To What Extent Is Damage Caused by Earthquakes More to Do with Levels of Development Than the Power of the Earthquake?

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An Earthquake is a natural hazard; there is, quite simply, nothing mankind can do to prevent them. They generally occur as a result of intense energy releases in the Earth’s crust, often as two or more tectonic plates collide with each other. Consequently, this huge release in energy will cause waves to shudder the surface of the Earth with varying levels of destruction. However, we should question why this devastation occurs because in the case of many other hazards such as volcanoes, more developed countries tend to sustain less damage, indicating that the power of earthquakes is not necessarily the most significant factor in determining damage, but the levels of development in a country. In 1999, Izmit in Turkey felt the force of an earthquake of 7.4 on the Richter Scale . Izmit was a centre of industry in Turkey and had vast numbers of factory and plants. Naturally, as is often the case with developing countries, the population density was relatively high at over 1000 people/hm2 as so many workers flocked there for employment; approximately 75% of the Turkish population currently live in urban areas. However, whilst there are numerous areas of poor development, a life expectancy of approximately 72 indicates a relatively strong system of social care, a system which one would expect to be to the great advantage of the authorities in the case of a natural hazard. But alas, this was not so. 15,000 people were killed, 24,000 people were injured and a further 600,000 people were left homeless; Izmit, for the most part, had been razed to the ground. These severe effects were caused by an amalgamation of both physical and human factors. The primary physical factor was the force and proximity of the earthquake. It is incredibly close to the North Anatolian fault line and the Anatolian Plate (which consists largely of Turkish land) was being moved at 2-2.5 cm a year,
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