Earthquake

Introduction

 Earthquake is a surface tremor which occurs on the fault line of the Earth. The aftermath of an earthquake can be sometimes disastrous, often destroying surrounding, buildings and infrastructures. Earthquake result from shock waves generated by the movement of rock masses deep within the Earth and particularly happen near boundaries of tectonic plates.

Causes and Effects Of Earthquake

Figure1: Typical effects by scales number of earthquake

Earthquakes occur due to strong amplitudes of shaking on the ground. Earthquakes are usually causes when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake. The strength of the earthquakes depends on the magnitude of earthquakes. The higher the magnitude of earthquakes, the stronger the tremor. Every effect of magnitude on the earthquake scale is demonstrated in Figure 1. Earthquakes with magnitudes below than 3.4 are generally safe. It is mild to extent that it can only be detected by seismometers (which also means humans will not be affected). Earthquakes with the said scale happens around 800,000 times per year, which means it is quite common. However, from 2010 to 2015, many first-world countries such as Japan, China and United State faced earthquakes with scales ranging between 5.5 to 7.9 Ritcher scale numbers. Landscape changes is believed to shift the Earth’s crusts, giving rise to occasion of an earthquake. Strong earthquakes take away humans lives and it brings great damage to a certain place. The Japan earthquake which occurred in 2011 is expected to cause damages amounting around tens of billions dollar. See:Cost of earthquake damage

The Nepal Earthquakes, 2015

Nepal, a landlocked country between China and India in the Himalaya range- being specific. It is located in an earthquake-prone area. On 25 April 2015, Nepal suffered a massive earthquake (recorded Ritcher scale of 7.8) 80 kilometres northwest of its capital, Kathmandu. More than 9,000 people died and 23,000 were injured as a result of this catastrophe. The Nepalese struggled hard in this traumatic event. To add salt to their wounds, another major earthquake of 7.3 magnitude struck 40 kilometres west to Kathmandu. A huge number of death and injury were recorded following the two massive natural disasters. See: Nepal earthquake overview 2015. The Nepalese government claimed damages nearly around $10 billion (which is nearly half of its gross domestic product (GDP) of $19.2 billion.

Figure 2: Earthquake happened in Nepal 2015

Surviving Earthquakes and Preventing Death during Earthquakes

  Despite the fact that earthquakes are disastrous, there are still ways to prevent deaths during the earthquake. One of the way is through developing stronger architectural features (e.g: earthquake-proof buildings). This measure is demonstrated as in the case of the 2010 Chile earthquake. Chile was struck by an earthquake whereby its tremblor was 10 times stronger than what shook Nepal. Nevertheless, it took less lives (around 500) compared to deaths in the Nepal earthquake this year. The reason which underlies its lesser death numbers is simply because Chile spent more money for construction as they realized the importance of buildings which could withstand the earthquake. See: How to Prevent More Deaths When the Earth Quakes. Earthquake preparations were assessed using the ERS developed by Spittal et al. the questionnaire’s developers reviewed the measures of preparation prior to earthquakes that has been published during the past 25 years and found limitations in the validity and reliability of the preparations outlined, other problems identified in preparative measure included lack in interpretative framework for guiding analysis and the lack of standard score intervals for guiding description. In order to address the limitations identified in previously developed Earthquake preparation measures, the authors developed the ERS to assess household preparedness for an earthquakes. The scale was found to be suitable for the current study as it has a high reliability level and an acceptable level of validity, as well as a calibrated interpretative framework. See: Earthquake Preparedness in Turkey

Figure 3: Earthquake Resistant Building

Conclusion

Although there may be plenty of ways to prepare for the Earthquake, actions must be taken in response to emergency by all levels. We cannot deny the vulnerability if human beings amidst the power of Mother Nature, which serves as a reminder to protect the Earth in any means possible. Perhaps, reducing exploration of ground materials may stabilize the Earth’s crust, thus reducing earthquakes.