- 12/02/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
“Life improves slowly and goes wrong fast, and only catastrophe is clearly visible”, a nuclear physicist Edward Teller said. That is really so, because natural disasters happen daily all over the world. But currently modern science gives us considerable knowledge about areas which are liable to disasters. Regarding the earthquake probability in the United States, it is possible to use the Geological Survey in order to determine the most endangered areas. Judging by the map, Western area of the United States, The Cordilleras, Rocky Mountains and California are likely to experience massive earthquakes, and also the Mississippi Valley is an earthquake prone area. While Eastern and Central parts of the United States, including Wellington of Kansas State where I live, are characterized by low seismic activity. (3)
According to the map, areas of the most frequent and huge earthquakes form two seismic belts of the world: latitudinal – Mediterranean and Trance Asian – and meridional, bordering the Pacific Ocean. The Trance Asian belt includes Mediterranean Sea and bordering mountains of Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Iran, the most part of Central Asia and Himalayas. The Pacific belt embraces highlands and deep trenches of the Pacific Ocean and mountains of western part of the Pacific Ocean and Indonesia. (1) The following example proves it: 11 May 2010 in Southern Greece the earthquake with magnitude 4.2 occurred. (1)
An earthquake is very dangerous natural disaster, which can inflict serious harm to my family and people I value very much. That is why I would like to escape living in the area which is prone to earthquakes. On the other part, it is impossible to find the “perfect” area where no other natural disaster like flood, volcano eruption, or tsunami could ever happen. custom essay
If there is threat of earthquakes in the area where you live, the USGS resources could help you not only to survive during the earthquake but to help your family members to get prepared for this natural disaster. Firstly, try to learn what size of earthquake is likely to occur in your region and what shaking is expected to take place. Check all hazard types inside your house and evaluate the state of electrical wiring and gas connection. Instruct all people you live with about how to shut off gas, water and electricity of your dwelling. It is reasonable to identify the safe places both inside and outside of your house. It is necessary to create the emergency community plan, which is known by all family members. Prepare disaster suppliers beforehand and keep them in an easily accessible place. (2)
A lot of earthquakes have been striking the Earth from time immemorial. Some of them the humanity will remember for a long time, because hundreds of thousands of lives were carried away. At least two massive earthquakes occurred in the 21 century. The first hit Pakistan in 2005, killing 86,000 people and injuring 69,000 inhabitants of northern Pakistan. The magnitude of the earthquake measures 7.6. The second severe earthquake happened in 2010 in Haiti region. More than one million of people were affected and 222,570 people were killed. In the epicenter of the earthquake maximum intensity is XII. “Recent studies indicate that these casualties were most likely due to a cyclone, not an earthquake”.(2) Although science and state-of-the-art technologies enable people to get useful information about earthquake prone areas, but currently it is still impossible to predict them.
Today all earthquakes are measured and recorded with the help of seismographs. Scientists record the magnitude and intensity of shaking. Such catastrophes carried away a lot of people’s lives, that is why science has been constantly developing and scientists rely to predict more accurately intensity of the earthquake.
Geological energy, earthquakes in particular, is genetic energy of crust movement, whereas biological energy is energy of chemical bonds of molecules. These kinds of energy can not transform into each other. However both energies exert influence upon the Earth.
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