2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake Essay

Whilst earthquakes are perhaps the most frequently occurring natural hazard, their impact on people, property and communities varies enormously from one place to another. It is possible to identify a number of factors that cause some places to suffer more than others. Whilst some are large scale and are to do with tectonic location, others are decided at a much more local scale, and relate to building design and levels of preparedness.

In Afghanistan people were trapped in their homes, and objects were not properly tied down. Buildings kill people not earthquakes.

An earthquake also causes the ground to shake. Which some buildings can’t take the intensity

This causes the ground to shake either not that hard or vigorously. What some folks don’t know is that there happens to be many earthquakes every day just we do not happen to feel them as much. Other earthquakes are huge and have a big impact.

Earthquakes are common environmental catastrophes which occur as a result of overwhelming stress being released within the earth. The location of the San Francisco Bay Area is extremely vulnerable to megathrust earthquakes

It is not that strong compared to the S- wave, but it does wreck anything that is really stiff or not flexible enough to stand it, but do note that there is barely any building that can escape an earthquake not scattered except if it levitates. This can move anything that's hanging on the wall or knock down furniture. P-waves are much faster than S -waves and it is really weak compared to the other waves. It the shaking that you feel before the building collapse like when you press medium vibration on a massage chair. But mostly they are meant to weaken the structure of the base or crack the ground to prepare for the bigger

“I felt very at home in California, but the place is prone to earthquakes, and the one in 1944 scared the life out of me. For months afterwards, I felt that every time I sat down, I should have to put on a seatbelt.” Earthquakes are when tectonic plates slip past each other causing a “snap’. The ground shakes violently and can even crack. Though the occurrence of an earthquake is dreadful, familiarizing yourself with the causes and effects can be useful, and in turn make it less scary.

Earth is a life giving planet. It is also true that it’s never at rest. It is in a daily course of revolution and rotation, making us experience not only night and day, but also seasons. This planet goes through many changes that brings wonders, but also catastrophes. These forces of nature leave damages and deaths all over the world. One of these cataclysm is earthquakes. What exactly is an earthquake? An earthquake is the ground shaking caused by the sudden movement of one block or rock slipping past another along the faults (Lutgens, Tarbuck). There is a process that causes an earthquake to happen. First it involves the heating, followed by

Earthquakes are one of the most destructive natural disasters. They destroy buildings, collapse roads and bridges, change landforms, and have cause millions of deaths throughout the years.

As the earth ‘quakes’, the ground can split; with both the vibrations of the surface and the cracks in the ground, structures can collapse; and often on top of people.

How does an earthquake cause a tsunami? We live on Earths crust. The earths crust is broken up into many parts and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. These puzzle pieces are called “tectonic plates” At times these plates move towards one another and push together. At other times they move apart away from each other. The plates usually move slowly so we do not feel the movement beneath us. There are times however that we do feel the movements. These movements that we feel are called earthquakes as they shake the ground beneath us. There are two kinds of plates one is referred to as the “continental plate” and the other is called the “oceanic plate”. Just as their names imply the plates that lie under the continents are continental plates and those that lie under the ocean are “oceanic plates”. As we have learned in class many of the worlds earthquakes occur in what is called the ring of fire. The ring of fire is a vast area surrounding the Pacific Ocean. The edges of some of Earths tectonic plates meet in this area. Since the plates meet up there they can bump into each other. They can also move away or slide past one another. When this happens it can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Another factor in this formula for earthquakes are something called faults. Faults are large fractures in the Earths crust. These fractures are found at the edges of the tectonic plates. This is where most earthquakes happen. When an

Japan sits in the middle of the boundaries of the two tectonic plates, which is the reason for the consistent amount of earthquakes

Japan is known for having a long history of earthquakes as it sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a series of tectonic plates that stretches from the tip of South America and along the coast of North America, it goes across the Bering Strait, through Japan and into New Zealand. It is the site of where most earthquakes occur and is filled with seismic activity as well as active volcanoes. Since Japan lies on The Pacific Ring of Fire it is hit with numerous numbers of earthquakes. Because of this, the Japanese government has issued safety measures by having every household to keep a survival kit (supplied with food, water, flashlights and first aid kit) and enforcing buildings to become more resistant to earthquakes in areas

The Earthquake that caused the tsunami in Japan was a level 9 magnitude. Earthquakes of magnitudes of 8 or great would have to be a tension snap that occurs along a segment that is around 600 miles in length(Book).This is an extraordinary length. This is about the distance from Dayton Ohio to New York, New York. Can you Imagine a piece of land that massive shifting upwards as much as the Pacific Plate did?

In the U.S. alone, the average annual cost to repair damage caused by earthquakes is $4.4 billion USD. The worldwide figure is much larger than this but unquantifiable due to poorer countries unable to accurately determine the amount of damage that occurred. Year after year the cost of damages barely fluctuates from these ridiculously high figures and money must be pumped into repairing the damage done. Although a lot is being learnt about earthquakes and the fact that humans are now normally able to be alerted in time to evacuate the area the earthquake will affect, there have been no breakthroughs into reducing the amount of damage earthquakes cause to buildings and infrastructures.