This earthquake was named Loma Prieta earthquake and occurred at a time of 5:04 (PDT) with a magnitude measurement of 6.9 and a surface wave magnitude of 7.1. The earthquake was caused by a slip in slip in San Andreas or a subsidiary and its epicenter was located ten miles northeast of the city Santa Cruz. The earthquake had also had a death toll of 62 people with the number of injured people reaching a amount of 3,757 ! Not only this however the earthquake had cost California approximately 6.8 billion dollars. This was because of many fires, houses with severe damages, and buildings with severe damages.
The main area hit was San Francisco yet, it did affect almost all of the San Andrea’s Fault. Damage and casualties after the San Francisco earthquake were devastating, 498 deaths in San Francisco, 64 deaths in Santa Rosa and 102 deaths near San Jose. 225,000 from a population of around 400,000 were homeless. 28,188 wood and brick buildings were also destroyed by the
Hurricane Sandy destroyed millions of homes, brought a bunch of sand onto the roads, and killed 209 people. Sandy caused $52.4 billion in damages. Another hurricane that has hit the US is Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina caused subsequent floods and caused $81 billion in damaged. Katrina also killed at least 1,833 people in the time that it took to cross most of eastern North America.
China, Sichuan earthquake 2008 Location: On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province, which is 92 km to the north-west of Chengdu City, a mountainous region in Western China, killing about 80,000 people and leaving over 18,000 missing. Over 15 million people lived in the affected area, including almost 4 million in the city of Chengdu. http://sergiu.turcanu.net/strong-earthquake-hits-china/map-of-the-sichuan-earthquake/ Causes: The earthquake was caused by the collision between two tectonic plates, the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate.This collision, is the cause of the high mountains and widespread seismicity observed throughout central Asia. The area of dense circles between India and Asia covers a wide region that is undergoing large strain and deformation. It is this strain that led to the Sichuan quake.
Compare and contrast the causes and impacts of two recent Tsunamis in different parts of the world On Sunday the 26th of December 2004 an earthquake, calculated between 9.1 - 9.3 on the Richter scale erupted. This is the third largest earthquake ever recorded. Its epicenter was located off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. This earthquake triggered a Tsunami with maximum wave heights of 30 meters which affected fourteen countries and killed over 230,000 people. 9, 000 of those being foreigners.
The epicentre was a town named Leogane; about 19km (12 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, thousands were left homeless and up to 80-90% of buildings in Leogane were destroyed. The quake was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitudes. It was the worst earthquake to hit the Caribbean island in 2 centuries. The island lies on the Enriquilla-Plantain Garden Fault however it was caused by an interaction between the North American and Caribbean Plates. After which the barely noticed island became the centre of the world’s news channels, it became one of the most noticed natural disasters in history with celebrities and normal people alike doing allsorts to raise money and aid for the victims of the quake.
Then on May 18, 1980 it happened, 57 people were killed, over 7,000 animals were killed as well. The eruption destroyed entire forest, leaving only brunt tree trunks all flatten in the same direction. The amount of timber destroyed was enough to make 300,000 two-bedroom homes and the mud that traveled down the mountain destroyed about 200 houses and clogging up shipping channels in the Columbia River. The volcano itself change shape, poisonous gas and ash was released from the volcano ash poured down on 15 states within days and gas from the volcano and circled the world. It
The point where the earthquake starts is called the focus. Energy waves disperse rapidly from this point. The point at ground level, directly above the focus, is called the epicentre. On Tuesday 12 January 2010 at 16:53, a huge earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale, struck the Caribbean island of Haiti. Haiti is only half of an island, the other half being the Dominican Republic, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and has a history of destructive earthquakes.
DEVASTATING WALKER RIVER FLOOD! In the last couple of days California and Nevada have suffered the worst floods in living memory! Normally the river flows at 650 cubic feet per second, however in the past week the river flowed more than twice that and at a devastating rate that destroyed everything in its path, including lives of two people. The flood also inundated 63,000 acres of land and cost millions in damage and additional costs due to disruptions in travel and business. The Walker River begins at a confluence where the tributaries of the West and the East Walker Rivers meet.
Haiti Earthquake of 2010 The 2010 earthquake in Haiti was one of the most devastating ever seen in the Western hemisphere, with overwhelming repercussions. The epicentre of the Earthquake in Haiti occurred 16 miles from the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince on the 12th January 2010 at 16.53 local time and its focus was 8.1 miles below the surface of the earth. Due to this the tremors of the earthquake had less to travel to reach the earth’s surface, therefore resulting in strong shockwaves, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale. Haiti is situated on the North of the Caribbean plate, at a conservative plate boundary with the westward moving North American plate. As these two plates attempt to pass one another friction causes them to get stuck and over a period of time, pressure builds up, this pressure is released as one plate suddenly jerks past the other, with the resultant force sending shockwaves to the earth’s surface.