Ever since the catastrophe centered in Northridge, resources have been allotted to prepare people in the event of another situation like the Northridge Earthquake. In elementary school, children are taught how to protect themselves from earthquakes. The main technique used is drop, cover, and hold on. Students were taught to drop under their desk, cover the back of their head and neck area with one of their hands and grab one of the legs of the desk with their other hand. This position was to be held for the duration of the earthquake to avoid serious injuries from falling objects. In 2008, a statewide earthquake drill called the Great California Shakeout allowed schools and local fire stations and police stations simulate an earthquake and …show more content…
The failure of beam-to-column connections in steel Special Moment Resisting Frames had the most to do with most of the damage in these buildings. In response to the pattern of buildings including SMRF's, there have been studies to improve the design and construction practices to allow for better and more improved buildings. The higher building codes wanted engineers to find new ways to allow homes, apartments or skyscrapers the ability to sustain a powerful earthquake. These engineers borrowed the model from New Zealand engineer Bill Robinson. His method was to use lead-rubber bearings, which minimize the vibrations caused by the earthquake, improving its performance during seismic activity. Many of the old buildings that took damage during the earthquake had to be retrofitted. This was done by either infilling the walls, adding braces, adding buttresses, adding new frames, exterior or interior, completely rebuilding or isolating the building. All of these techniques of retrofitting a building all add extra support to the remainder of the building. Most of the residential structures that took damage and were deemed uninhabitable were the apartments or condominiums that were made of light, wood frames. Also, many houses made using stucco took extensive damages. This was due to the fact that the stucco was not properly installed in the first place, …show more content…
Throughout the county, organizations such as the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the California National Guard set up housing and feeding units for the tens of thousands that were homeless and hungry. In response to the damage done to the water distribution and purification systems, many private companies donated millions of gallons of water and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers delivered this water to 30 distribution
When one of the worst earthquakes ever hits the town of San Francisco panic ensues, but not for everyone. On April 18, 1906, at 5:15 am the city of San Francisco was demolished by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which also led to many fires being started. There was $350m in estimated damages, and 400-750 people perished in the earthquake and fire. Around 490 city blocks were destroyed, causing 250,000 people to become homeless (A Brief Account, SF Tourism Tips). In the aftermath of the earthquake there were many eyewitness accounts written about it. The eyewitness account, “Comprehending the Calamity,” by Emma Burke and the eyewitness account,"Horrific Wreck of the City" by Fred Hewitt both describe the same event, but they both have very different
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
Imagine if a 9.0 earthquake struck the West Coast today, resulting in a giant tsunami. Coastal towns would be washed away or completely isolated, and electricity would be lost (FOX5). There would be $70 billion in damage and people would only have 15 minutest to evacuate or move to higher ground resulting in 10,000 deaths (FOX5). This sounds like a plot for a scary movie, but this is actually a reality. The Oregon Coast in located on a subduction zone, which makes it very susceptible to major earthquakes and tsunamis. With the Cascadia subduction zone running along he West Coast the threat of a major tsunami is very real.
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 survivors had no home, clothes, food, and most of all, they lost their loved ones, relatives, and friends. The government helped the survivors, sending the military with relief goods in order for them to live through their hardships. The survivors slept in the Presidio and city parks, like the Golden Gate park, with tents, waited in line for food and clothing that were being distributed by the government and other organizations (National Archives, 2016). The survivors were required to do their cooking in the streets in order to minimize more fires. The administrators of relief goods included San Francisco Red Cross, Relief Corporation, and The United States Army. This earthquake was considered one of the worst natural disasters in United States. The city of San Francisco received helped from people around the country, other cities, states, federal government, and other countries, totaling up to $9 million in relief (“Quick facts about the 1906 earthquake and fires,”
The story starts off in Santiago, Chile in 1647 with the main character Jeronim Rugera where he is preparing to hang himself while he is in prison. Jeronimo was a tutor at the Don Asteron household in till it was discovered that Jeronimo was having an illicit relationship with Josephe, the daughter of Don Henrico Asteron, by her brother. Josephe was then promptly sent to the convent of Our Lady of the Mountain but she was still able to keep up the illicit relationship with Jeronimo in till Josephe gave birth on the steps of the cathedral during the feast of Corpus Christi. She was then taken straight to prison but was then taken to stand trial by order of the Bishop. She was sentenced to death for her actions and instead of being burnt alive she was sent to be decapitated and Jeronimo was thrown in prison. During the procession march towards the execution site for Josephe, Jeronimo prepares to hang himself in his cell. At that very moment a strong earthquake hit the city and destroyed most of it which also allowed Jeronimo to escape from his cell. Despite the fear that Josephe had been killed already, he began to search for her in the rubble of the destroyed city and after accepting the fact that he might never see her again he was later reunited with Josephe and their son, Philipp. On Josephe way to her execution the earthquake hit and was able to get away to go and rescue her son from the convent where she had entrusted her son with an abbess. When she arrived the convent was crumbling around her and the abbess was dead and so where most of the nuns. She then spent most of the day looking for Jeronimo and fearing that he was dead and that he would never see his son. Once they were reunited they made plans to travel to Concepcio...
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...
However, the success of the building schemes relied on the construction methods and innovations that are now attributed as bei...
producing a earthquake safe environment. In a nuclear facility that in itself is a danger, an honest
City officials of the time estimated the death toll around 700, but more modern calculations say the casualties were more around 3,000 deaths. City figures may have been downplaying the disaster, wanting to rebuild the city quickly. Almost 30,000 buildings and houses and 500 city blocks were destroyed. The government gave money to rebuild buildings that were destroyed by the fire and earthquake, but the earthquake did not lead to any better building codes and the city is still at risk if another earthquake hits. "There are still thousands of hastily rebuilt, unreinforced masonry buildings cheek-by-jowl with wooden structures with no fire-resistant walls between them," reported the San Francisco Chronicle in April 2006. One study by the Association of Bay Area Governments predicts that a magnitude 7.3 quake along the San Andreas Fault near San Francisco would seriously damage 66,000 homes and forced nearly a quarter of a million people into the
I chose to research earthquakes and the prediction of earthquakes because I was curious as to how they work. In this paper, I
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.
It was a beautiful day like any other with the clear blue sky and the
Taher, R. (2011). General recommendations for improved building practices in earthquake and hurricane prone areas. San Francisco, CA: Architecture for Humanity Retrieved from