Earthquake: Understanding its Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

Earthquakes and what you need to know:

What are Earthquakes?

An Earthquake is a natural phenomena that occurs when the earth's crust is moved or shaken due to the movement of tectonic plates. These plates make up the crust and move slowly from one place to another. 

Earthquakes are one of the most dangerous and destructive natural hazards. They strike with great impact and very little warning. They don't occur at any specific time. An Earthquake can destroy an entire country of thousands of square kilometers and can reduce buildings to a pile of rocks and dust in a matter of seconds. 

Brief overview of its impact:

An earthquake can devastate anything including humans, animals, infrastructure and a country's economy. A visual can explain more than a text so please observe the following image very closely and let me know your thoughts in the comments:

I. Understanding Earthquakes

Definition and explanation of Earthquakes:

The word "tectonic" comes from greek word "tekton" which means builder. The theory suggest that earth is made up of some rigid plates that are in constant motion. The movement of these large plates results in earthquakes. During mountain building processes, the earth's crust is weakened due to great strains and pressure, occasionally resulting in an earthquake.  As the plates move, stresses form until a fracture occurs. This sudden release of a stress is known as an earthquake. Despite their potential for destruction, earthquakes are a natural and inevitable part of the Earth's geological activity. 

Causes of earthquakes:

As mentioned before, earthquakes are an immediate result of mountain building processes and movement of plate tectonics. Apart from these major ones, there are also numerous other reasons. Firstly, earthquakes can start due to some volcanic activity when magma rises and makes the earth's surface shake really hard. These earthquakes are often small and occur near volcanoes. Secondly, human activities can also result in earthquakes but this is relatively very rare. Human activities like hydraulic "fracking"and injecting water and chemicals deep into earth to release natural gas can make the ground shake and eventually cause an earthquake. Other natural causes include landslides, underground explosions, and even meteorites that can send huge shockwaves strong enough to shake the ground. 

Earthquake measuring scales:

Earthquake is a natural event and has different intensity levels ranging from 1 to 10. These levels are measured in magnitude through the Richter scale. 1-3 level earthquakes are not felt and are very lightweight. Whereas, 4-6 level earthquakes are often felt and cause minor damages. Moreover, 6-10 level earthquakes are the deadliest ones, damaging a lot of infrastructure and resulting in loss of human lives and property. 

 

 Fact File: 

A  1.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Port Chester to Greenwich in somewhere around 2016. 

On the other hand, the largest earthquake ever recorded was of magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960 (what a devastating one!)

 To your surprise, a 10 magnitude earthquake has never been recorded on earth till now. 

Tsunami earthquakes are the most rarest ones, occuring only sometimes on a globe  and are very mysterious. 

The Kobe earthquake in Japan in 1995, for example, caused over $100 billion in damage, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti caused an estimated $7.8 billion in damage. 

II. The Impact of Earthquakes

Effects of earthquakes on natural environment:

Earthquakes damage the natural environment in many ways:

• Faults leading to landslides
• climatic changes, rainfall, snowfall and dust storm
• contamination of soil and groundwater
• destruction of the natural habitats of animals
• generation of deep cracks in the earth's crust
• damage to ecosystems and alteration of landscape
• changes in the water table.
• deforestation and mining activities due to destruction of human built infrastructure

The effects of earthquakes on human populations:

The earthquakes have caused heavy damage to human environment in several ways:

• massive loss of human life
• destruction of settlements and infrastructure
• wide scale migration to low level and local areas.
• social and economic problems
• spread of harmful diseases

Economic impact of earthquakes:

Earthquakes always overburden a country's economy in several main ways. This is usually really bad and disappointing for an underdeveloped country like in the Africa. Some of the ways are listed below:

1. emergency relief and rescue measures 
2. rehabilitation expenditure
3. halted tourism
4. inflow of foreign loans that increase a country's debt burden
5. disruptions in supply chains and transportation of special imports and goods
6. loss of community connection
7. may also lead to financial or social damage to different industries or sectors

Psychological impact of earthquake:

Earthquake are a devastating natural event, leaving thousands of people in a bad and disturbing state of mind. The disturbing imagery keeps on to travel in a person's mind and he cannot bear to believe that he or his family has suffered some after effects of an earthquake. The aftermath of an earthquake can lead to a range of emotional and psychological responses, including fear, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These victims have a fear and uncertainty in mind not knowing of when the next earthquake strikes, leading to feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. The loss of property, loved ones and possessions can lead to hypertension, flashbacks, nightmares, aftershocks, mental trauma and significant emotional distress for a person.

III. Mitigation Strategies

Earthquakes are almost impossible to predict and stop, still some mitigation measures can

prove very helpful (especially in areas which are more prone to such events) to reduce both

casualties and damages in future earthquake incidents. The greatest loss of lives and property

during an earthquake is caused by collapse of man-made buildings and infrastructure.

Accordingly, the most effective mitigation measure is to design and build “resistant” buildings

and infrastructure.

