Crazy Like Us: Earthquake

The second case study consists of post-traumatic stress disorder in the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. Watters recounts the story of a woman named, Debra Wentz, director of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies who was visiting Sri Lanka during the tsunami. She experienced the tragedy first-hand and became worried about the psychological implications that such a trauma plays on a person’s mental state. She vigorously worked to get American counselors to come to Sri Lanka to train local counselors on how to recognize the symptoms of PTSD and how to counsel the survivors. Her efforts, Watters states, “were clearly motivated by a set of assumptions and beliefs about the nature of psychological trauma and its appropriate treatments. Wentz assumed, as do many Western mental health specialists who focus on trauma, that the psychological reaction to horrible events is fundamentally the same around the world.” (Watters 68) Psychiatrists and

California’s unique geography as a state makes it a very appealing place to call home. From the odd east to west transverse San Gabriel mountain ranges of the Los Angeles Basin, to the bumpy coastal ranges of the Bay Area, any person can find a compatible topographic terrain to their liking. California may seem to be the perfect place to live with its ideal climate and extensive geographic features. However, due to California’s location over the shifting continental plates, coupled with its enormous and also multiple faults, at any time this great state can fall victim to a seismic disaster. After examining evidence from both Rong-Gong Lin’s II Los Angeles Times article of April 18, 2016 and the NOVA videos Killer Quake ( 2006), Earthquake (2007), as well as Geologic Journey II – Episode 3 (The Pacific Rim: Americas) – Part 3 (San Francisco) and The Great San Francisco Earthquake (American Experience ~ 2005), one can take a comparative account of the three major earthquakes of California’s past. Although each earthquake was very devastating on is own; the Great Quake 0f 1906, the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, and the NorthRidge quake of 1994 each amounted to an extensive forfeiture of property and life. Each of these earthquakes created much suffering and loss. It is imperative for each citizen of this great state to understand the damage that a California quake can actually do and be prepared; for the threat of one always looms.

An earthquake is where two transform plate boundaries slide and creak the earth. This is what happened in the Philippines. Although it was in 2013 the people are still in need of help to get back to their daily lives. The Philippines earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1. This earthquake was gigantic, and it took down many buildings that were in its path. Lucky the children were not in school that day because of the Muslim holidays the earthquake caused the school to collaspe. If the children were in school, then it would have killed most of the kids.There were 2,100 aftershocks. The day of the quake was October 15, 2013. People respond to a natural disaster by gathering materials and donations, spreading the word, and the government's aid.

Have you ever been in a deadly earthquake? In 2013, the people of the Philippines experienced one. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake that affected around 43,000 people with 2,211 aftershocks that ended up killing a total of 185 people. Earthquakes are known as one of the most dangerous natural disasters. This horrific event happened October 15th, 2013. The earthquake hit hardest in the central Philippines, it was reported to be caused by the East Bohol Fault. People act in a response to a natural disaster by gathering resources, spreading word, and government aid.

The Northridge earthquake in southern California used a bottom up process. The local and state government reacted swiftly and then the federal Government stepped up immediately after. The earthquake reached a magnitude of 6.7 and the rumblings were felt across the state impacting 214,000 square Kilometers. Rescue missions and inspections were done right after the quake and directed local citizens to safe areas. Even though the government reacted appropriately there was a small gap between the population and the governmental action. Citizens overestimated the relief efforts and felt that they were unable to address some of the critical issues cause by the earthquake. People in California were used to disasters and handled the situation to the

According to our textbook, it appears that an earthquake poses a greater threat to the Pacific Northwest than a volcano does. The text states that “California’s San Andreas Fault runs diagonally from southeast to northwest for nearly 800 miles.” In the lecture notes, it shows a diagram of the earthquakes that have occurred since 1977 along the Pacific coast, and the area is riddled with earthquakes. The likelihood of a massive scale earthquake occurring in the Pacific Northwest has been predicted; however, our lecture states that we are unable to predict an earthquake and are only able to gauge the probability of one occurring. Those who would be in harm’s way would be those people who fall within the Mercalli Intensity scale area, and those

