes are huge and cause significant damage, while others are small and cause little or no damage what-so-ever. Earthquakes are unpredictable, and can happen at any time. It is uncertain where an earthquake will strike, but there is a greater risk of an earthquake for areas lying on or near a fault. No one is ever prepared for an earthquake, so the people affected must face a sometimes terrifying reality and can be scarred for life. One country in particular that has been severely affected from an earthquake is Italy. Over a century ago Messina, a city located in Sicily, was to face one of the most devastating natural events of the century.
The dangerousness of earthquakes are rated from one to ten. One being you aren’t able to feel it and ten being VERY powerful. There was a deadly earthquake, almost no one survived. A deadly 7.2 earthquake occurred in the Central Philippines. All signs and clues pointed to the East Bohol Fault. A 6 rated earthquake that happened before, injured 300 people and caused a tsunami. But the 7.2 earthquake didn’t cause any tsunami. All of the dangerous earthquakes damaged ports, schools and airports; even a hospital collapsed killing at least 18 people. Children were injured in stampedes at two sports complexes while others rushed to the exits. Five people were killed in a earthquake - triggered landslide. People respond to a natural disaster by gathering resources, spreading the word, and government help.
Earthquakes can be very dangerous but what matters the most is that everybody is safe, and that we need to work together. One earthquake, in the Philippines, was truly devastating. It was classified as a 7.2 magnitude. The Philippines responded very well by gathering their resources, spreading the word, and giving donations. They bounced back very quickly.
January 12, 2010 became the moment of tragedy for the population of Haiti: an earthquake of terrible force stroke the small island, killing and injuring thousands of people. The earthquake turned into a devastating power, destroying everything in the epicenter and miles beyond. It was the most powerful earthquake in Haiti in more than 100 years. Now, several months after the tragic event, Haitian authorities still work to restore the economic and social stability in the region. Earthquakes are difficult to predict the Haiti earthquake did not have any warning signs or foreshocks. It was equally unexpected and powerful. The aftershocks that followed confirmed the complexity of the natural processes that usually occur during earthquakes.
Understanding the plate tectonics theory is very important, especially when investigating natural disasters like earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. It is also gives scientists the ability to understand how mountains were formed between two tectonic plates. There are three types of interactions between plate boundaries: convergent, divergent and transform. Looking back at the history of these three different interactions, earthquakes, like the one in Haiti, volcanic eruptions, like at Mount St. Helens, and the creation of mountain belts, like the Mid-Atlantic Oceanic ridge, gives information on future consequences of tectonic movement, and what can happen when the plates interact with each other.
Earthquakes happen about 20,000 times a year worldwide. They can destroy almost anything.In 2011, Japan had 9.1 magnitude earthquake, close to the highest magnitude of 9.2 in Alaska. They suffered tremendous damage from such a strong earthquake. The year before Haiti suffered from a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, still quite high compared to small tremors at magnitude 0-2. Japan recovered and rebuilt much faster than haiti did though. Haiti isn't even quite done recovering yet. The earthquakes had such different effects on the countries because of their economy, the condition of their people, and population rates.
Shrestha, Nanda R. Nepal and Bangladesh: a World studies Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc, 2002
Nepal is a relatively small country, 100 miles wide by 500 miles long. The southern border is tropical with rich soils, flora and fauna; making this region of Nepal densely populated by humans (Bishop 1998:10). The mountainous region, however, is more sparsely populated. It is the Sherpa who populate these mountains, specifically the middle Himalayan range (Bishop 1998:11).
Plate tectonics can explain why there are earthquakes in the Earth reasonably. The definition of the earthquake is a fast and sudden movement of the Earth’s along geological faults, and the energy stored in stones is releasing in the meantime (Valentic, 2010). Figure 3 is showing some
For millions of years, tectonic plates have been determinate of changes in the physical face of the earth, and they continue to do so today. These massive plates move underneath the surfaces of the oceans and the continents, producing earthquakes, volcanoes and uplifts. This paper will discuss the composition, movement and history of tectonic plates, the theory of plate tectonics and its history, and tectonic plates affect the surface of the earth today and will continue to do so in the future.
They are the earth’s crust; they move very slowly every year. 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...
Plates on the outside layer of the Earth, called tectonic plates, are always moving and are roughly one hundred kilometers in thickness. In this case, an earthquake can happen as a result of the stress and movement caused by the plates rubbing back and forth. An earthquake can happen at measurements as great as seven hundred kilometers in length, when tectonic plates bump into each other. On the other hand, California for example, a place where its tectonic plates move past one another, experience shallower earthquakes. This type of earthquake is a result of the tectonic plates resisting and moving past one another along the ridges under the sea (“What causes earthquakes?”).