Common earthquake mitigation measures include:

1- Developing Seismic Hazard Maps is the first thing to do while planning to mitigate the

future hazard. Seismic studies of the area will lead to single out the areas specifically

prone to earthquake hazard in future. This will help to develop the infrastructure planning

and building codes in such seismic zones.

2- Developing Building and construction codes as per seismic hazard maps and a strict

enforcement by proper regulations and amendment to existing laws.

3- Structural mitigation measures include improving the capacity of a building to resist

seismic forces. Structural measures would mainly consist of “designing and constructing

the resistant buildings and structures like improving the building elements that hold up a

building and resist lateral forces from earthquakes, including: foundations, columns,

load-bearing walls, floor diaphragms, roof diaphragms and the connections between

these structural elements.

4- Nonstructural mitigation measures are adopted to improve the seismic resistance of

nonstructural building components such as parapets, chimneys, non-load bearing walls,

fire sprinkler systems, HVAC systems, suspended ceilings and lights, windows, water

heaters, furnaces, air conditioners and emergency generators. These measures also

include to restrain, brace or anchor building contents, especially tall and/or heavy items

that pose life safety risks if they fall, such as bookcases, file cabinets, storage shelves,

computers, monitors, televisions and others.

5- Replacement of an existing building with substantial seismic deficiencies with a new

current code building.

6- Designing Emergency Shelters to higher than the minimum seismic standards

required by building codes. These will help to bear the worst shocks and will provide

shelter during strong disaster.

7- Practicing drop, hold and cover drills, which may reduce injuries from falling objects,

education and awareness of general public about safety measures to be adopted during

the earthquake. The use of media can be taken as a step to raise awareness.

8- Developing Coordinated Community Response with the help of designing a proper

training program for all stakeholders (public institutions, community organizations) to act

swiftly and in coordination with each other in case of any earthquake events. The

example of flood management programs can be taken as example.

Government and community reaction to earthquakes:

Earthquakes are natural screw ups which can have devastating results on groups, frequently ensuing in loss of life, belongings damage, and displacement of human beings. Whilst an earthquake moves, it's miles critical for governments and communities to have a well-coordinated reaction to minimize the impact of the catastrophe. The following are some ways wherein governments and communities can respond to earthquakes:

Emergency response: Governments and groups should have a well-hooked up emergency response plan that consists of seek and rescue operations, hospital treatment, and refuge for the ones tormented by the earthquake. Governments have to also work to make sure that emergency responders have the essential device and resources to do their jobs correctly.

Communique: verbal exchange is vital at some stage in an earthquake, and governments and groups should have a way to communicate with each different and the public. This may be performed thru the usage of emergency indicators, social media, and other communique channels.

Evacuation: Governments and groups should have an evacuation plan in location that includes clear evacuation routes and specific safe regions. This will assist to make sure that people are evacuated correctly and successfully.

Healing and reconstruction: Governments and communities ought to work together to provide support for those tormented by the earthquake. This will encompass supplying brief safe haven, food, and medical care. They should also work to rebuild damaged infrastructure and homes.

Submit-earthquake healing:

Recuperation from an earthquake can be an extended and challenging technique, requiring substantial resources and coordination. The subsequent are a few ways wherein groups can get over an earthquake:

Assessing harm: Following an earthquake, communities ought to investigate the damage to houses, buildings, and infrastructure to determine the scope of the recovery effort. This can involve surveying the affected vicinity to perceive regions that need immediate attention.

Supplying support: communities have to paintings to offer guide for those affected by the earthquake, such as temporary housing, food, and hospital treatment. This can help to make certain that people can get again on their feet and begin to rebuild their lives.

Rebuilding infrastructure: groups need to work to rebuild damaged infrastructure, consisting of roads, bridges, and different public works. This can assist to repair get entry to to critical services and support the healing attempt.

Resilience making plans: groups ought to increase a resilience plan to help them put together for future earthquakes. This could involve figuring out areas of vulnerability and growing techniques to lessen the effect of destiny earthquakes.

In end, earthquakes may have large effects on groups, and it is important for governments and communities to have a nicely-coordinated response to minimize the effect of the catastrophe. Restoration from an earthquake may be a protracted and tough procedure, requiring tremendous resources and coordination. By using operating collectively, groups can recover from earthquakes and grow to be extra resilient to destiny failures.

Summary of key points:

In summary, earthquakes can have devastating effects on communities, and it is important for governments and communities to have a well-coordinated response to minimize the impact of the disaster. This can include emergency response, communication, evacuation, and recovery and reconstruction efforts. Recovery from an earthquake can be a long and challenging process, requiring significant resources and coordination, and it is important for communities to assess the damage, provide support, rebuild infrastructure, and develop resilience plans.

Call to action:

As individuals, we can take steps to prepare for earthquakes and minimize their impact on ourselves and our communities. This can include creating an emergency preparedness kit, developing an emergency plan with our family, and staying informed about potential earthquake risks in our area. It is also important to support our communities in their efforts to prepare for and recover from earthquakes. By taking action now, we can help to minimize the impact of earthquakes and build more resilient communities for the future.