The Managua earthquake occurred in Managua, Nicaragua on December 23rd, 1972 at 12:29 am Central time. It was measured as a magnitude 6.2 earthquake. This is part of the reason why I chose this earthquake. It was a large, but not massive, earthquake, yet the damage that it caused is startling. It is a perfect example of the importance of being prepared for an earthquake. Also it is interesting because the city experienced a magnitude 4.6 earthquake 4 years prior to the event, it is surprising that there were no preventative measures put in place after this warning sign. Also as a Spanish major I am drawn to the history and culture of Central America and other Hispanic regions, and major events like the Managua earthquake of 1972 are often very important in society but natural disasters can often be overlooked when learning the history of another country. …show more content…
What they found was built on geologically unsound ground composed of relatively young (~2,000 years) and loosely compacted volcanic remnants and in a volcanic region ("The Managua Quake: The Inevitable Happens"). Managua is also located on the southern shore of Lake Xolotlan (see figure 1), which is in a highly volcanic area known as the Central American Volcanic Chain. This area is tumultuous due to its location near the fault in between the Cocos and Caribbean plates, where the Cocos is being subducted under the Caribbean. The focal depth of the earthquake was only five kilometers; because of this depth it is believed that “the Managua earthquake was probably caused by volcanic activity rather than the fault motions responsible for most California earthquakes” ("The Managua Quake: The Inevitable Happens"). Shallow shaking causes harsher shaking in a smaller area, this shaking loosened the weak soil to become
Earthquake: a series of vibrations induced in the earth’s crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating; something that is severely disruptive; upheaval (Shravan). Tsunami: an unusually large sea wave produced by a seaquake or undersea volcanic eruption (Shravan). Combine these two catastrophic natural disasters, and it will be a day that will forever live in infamy through terror; a day much like that of October 28, 1746 in Lima, Peru in which an entire city was destroyed within mere minutes. Author Charles Walker guides his audience through the devastation and wreckage of this heartbroken town and into the economic, political, religious, and social fallings that followed. Walker argues that the aftermath of this tragedy transformed into a voting of the citizens’ various ideas perceived of the future of Lima, theological consequences, and the structure of the colonial rule (p. 12). However, as illustrated by Walker, the colonial rulers would in turn batter the natives with their alternative goals and ideas for the future of Lima. Finally, the author reconstructs the upheaval of Lima during its’ reconstruction and their forced and struggled relationship with the Spanish crown that ultimately led to rebellions and retaliations by the Afro-Peruvians and Indians.
On February 4th 1975 in Haicheng China there was a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Over a period of months there were changes in elevation in land, ground water and unusual animal behavior which are all precursors to an earthquake. Days before the 7.5 magnitude earthquake there were foreshocks that triggered an eviction warning that effectively saved over 150,000 lives or injuries. This is a pro as this forecast saved thousands of lives and had the people of this area (knowing this was a place of seismic activity) took precautions, like that of earthquake resistant buildings, evacuation points, preparing disaster supplies among other preparations the following may not have happened or would have been less of a disaster.
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.
Disasters are often followed by reports of damages to the built environment—the cost of buildings, roads, bridges, electricity lines, stores, schools and hospitals. These of course follow the death toll and economic and social impacts of citizen’s lives. It was not different from Hurricane Ike, whose 20-foot surge left one of the biggest damage ever. The stories of how it impacted other things for the benefit do not make much of the well-known history. For Gene Straatmeyer, a resident of Bolivar Peninsula— which was most hit by the storm, the story is not just about how destructive it was.
Slavicek, Louise Chipley. The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Of 1906. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2009. Print.
The San Francisco Earthquake commenced at five thirteen o’clock in the morning, with the epicenter offshore of San Francisco. The city carried more than 400,000 people during this event (Earthquake of 1906, 1). Most of the
It’s important to remember this earthquake of Lisbon because of all of the groundbreaking ideas it incorporates. It wasn’t any ordinary earthquake; it truly did shape western civilization to what it is today. The truly amazing part of this entire event is how Lisbon was at one point completely in disarray and destroyed, and still managed to redeem itself and rise up to other European countries again. The works of Voltaire, Locke, and discoveries in modern science owe a great deal of credit to this entire scenario.
In the west is a great basin, or depression, containing two lakes, Nicaragua, the largest in Central America, and Managua. The two are connected by the Tipitapa River. A chain of volcanoes, which are a contributory cause of local earthquakes, rise between the lakes and the Pacific coast. In the east, the Caribbean coastal plain known as the Costa de mosquitoes (Mosquito Coast) extends some 45 mi. inland and is partly overgrown with rain forest.
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")
There was a massive earthquake in San Francisco during the year of 1906. The country of United States went through great loss because of this massacre. Nearly 250,000 people had become homeless as the result of this great earthquake. Winchester pointed out the question: How unprepared was America when this disaster hit? He compared the San Francisco earthquake to the Katrina hurricane in 2005.
On January 12, 2010, while vacationing in Santo Domingo, DR. Tragedy hit and my strong foundation no longer stood. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 shook and uprooted homes, places of business and my sense of peace. After hearing news of the earthquake, I rush to Port-au-Prince to check on my family. I was reassured that my family was secured and had no life threatening injuries, but the same was not said to my grandparent’s neighbor. Their neighbor suffered from a head injury and deep laceratio...
"The Great Quake: 1906-2006 / Rising from the Ashes." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
In March of 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest most powerful earthquakes to hit Honshu, Japan. (“Facts about Japan”) The earthquake registered 8.9 and was the fifth largest most powerful earthquake in the world.... ... middle of paper ... ...
In Heinrich von Kleist’s, The Earthquake in Chile, illustrates the story of star-crossed lovers brought together through a natural disaster. The description of the earthquake presents itself as a scene from hell. The relation between the destructiveness of the earthquake and the image of hell of apocalyptic literature presents the end of the world for the people of Chile. Kleist uses imagery to portray post earthquake Chile as the Garden Eden, the presence of a pomegranate tree symbolizes the start a new life and foreshadows the inevitable end for Josepha and Jeronimo. By introducing a pomegranate tree , Kleist frames the effects of the earthquake as an opportunity for and altruistic community. The symbolism of the pomegranate tree in the “Garden of Eden” symbolizes fertility for the rebirth of the Chilean community. Heinrich von Kleist’s, The Earthquake in Chile, presents the destructiveness of an earthquake as a transition from the image of hell to an opportunity to rebuild the community.
...is event ‘ just a coincidence because several small earthquakes happened before the big one’ ( Zhang, 2008), but it proved that if we can predict hazards accurately, much loss can be saved.