Thousands of Earthquakes happen every day around the world, but only a few of these are actually strong enough to be felt. And fewer still are strong enough to cause any damage to structures, even so Earthquakes have the ability to destroy entire Cities or even entire countries (See 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami). But what causes Earthquakes to occur, what happens to a Cities Infrastructure (Utilities, Roads, and Buildings) when one does strike, and what can city leaders and citizens do to prepare before one hits? There are three main causes to Tectonic Earthquakes. Tectonic because they are caused by the Tectonic Plates that the crust of the Earth’s surfaces rest on. Where these Tectonic Plates meet are called boundaries. The three One way of preparing the citizens for an Earthquake is public education. The main goal of public education as stated by (Nathe) “Is to change people’s behavior. Hazards education attempts to increase protective actions by people, groups, and institutions by presenting information about a hazard and the risk it poses in order to create uncertainty in people’s minds. The goal is to make people wonder about the environment and question their safety in it”. By explaining the hazards and what they can do before, during, and after the event the public will be able to recover faster from a devastating earthquake. Another way that cities can prepare structures for earthquakes would to add reinforcements to them. By shoring up wood joints and adding motion dampeners to structures these additions will greatly increases the ability of structures to resist movement and sustain less damage during a large earthquake. In addition, utilities can be stretched by using flexible water and natural gas lines. As well as using automatic shut off valves to reduce the risk of maker leaks occurring if a breakage occurs. Lastly if cities have a well-planned out emergency management plans to deal with the response and recovery efforts after a devastating earthquake. Then the faster the city and its citizens will be able to start the rebuilding process and return to a sense of
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...
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.
I think being prepared and educated will save many lives if and when we get the big one in the Cascadia region. Works Cited http://www.crew.org/cascadia http://www.crew.org/sites/default/files/cascadia_subduction_scenario_2013.pdf http://www.pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/crustalfaults www.iris.edu/hq/files/programs/education_and_outreach/aotm/5/2.Subduction_Rebound_Background.pdf www.crew.org/sites/default/files
The Physical and Human Factors Which Affect the Location and the Impact of the Earthquake Hazard
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.
What causes an earthquake to happen? An earthquake is caused when the there is a sudden slip on a fault line. Sometimes a tectonic plate get stuck on another tectonic plate. Stress slowly builds up between these plates until they finally move past each other. This sudden movement releases all the energy that built up through the earth’s crust- an earthquake. In Missouri, it just so happens that there is the New Madrid Seismic Zone ,which is also known as the New Madrid fault line.
Due to the hazard that earthquakes cause, a hazard consultant becomes a critical part of
Unfortunately, as the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006 reported that “there are still thousands of hostility rebuilt, unreinforced masonry buildings” that are build very close together with no fire resistance walls in between (John Galvin, 2007). Plus, the Association of Bay Area Governments stated that if a magnitude 7 and above earthquake a long the San Andreas Fault by San Francisco will affect the homes of many thousands of people forcing them to live in the streets once again (John Galvin, 2008). In the other hand, according to John Galvin article San Francisco’s water delivery system was improved and even though insurance companies loss a lot of money they paid out millions in claims.
The effects caused by earthquakes are devastating. They cause loss of human life and have effects on infrastructure and economy. Earthquakes can happen at any time anywhere. In January 12, 2010 an earthquake of a magnitude of 7.0 hit the nation of Haiti. An estimation of 316,000 people were killed, and more than 1.3 million Haitians were left homeless (Earthquake Information for 2010). Haiti was in a terrified chaos. After the earthquake, families were separated because many of the members were killed. Homes, schools, and hospitals were demolished. People lost their most valuable belongings. It will take time for the country to recover from this terrible disaster. The long damages are economic issues, health-state, and environmental issues that effect in the beautiful island of Haiti.
Picture this you were just getting up or sleeping, on September, 19, 1985 at 7:17 AM and then the ground started to shake! “IT’S AN EARTHQUAKE”, you would yell and hopefully jump out of bed and go outside so you don't get smashed by pieces of your house. The cause of this earthquake was two plates that slide past each other. This giant earthquake killed thousands and destroyed thousands of buildings in Mexico city also this earthquake spread a long ways. There was a earthquake 4 months prior to the real earthquake so this could be an effect of this quake. As a result this caused a major natural disaster beyond belief. The effects of this earthquake was that it killed thousands, cost billions, and destroyed thousands of buildings.
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.
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.
Authorities have attempted to implement codes or regulations, but that has proved to be very difficult tasks becasue there are many variables that effect the dynamic response of buildings. One way to try to avoid disaster is to evaluate seismic risk is to look at a buildings hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and location. Hazards are, for example, landslides ad soil type. Exposure is a building's occupancy and function. Vulnerability is the expected performance of a building's system, and location is how often earthquakes occur in the area. (Lagorio)
Johns Hopkins University. (2009, March). In disaster-prone areas, construction needs a new approach. Retrieved from http://phys.org/news157051992.html
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).