The Effects of Earthquakes on People and Property Essay

The Effects of Earthquakes on People and Property - establish ExampleThey believed that the earth floats on the sea and whenever it is agitated, earthquakes argon produced. And, the best story that portrays the distresss caused by earthquakes is that of the plenty from Peru. They believe that earthquakes occur whenever their god visits the earth to count the number of people in it. As he does so, the people leave their houses in order to help him finish his work faster and keep themselves honest at the same time.Even now, in the present, people have created some myths that describe the changes caused by earthquakes. One of them is that of the Swallowing Earth which theorized that a chasm ordure form along the fault and anything and anyone in that vicinity can be swallowed by the earth. No one, however, has been reported to have died from such a fate. Contrary to the myths that were presented in this introduction, this writing will focus on the documented damages caused by ear thquakes.The two major effects caused by earthquakes are shaking and ground rupture. This can lead to damages to buildings and other rigid structures. The intensity of the damage is defined by the magnitude of the earthquake, the distance of the firmament from the epicenter or the origin of an earthquake, and the geological and structural conditions of the location which can significantly increase or decrease the propagation of the waves generated by an earthquake.When there is an earthquake, the area where the epicenter is located is usually the most damaged. This can be clearly described by a graph made by a Japanese engineer, Shigeru Tani, that showed the relationship of the damage percentage of the fill dams in Japan to the distance of the epicenter. According to the graph, the farther the fill dams are from the epicenter, the lesser the damage is. There are some exceptions to this rule, however. There are times when the biggest damage can occur outside from the epicenter. A actually good example would be the Denali Fault Earthquake in Alaska which happened in November 3, 2002. In this case, the area 330 kilometers away from the epicenter received the greatest damage. Since the location was sparsely populated, there were no deaths and there was little damage on the structures. A facility which is 40 miles from the eastern part of the fault rupture was damaged such that it was no longer usable. This was the runway of the Northway Airport which was damaged by lateral spreading and sand boils. Fortunately, no(prenominal) of the oil pipes in the ruptured areas were destroyed during the earthquake. The worst thing about earthquakes is that they do not choose the structures that they communicate down. Many buildings, dams and roads have been damage by earthquakes. Even historical sites are not salvage from this disaster. In Israel, an earthquake which has an intensity of 5.3, shook the Temple Mount, opening up a large hole.In addition to the damages caused by shaking and ground rupture, earthquakes can also cause landslides and avalanches. A really good example of this is the January 13 earthquake in El Salvador which had an intensity of