The above photo is of the Emporeum and James Flood Building after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (the virtual museum of the City of San Francisco).
What Does An Earthquake Leave Behind?
Pakistan Earthquake, October 8, 2005; AP Photo
The results of an earthquake can be as varied as the types of movement and the scale of magnitude can allow. It could be so minimal an event that the surface of the earth and structures remain untouched; one that goes unnoticed by every living thing, including humans. The shaking may awake us from out sleep, vibrate items off our shelves and leave us shocked but unharmed. Then again, the movment of the earth may be so severe that the cities, towns, neighborhoods and homes may be totally devastated. Life as we have known it could be gone in moments of shaking that are so severe we will never know living the same way again.
Earthquakes can devastate a culture, bring a government to its end, change the economics of a society and destroy the structures and infra-structure people have depended on. The resulting damage is dependent upon the types of structures that were built, the quality of the infra-structure (natural gas, water, sewer, power, etc.) to withstand the earth's shaking, the diversity and strength of the regions economy and the resiliance of the society and culture.
A perfect example of the resulting destruction of earthquakes can be illustrated by two large siesmic events that happened recently. In 2009, Haiti experienced an earthquake that devastated it's infra-structure and left many buildings on the verge of collapse (if they hadn't already). Years later, the people of Haiti are still dependent upon other countries for aid and support to rebuild their cities and society. They had a fragile economy before the earthquake and have less of an economy even 3 years later.
Then there is Japan, which withstood a large earthquake with much of their buildings still in tact and their infra-structure still functioning. Then a sunami (large wave) that was created by the earthquake (which was centered under the ocean) slammed into their shoreline. This wall of water devistated cities both large and small, washing away buildings, people and property. The result of this earthquake and sunami left a nuclear power plant on the verge of meltdown (an irreversible nuclear calamity). Yet, when other countries reached out to assist those in need in Japan, the government thanked them and declined their assistance; as they had the resources they needed for their own people. Prior to the earthquake, the country of Japan had a stable economy, well built infra-structure, structures and had taken precautions to be able to react to this disaster. Less than 2 years later the economy has recovered and their cities and communities have been rebuilt.
How a country, region and community are effected by an earthquake is dependent upon many things. Exploring the preparedness of that culture, country and their society as a whole is the next step in both determining the resulting damage and the amount of preparations that are needed to survive a large earthquake.
We will be looking at the various damages occurring from an earthquake in a separate section of this unit.
In the meantime, click here to learn more about preparedness.
Earthquakes can devastate a culture, bring a government to its end, change the economics of a society and destroy the structures and infra-structure people have depended on. The resulting damage is dependent upon the types of structures that were built, the quality of the infra-structure (natural gas, water, sewer, power, etc.) to withstand the earth's shaking, the diversity and strength of the regions economy and the resiliance of the society and culture.
A perfect example of the resulting destruction of earthquakes can be illustrated by two large siesmic events that happened recently. In 2009, Haiti experienced an earthquake that devastated it's infra-structure and left many buildings on the verge of collapse (if they hadn't already). Years later, the people of Haiti are still dependent upon other countries for aid and support to rebuild their cities and society. They had a fragile economy before the earthquake and have less of an economy even 3 years later.
Then there is Japan, which withstood a large earthquake with much of their buildings still in tact and their infra-structure still functioning. Then a sunami (large wave) that was created by the earthquake (which was centered under the ocean) slammed into their shoreline. This wall of water devistated cities both large and small, washing away buildings, people and property. The result of this earthquake and sunami left a nuclear power plant on the verge of meltdown (an irreversible nuclear calamity). Yet, when other countries reached out to assist those in need in Japan, the government thanked them and declined their assistance; as they had the resources they needed for their own people. Prior to the earthquake, the country of Japan had a stable economy, well built infra-structure, structures and had taken precautions to be able to react to this disaster. Less than 2 years later the economy has recovered and their cities and communities have been rebuilt.
How a country, region and community are effected by an earthquake is dependent upon many things. Exploring the preparedness of that culture, country and their society as a whole is the next step in both determining the resulting damage and the amount of preparations that are needed to survive a large earthquake.
We will be looking at the various damages occurring from an earthquake in a separate section of this unit.
In the meantime, click here to learn more about preparedness.