Earthquakes Case

Earthquakes

Earthquakes can be pretty devastating and in fact, it is hard to picture and imagine that they take place each and every day worldwide. Most occurrences are in the form of a tremor. Around the world every year, thousands and thousands of people lose their lives in earthquakes. Although most deaths that occur are caused by collapsing buildings, mudslides, fires, floods and tsunamis can make the devastation of an earthquake much worse. After a large earthquake has occurred, the left over small tremblers that often occur will aid in the complication of rescue efforts, as well as lead to more deaths and further destruction. In order to avoid a life, the advanced construction of buildings, emergency planning and education about earthquakes are all crucial (Edu4Hazards, 2007-2010).

An earthquake is described as vibrations that are generated by the abrupt movement or shaking of earth's crust. The vibration, which is known as an earthquake, in the Earth is produced by shockwaves resulting from a sudden displacement along a fault. The fault allows a quick release of energy, often after a long, slow accumulation of strain (Hess, 2011, p. 408).

Originating at the center of the fault motion, which is called the focus of the earthquake, as an earthquake moves through the earth, energy is released in numerous different types of seismic waves. Slowly diminishing in amplitude with increasing distance from the focus, these seismic waves travel widening outward circles. According to Hess, known as the epicenter of an earthquake, the greatest crustal vibration and strongest of the shocks are often times felt directly above the focus (Hess, 2011, p. 408).

One aspect of an earthquake, which is often times the most heard of and misunderstood is magnitude. Magnitude can be described as the relative amount of energy that is released during an earthquake. Energy increases from one magnitude to the next at about 32 times when it is calculated suing a logarithmic scale. A small earthquake generally has a magnitude of 3 or less, while a large earthquake will have a magnitude of 7 or higher. An earthquake with a magnitude of 4 will release closer to 32 times more energy than one with a magnitude 3. When comparing an earthquake with a magnitude of 3 with one with a magnitude of 5, it will release close to 1,000 times more energy, while one with a magnitude of a 7, releases up to 1,000,000 times more energy. Because there are different methods that can be used in the calculation of magnitudes, different numbers are sometimes reported for the same earthquake that occurs.

Thousands and thousands of earthquakes take place around the world each and every year. Even though most earthquakes are said to be small enough that they are not felt by humans, roughly 60 to 70 of them are big enough and strong enough to