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Effects of natural disasters on society
Effects of natural disasters on society
Effects of natural disasters on society
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The Great Kanto Earthquake of Japan in 1923 was a complete shock to the nation. The destruction brought to Japan because of it affected 60% of Tokyo’s population. It is known to be the most destructive earthquake in Japanese history. Over 140,000 lives were affected in all. It wasn’t the earthquake itself that caused so much destruction, but the disasters that occurred after. As a result of the earthquake, multiple fires, a tornado, a typhoon, and a tsunami broke out and destroyed Tokyo, Yokohama, and all of its surrounding areas.
The Great Kanto Earthquake was the deadliest earthquake in Japanese history and caught the city by surprise. The population of Tokyo was hit at 11:58am on September 1st, 1923. This was a time when families were sitting down for lunch at their kitchen tables, students were back for their first day of school after a long summer break, and many workers were heading home after a short day of work. There were also thousands of citizens in the city-center shopping and eating at restaurants. The earthquake that hit ended up being an estimated 8.2 on the Richter scale and completely devastated the country. When it hit, many fires broke out because of the common time of cooking lunch and because of the open gas lines in the city-center.
Destruction by fire was the first devastation that took the lives and homes of many citizens. The multiple fires in homes and restaurants started to spread because it was paired with the very high winds from the typhoon on Tokyo Bay occurring simultaneously. The typical construction of Japanese buildings and houses was light wood and paper construction. These flammable resources continued to spread the fires all over the city. Massive firestorms engulfed the cities leaving thei...
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...and reconstruct was not required in the most recent earthquake.
The Great Kanto Earthquake was the deadliest, most devastating earthquake in Japanese history because of the widespread damage throughout Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and the surrounding areas. Evidence suggests that it was not solely the earthquake that caused so much damage, but the natural disasters that occurred resulting from it. More than half of the population fell a victim to the affects due its unexpected arrival. This information is important to note because it is a natural disaster that cost four times the national budget of Japan in 1923 and killed around 140,000 people of the population. This event is a historic moment in Japanese history due to the enormous amount of devastation; however it did give Japan an unexpected opportunity to rebuild the city of Tokyo and the values of Japan.
...gs Left Legacy of Terror, Pain.” Associated 10 Mar. 2005: n. pag. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. . The firebombings of Tokyo was a event that impacted Japanese civilian morale, and destroyed several factories. This secondary source helped me see the impact of the bombings,
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history. Practically overnight the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the O’Leary’s barn and spread throughout the city. Many attempts were made to put out the fire but there were too many errors and problems in the beginning. After the fire many people were left homeless and had to help build their city again (Murphy, 39)
On the night of April 18, 1906, the whole town was woken by erratic shaking. Although the earthquake lasted under a measly minute, it caused significant damage. Many fires started all throughout the city; San Francisco burned in turmoil.
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
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.
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18th, 1906, the California city of San Francisco was awoken by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Chaos erupted with the earthquake leading to fire break outs throughout San Francisco (Cameron and Gordon. Pgs 69-73).The earthquake and the resulting fires caused destruction to majority of the city with buildings crumbling and igniting into flames. Many people died along with thousands and thousands of people being left homeless. This devastating earthquake left the city and United States in a financial crisis. Although the 1906 earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the city of San Francisco was able to overcome these substantial physical, social and economic impacts it had.
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
When looking at the aftermath of the atomic bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima the devastation it caused is evident. The majority of the population in Japan could have never imagined such a catastrophic event. On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 massive amounts of lives were changed forever when an atomic bomb fell from the sky and created an explosion as bright as the sun. These two bombs were the first and only accounts of nuclear warfare. (“Atomic Bomb is…”) The impact that the two bombs left on the cities of Japan was tremendous. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima devastated the country through structural damage, long term medical effects, expenses, and the massive loss of life.
The Great Kanto Earthquake also known as the Tokyo-Yokohama Earthquake of 1923 hit the metropolitan area of Kanto on September 1st, 1923 around 11:58 pm. It was a 7.9 on the Richter magnitude scale, killing over one-hundred and forty thousand people due to its high magnitude and the time it happened. The earthquake struck around lunch time, when many Japanese people were at home cooking at their charcoal or gas fueled stoves. At the moment the earthquake hit, it knocked down buildings that caught flames from the stoves that fell over, enflaming the city. The fire was swept up and able to spread due to the gusts of wind that occurred for two days afterwards, resulting in firestorms. Charles Blauvelt experienced the ordeal of the fire describing the flames as “[covering] the whole city [as they] burned all day and night.” In addition to the firestorms and the earthquake itself, there was a shock because of all the fallen debris which triggered tsunamis to fill and flood Japanese cities. These tsunamis, that were about thirty feet tall, destroyed central Tokyo and immensely added to the death toll.
...ng in Hiroshima at the time (History.com). One blessing of the event is the massive fires, which prevented epidemics by acting as a disinfectant (Wikipedia). If one aim was met with the Hiroshima bombing, it was the physical effects, which were able to devastate an entire city.
Throughout recorded history, fires have been known to cause great loss of life, property, and knowledge. The Great Fire of London was easily one of the worst fires mankind has ever seen causing large scale destruction and terror. Samuel Pepys described the fire as “A most malicious bloody flame, as one entire arch of fire of above a mile long… the churches, houses and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made.” (Britain Express 1).
On August 6th, 1945, a terrifying attack, unlike anything known to mankind in the past, struck Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These attacks were devastating, destroying everything and leaving the country in ruin, hence throwing the country millions of dollars behind in repairs and restoration. Not only was the land physically destroyed, but after the attacks, Japan lost its sense of unity. The explosion was seen through the eyes of Staff Sergeant George Caron: "The mushroom cloud itself was a spectacular sight, a bubbling mass of purple-gray smoke
An earthquake occurs abruptly and causes severs damage to people, property, landscape and more. A great mega-thrust earthquake, known as the Great Tohoku Earthquake has shaken Japan at 5:46:24 UTC on March 11, 2011. It caused a severe disaster, including tsunami and nuclear radiation exposure.. This mega-quake located at the latitude 38.297 degree North and longitude of 142.372 degree East, near the east coast of Honshu, Japan (USGS, 2013). An earthquake and tsunami waves caused widespread damage to many areas of Japan. People in Japan are still recovering from the damages.
The death toll climbs to over 10,000 and is still rising (Branigan 2). The disaster in Japan began without warning on Friday March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in the country (Fackler 3). A massive thirty-three foot high tsunami, generated by the earthquake, swept over lands in northern Japan, taking objects and debris with it. To make matters worse, the tsunami caused the cooling systems at several nuclear power plants to fail. The disaster in Japan was a tragic event, and it had a plethora of causes and effects.
It was a beautiful day like any other with the clear blue sky and the