On April 30, 2015, a volcano in Chile called Calbuco erupted for the third time in eight days. Calbuco is located near the town of Puerto Montt. One witness, Gregorio Billikopf, said that this eruption was not as dramatic as the previous eruptions that occurred on April 22 and 23. Others have also observed that the most recent eruption of Calbuco was smaller than the earlier eruptions. About 1,500 people were evacuated is what Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy said. Due to the steady decrease of seismic activity, the agency of geology in Chile warned of the chance of a third eruption. Authorities in Chile have been keeping people away from a 12 mile exclusion zone surrounding the volcano. In the previous week 4,400 residents were evacuated with assistance from police and military. Ash from the second eruption spread all the way to Argentina. Not all evacuations were for humans though, some included animals. In some places, the volcanic debris has reached up to almost 2 feet high. New information claims that ash in the air could reach an altitude of 12,000 feet. Last week, the town of Ensenada was blanketed in ash and the cities of Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas were under a red alert.

On March 14, 2011, Anne Applebaum created an account of the events that had occurred earlier that day in Japan. She recalled the shattering earthquake that followed a tsunami and destroyed towns such as Rikuzentakata, a town of 25,000 people (Applebaum 229). The earthquake also agitated Fukushima Daiichi, one of Japan’s nuclear power complexes. Unfortunately, all three reactors lost their ability to cool the steaming water and had to be flooded. The seawater effectively destroyed the plant before more explosions occurred. As a result, radioactive steam had to be released. Applebaum glorified the Japanese in their “technological brilliance” and their ability to cope in extreme circumstances (Applebaum 230). Although the regulations are strict

On March 11, 2011, Japan was devastated by a 9.0 earthquake that also created a 30 foot tsunami wave. This earthquake killed 15,000 people and injured more than 6,000. It is said that every 250 years on the Cascadia fault, an earthquake larger than the one that hit Japan, erupts. Scientists have determined that the Cascadia fault hasn’t erupted in 300 years. This means that the West coast is 50 years overdue for an earthquake that is powerful enough to destroy every bit of civilization. The probability of the Cascadia earthquake erupting in our generation is extremely high because an earthquake on the Cascadia fault happens every 250 years; plus the fault is hanging by a thread and could slip at any minute.

The devastating 2010 earthquake left Haiti in ruins. This meant Haiti would mostly rely on foreign aids to stand back to its feet. Most didn’t hesitate to come in to assist mostly the USA and other foreign aids which donated over $5 billion to help Haiti. However, so many questions have been raised on to how well these funds were used. This report includes facts to show how the funds were voluntarily misappropriated by a number of players including the foreign aids (both domestic and foreign), NGOs as well as the administration. This report also gives a summary of the election that happened the same year. This serves to demonstrate how the election was full of malpractices and fraud. The leaders elected especially the president and his government were not good enough in leading the nation to stability.

The southeastern part of the United States should not encounter too many seismic activities because it is located in the interior of the North American Plate, a good distance away from plate boundaries where earthquakes mostly occur. However the southeast have seen some seismic, the latest was the 2011 magnitude-5.8 earthquake at Virginia.

Researchers have found that if a 9.0 magnitude earthquake strikes the U.S’s california there is a great chance that a tsunami will occur. If that happens it will cost over 70 billion dollars to repair. People around that area would only have a 15 minute notice to flee. It could destroy roads, power lines, bridges, towns, and so much more. Over 100,00 people would die at an estimate. There has been two major earthquakes. One of the earthquakes was on a sunday and at a 6.8 magnitude and the other one in 2005 was at a 7.0 magnitude. In california there has been six earthquakes over a 7.0 magnitude or greater in the past 100 years. Scientists have focused on the 9.0 earthquake and the tsunami in japan in

The dump site was originally a reservoir that had been used to dump all the rubble from the earthquake in 2010. It was also the dumping site for many of the bodies of people who had died in the earthquake, along with the medical waste and bodies of those who died from the Cholera epidemic later that year. It was the only water source for those who lived in the poor community called Cité Soleil, which was, and still is, known as the Western Hemisphere's most dangerous

Earth is not a static planet. As a result, everyday we experience many phenomena related to the continuous movements in the planet. By definition, an earthquake is a sudden and violent shaking of the ground as a result of movements within the Earth's crust or by volcanic action. But why Mexico is prone to quakes? Mexico is located in a subduction zone. One slab of the crust is slowly sliding under another, causing strong movements that affect the area.

An analysis on the mechanism of destruction, impact, recovery, responses and future steps of the 2011 M6.3 Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.