Before I begin talking about earthquakes I should explain how earthquakes begin and their results. The movement of the earth plates are the ones that causes earthquakes. It occurs when plates meet along plate boundaries. When they move towards each other, one of the plates can be pushed down the bottom of the other plate, into the mantle. This is consider the subduction zone. When the plates gets stuck, it causes a lot of pressure on the surrounding rocks. The pressure will released and produce shock waves, they are called seismic waves and in other words, this will be called an earthquake. In this essay I will talk about the earthquake in Chile from 1962. I will speak how this earthquake affected the earth and the damages, not only to earth, …show more content…
Beginning with Chile, it affected the cities of Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Rio Negro, Temuco, to name a few. It also affected the coast of California, New Zealand, Australia and Kamchatka. This affected the people of Chile plenty. It is believed that most of the loss of life were caused by the tsunami. The earthquake affected by speeding up Earth’s rotation. It shorted earth days by 1.26 millionths of a second. It also shifted Earth’s figure axis by about three inches. While all this happen in 1960, it was a cause of the 2010 earthquake that occur in Chile. This time it was a magnitude of 8.8 and like I mentioned, all this occur from the earthquake in 1960. However, the diving tectonic plate at the epicenter of the 8.8 magnitude, helped to temporarily redistribute mass on Earth. Unfortunately, as every Earthquake, there is damages. $550 million damage in southern Chile. Different sources have estimated the monetary cost ranged from US$400 million to 800 million (or 2.9 to 5.8 billion in 2011 dollars, adjusted for inflation). Furthermore, besides the dollar amount in damages that was mentioned in this paper, the tsunamis played a factor on the …show more content…
This was great for Chile until the earthquake. After the earthquake, the economy grew at a lower rate of 2% in 1961 to 19363. Later, in 1964-65, the country had a second recession. As I mention early in the paper, the losses were approximately $550 million, however, till this day the cost remains unknown. To repair the damage, the Chilean state invested 136.4 million U.S. dollars from donation and 292.6 million from the government. It is estimated that the houses in Valdivia were destroyed by 40%. The houses and building that were built by concrete, were affected the most. The wooden houses fared better.
Chile earthquake of 1960, is the largest earthquake in the history of mankind and recorded in the 20th century. It left a scar in many peoples heart. Obviously I was not born at that time, however, my grandma was and she live in Chile at that time. More than 50 years have passed and she still remember this horrible event in human history. I live in this country for a while and we are still waiting for the “big one”. I pray that we never have to go through that and I also pray for those family that lost everything in that
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.
Earthquakes play a major role into understanding the composition and materials that exist within the Earth (Merali and Skinner, 2009, p.252). Earthquakes are the main source of insight into the inner workings of the earth, due to the nature of the seismic waves they produce. P and S waves are reflected and refracted at different boundaries within the earth, and this enables seismologists to make inferences about the internal composition and structural of planet Earth. (Merali and Skinner, 2009, p.252).
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...
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.
Before examining the Northridge event, understanding the naturally occurring hazard that is an earthquake will help to better understand exactly what happened and why it was such an important geological event. With four distinct layers, two layers, the crust and upper portion of the mantle, compose the skin that is the surface layer of the Earth. The crust is not a single, continuous piece. It is actually several different pieces, or plates, that come together to form the puzzle that comprises the surface of the Earth. These plates are in constant motion rubbing against one another. These areas, known as fault lines, where the plates rub up against one another have spots where one plate ”gets stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. When the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick and is how most of the earthquakes around the world occur” (Wald, 2012). The energy stored from the friction of the two plate...
Mr. Adams describes the San Francisco earthquake as his most profound human suffering experience because the horror of shaking floors, parts of his mom’s house collapse to the floor, and got a broken nose from stumbling into a brick wall (Ansel Adams & The 1906 Earthquake 2008). Earthquakes are part of natural disasters of the earth and normally caused by shaking ground and rapid movement of one block of rock slipping past another a long fractures in the earth crust called faults. Faults that are usually locked excluding abrupt movements, which slippage creates an earthquake (Lutgens, F. & Tarbuck, E.
How would you react if an earthquake caused you to lose your home, all of your belongings, and even your family? Many people lost everything they had, their family, their house, all their food, water and even some of their clothes. In a matter of seconds people have lost their lives by an earthquake, they didn’t even know would happen. In 1990 a magnitude-6 struck Bohol injuring 300 people and costing $154 million to repair the city. Bohol and Cebu were both severely damaged, ruining schools, houses, airports, and hospitals, which collapsed killing 18 people. There were very powerful aftershocks causing the city to be even more destroyed. People react to disasters caused by mother nature by gathering supplies, finding shelter, and relief efforts.
In 2010 a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti. The earthquake left hundreds of thousands of people stranded without homes. It considered being the country’s worst earthquake in 200 years. It had destroyed so many buildings, homes, and office buildings. Haiti has always been a target for hurricanes and disasters of the ocean. Haiti is still trying to recover from all the devastations. Due to the earthquake, many Haitians live in run down homes. Four years later, some areas look the same after the earthquake hit the country.
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.
The Haiti Earthquake was an earthquake like no other.The Haitian earthquake was by far the worst earthquake in history because it destroyed many schools, killed millions of people and costed a lot of money to rebuild the city. It destroyed everything in it path and because of the poor shape Port au Prince was in, it made it easier for the Earthquake to destroy the place. Port au Prince had poorly- built houses, and the concrete wasn't as heavily built as the concrete here in the United States.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).