Earthquake Management

Seismic waves travel outwards from the focus point of an earthquake located underground along a fault. The waves travel outwards and can be divided into two categories…

It is clear that the damage recorded on the mercalli scale differs greatly between earthquakes and there are many factors both physical and human (disaster management related) that play a role. In terms of the above statement I feel that saying management is the only factor is short sighted and in this essay.

We have seen no high rise buildings collapse in Japan even though its cities have experienced many large earthquakes including Kobe ‘95 (7.2 Richter Scale) and the recent Tohoku quake registering a massive 9.2. This is due to fact strict laws (mangement) added to in 1981, that ensure any new builds must have a number of methods to ensure their resistance. We saw the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building tower sway nearly 20m at the top (240m height) in 2011. The strength of reinforced columns, beams, and counterbalance dampers, mean it will not collapse even though damage such as cracked columns and beams, or flaked concrete may occur. However places without such laws or more importantly such strict enforcement suffer greater damage. During the Sichuan earthquake more than 5,000 pupils were killed when their school collapsed because it lack reinforced steel. Materials meant for school construction projects were sold by contractors for personal gain, adding to this 7.9 quakes management related deaths and damage.

It's not just state management that can mitigate the impacts of an Earthquake. In Japan following the Kobe earthquake motorola provided free calls and texts to its customers which allowed emergency services and relatives to quickly respond to the most needed areas. Today commercial technological advances have seen US drone maker Sentinel Air develop an airborne wireless sensor that can detect mobile phone signals belonging to trapped victims. Although this is not yet been tested, Victims in developed nations will surely benefit.

Whilst earthquake management is important in reducing the damage that an earthquake will have on the surrounding area, physical factors such as aftershocks play a role in the level of damage. The earthquake