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Impacts of an earthquake
Essay of the earthquake in california
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With the occurrence of an earthquake in La Habra in March of 2014, earthquakes have been more and more on the minds of California residents. But what are the risks of earthquakes in California? and How are people managing them?
California residents face great risk everyday not only of physical damage and injury but also of complete financial stress. But based on the LA Times, only 17% of California’s homeowners has earthquake insurance. Why even after one of the most damaging natural disasters in the United State’s history do people not act more wisely in mitigating their risks?
The Northridge Earthquake happened on January 17, 1994, at about 4 o’clock in the morning. It only had a duration of 10 - 20 seconds, but caused 57 deaths and more than 5000 injuries. It also caused damages totalling over 20 billion dollars, including those to 82,000 residential and commercial buildings. It registered a 6.7 on the Richter scale, and had some of the fastest ground momentum recorded in Urban North America.
Source: Forbes, U.S. Geological Survey, state of California, AP research
Before Northridge, a policyholders homeowners policy would (was required to) cover earthquake damage. However, Earthquake insurance coverage has changed radically after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. After Northridge, most insurers refused to write new policies because the $12.5 billion in insurance claims was far higher than the total of all earthquake insurance premiums were collected in California. They weren’t allowed to terminate or refuse to renewal current policies after the earthquake; therefore, they stopped issuing new policies. During that time, the demand for earthquake insurance policies was increasing, as a result of increased awareness of another earth...
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...ce, and as an insurance professional, we advise you to leave the insurance to the CEA, unless you can find a way to mitigate your risk, mainly through a strong consumer base. The California Earthquake authority offers a needed product, and reselling it is always an option if you desire to expand your product lines.
A Note to Homeowners
But for a homeowner in California, protecting yourself against the potential disaster of an earthquake should be a top priority. If earthquake insurance is out of the question, reconsider the costs and risks you are assuming. If you cannot justify buying earthquake insurance, then protect yourself in other ways. If you have a valuable collection stored in your house, insure it with a personal umbrella policy. Make sure your house is retrofitted. If you plan to self insure, make sure you are faithful in your deposits and investments.
In 1910 a series of fifty-two earthquakes struck Arizona between September 10th-23rd and it caused much of the Flagstaff residents to flee the area as even strong households cracked and chimneys crumbled. The fifty-two earthquakes were all light-shock earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.0-4.2 that came right after another. If only one earthquake occurred in that timespan then it is likely that only objects would be knocked from shelves but no damage would be done to infrastructure, but the earthquakes happened right after another causing significant slight
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")
The Cascadia region has experienced several types of earthquakes and it is very likely to experienced similar quakes in the near future. Cascadia earthquakes fall into three major categories: The first type is shallow or crustal earthquakes which are caused by rupture of the faults in the North American Plate. The Scott Mills earthquake happened in 1993 and it occurred in the Willamette Valley. The second type is deep or intraplate earthquakes are caused by rupture faults within the subducting Juan de Fuca Plate, deep earthquakes are often the most damaging type of earthquakes. In 2001, a deep earthquake named the Nisqually hit the Puget Sound area of Western Washington. The third type is the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquakes are the powerful and with the largest magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a bit more complicated than other two types of earthquakes. The zone separates the Juan de Fuca plates and the North American plate, subduction earthquakes happen when one plate is pushing beneath each other. When one of the faults ruptures, the overriding plate push upward generating frictional stress eventfully the stress reaches a critical point, a sudden failure occurs along the fault plane resulting in the “megathrust” earthquake rel...
The scenario mentioned above was based on the rupture located along the Cascadia fault line. This fault system runs from Northern California to Vancouver Island about 700 miles off the shore (FOX5). Scientists use to believe that the San Andreas Fault was where a large earthquake tsunami would originate, but recently their attention has shifted to the Cascadia subduction zone which is now said to be much more dangerous than previously thought (FOX5). Recent earthquake events have added even more tension and possibility for a large-scale tsunami. On March 10, 2014, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California, which put a lot of stress on the Mendocino Triple Junction (Davidson). The Mendocino Triple Junction is where three tectonic plates collide, and is very unstable (Davidson). This junction has all this built up pressure and is about ready to explode. Scientists believe that this junction will be the origin of a tear along the 680-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone. (Davidson). The disaster that follows will be considered the United State’s largest modern-day earthquake.
Earthquakes in California are certainly not a surprise. What is a surprise is their unpredictability and randomness. Geologists say there is roughly a 50 percent chance that a magnitude 8 or more quake will hit the Los Angeles area sometime over the next 30 years. And, over the past twenty years, the Los Angeles area has witnessed several earthquakes, and in particular, two that were quite devastating; the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the January 17, 1994, Northridge Earthquake. Given the certainty that earthquakes will occur, they still seem to come as a surprise, and leave many communities unprepared to deal with their aftermath.
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
...er caused the city to crumble and the government to pay extreme amounts of money. In addition, residents of San Francisco and other surrounding areas suffered as a result. Thousands died, but even more faced the encumbrance of homelessness. As if that could not worsen, fires went on afterward for as long as three days. Nevertheless, San Francisco transformed like a phoenix; its ashes turned into a beautiful city full of fascinating buildings in a matter of months. 1906, a year of a significant natural disaster, also became a year that spawned knowledge in the field of seismology. No one will ever forget the appalling chain of events that took place during the early twentieth century. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 has not only taught seismologists almost everything they now know, but it has also made San Francisco the jewel of the West Coast that it is today.
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.
Due to the hazard that earthquakes cause, a hazard consultant becomes a critical part of
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.
On the same note, the occurrence of an earthquake in the region, which is highly probable, will actual result in a greater loss in the entire departments in the organization alongside disruption of their operations. The phenomena may further lead to the death of the staff members within the organization, from the intensive trauma and asphyxia among other related cases of acute respiratory distress and hypothermia. It is, therefore, important that the organization establish some of the mitigation strategies with respect to their operation within an earthquake-prone area.
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).
The first thing I would like to do is explain the current process that we use to attempt to predict these natural disasters. The act of predicting an earthquake is normally described as “as the specification of the time, location, and magnitude of a future earthquake within stated limits.” (Earthquake Prediction) Now this is also a completely different process than earthquake forecasting which is more so distinguished as the general assessment of the hazards that an earthquake presents within a given area, including the magnitude and frequency that is associated with that earthquake. We have in place, in a lot of countries, and early warning system, but this can also be distinguished from predicting earthquakes because of the fact that these systems only give about a couple of seconds of warning compared to what we would like it to be. When we speak about the prediction of ...
Taher, R. (2011). General recommendations for improved building practices in earthquake and hurricane prone areas. San Francisco, CA: Architecture for Humanity Retrieved from