The hazards that an earthquake can present are dependent on many different aspects, for example, the human factors, being factors that are influenced by humans that will affect an earthquake, are the level of development in the relevant country, the standard of infrastructure, while the physical factors are ones which are natural and cannot be controlled, being the magnitude and location of the quake and lastly the time the quake occurs. In order to properly assess whether the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors, it is necessary to look at a range of case studies which will provide a balanced overview.
When comparing an earthquake to how it happened in an LEDC to an MEDC, an example such as the Haiti earthquake
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The social impacts of the Haitian earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, compared with the 2010 earthquake in Chile measuring a larger magnitude of 8.8 show how much human factors can influence the impacts. The amount of fatalities and injuries in Haiti was extreme, over 230,000 died and many more were injured, these impacts could be argued to have been due to human factors as the capital, Port au Prince, was poorly built. As well as this, the earthquake in Chile hit a more densely populated area, and when compared to the Chilean death toll, with the surprisingly fewer 525 deaths, it shows how being and MEDC, and thus human factors can have a large influence on the impacts of an earthquake, regardless of the physical facts that should logically suggest that Chile would have been worse …show more content…
Whereas more stable land, where the landscape is even and buildings are located in land, can make them fairly resistant to earthquake waves, the soil type can also cause issues, exacerbating the strength and leading to an increased risk of damage. This is the case in China, where many buildings were built on uneven land and due to being located in a mountainous area, rock slides and responses where made harder by the physical geography of the area, which shows how even MEDCS can be more vulnerable during larger
The Haiti earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010 just fifteen miles south of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was a severely large-scale earthquake, at a magnitude of 7.0. The initial shock was then followed by a series of aftershocks with magnitudes ranging up to 5.9. Over three hundred thousand people died due to this extreme chaos. Many buildings collapsed and disintegrated under the force of the quake; both the cathedral and National Palace in Port-au-Prince were heavily damaged. In the aftermath of this tragedy, efforts to aid the people of Haiti with medical assistance, water, and food were hampered by the loss of communication lines as well as by roads blocked by debris. Over one million people were left homeless due to this quake. Two days after the earthquake, journalist Leonard Pitts wrote “Sometimes the Earth is Cruel,” an article describing how the people of Haiti responded to the disaster. In “Sometimes the Earth is Cruel,” a major theme is that some things are inevitable.
The Haitian government’s lack of preparedness for earthquakes despite the fact that earthquakes are common to the region is indicative of the governments inability and lack of resources to properly plan and protect it’s population against natural disasters. This lack of preparedness is not an isolated incident. Prior to the disaster, the World Bank and others were working with the Haitian government to incorporate disaster risk management into Haiti’s development strategy and to develop its capacity for disaster response. This capacity building was in its early stages of development when the earthquake hit, on January 12, 2010, and was mainly focused on hurricanes, which are the most common cause of natural disaster on the island (Margesson, 2010, p. 4).
Massive Mega-Quakes happen at regular intervals in the Pacific Northwest. There have been mega-quakes in the beginning of time. In Japan, a mega-quake send a 600-foot wave of water.
The story of Haiti’s healthcare system is unfortunately tied all too closely to disaster, both man-made and nature-born. This paper will briefly discuss the pre-2010 earthquake healthcare environment in Haiti as the uncertainty that exists provides little opportunity to provide a reasoned understanding of its current national healthcare status.
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 science of the natural disaster has baffled many, but from studying the San Francisco earthquake, scientists have made a number of important discoveries and they have a better understanding of earthquakes. At 5:12 on a fateful April morning in 1906, the mammoth Pacific and North American plates sheared at an incredible twenty-one feet along the San Andreas fault, surpassing the annual average of two inches (“San Francisco Earthquake of 1906”)(“The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fires”). The shearing caused a loud rumble in the Californian city of San Francisco. A few seconds later, the destructive earthquake occurred. The ground shifted at almost five feet per second, and the shaking could be felt all the way from southern Oregon to southern Los Angeles to central Nevada (“Quick”)(“The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake”). Moreover, the earthquake could be recorded on a seismograph in Capetown, South Africa, an astounding 10,236 miles away from San Francisco (“San Francisco ea...
Due to the hazard that earthquakes cause, a hazard consultant becomes a critical part of
Currently, almost two years ago Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. It sparked an international urge to help aid and relieve Haiti of its catastrophe. Not only governments in various countries reached out, but independent organizations as well. This disastrous event showed how the world could come together when their neighbor is in need. But prior to this 2010 earthquake, Haiti was already facing devastation other than a natural one - societal.
Exploring Why LEDC's Suffer Greater Damage From Earthquakes Than MEDC's A MEDC is a more economically developed country; therefore it can afford to spend money on improving the countries stability and helping to decrease the damage from an earthquake. An example of a MEDC is Kobe, in Tokyo, where in January 1995; an earthquake that measured 7.5 on the Richter scale hit the city. A LEDC is a less economically developed country and therefore cannot afford to spend money to protect the country from earthquakes. An example of an LEDC is Armenia, in Columbia, where on the 25th January 1999; an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale was the worst earthquake the country had experienced since 1983.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hit the island of Haiti on January 12, 2010, killing anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 people, injuring another 300,000 others, and leaving over 1.5 million without homes (Fleddermann, 2012, p.116). The majority of the destruction and human toll occurred in Port au Prince, the capital city of Haiti, although the effects of the earthquake were spread throughout the island. Aside from the many people who died, were injured, or left homeless, those involved in this disaster are the Haitian government, the United Nations, civil engineers, the press, relief organizations, and the United States. Although initially perceived as simply a natural disaster, it becomes apparent through further research that the degree of loss experienced might have been lessened if certain procedures and codes were in place and followed to increase the safety and integrity of the buildings in Haiti.
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.
Earthquakes happen about 20,000 times a year worldwide. They can destroy almost anything.In 2011, Japan had 9.1 magnitude earthquake, close to the highest magnitude of 9.2 in Alaska. They suffered tremendous damage from such a strong earthquake. The year before Haiti suffered from a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, still quite high compared to small tremors at magnitude 0-2. Japan recovered and rebuilt much faster than haiti did though. Haiti isn't even quite done recovering yet. The earthquakes had such different effects on the countries because of their economy, the condition of their people, and population rates.
Authorities have attempted to implement codes or regulations, but that has proved to be very difficult tasks becasue there are many variables that effect the dynamic response of buildings. One way to try to avoid disaster is to evaluate seismic risk is to look at a buildings hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and location. Hazards are, for example, landslides ad soil type. Exposure is a building's occupancy and function. Vulnerability is the expected performance of a building's system, and location is how often earthquakes occur in the area. (Lagorio)
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).
...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.