Earthquakes.GS
Shake it Baby!
Shake it Baby!
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USGS Earthquakes Powerful EarthquakesLargest Recorded Earthquake Learning Center
Earthquake Definition |
Earthquakes Shake Terribly and It's Not Your Fault.This site is purely informational. We aim to create a place where seismologists, geophysicists, geologists, and the general public can exchange ideas.. Please send contributions to admin@earthquakes.gs |
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Earthquake DamageEarthquakes can cause billions of dollars in damage. Most of the damage is from falling buildings, sunken roads, and other falling structures. The most expensive earthquake to date is that of the Toyko or Great Kanto Earthquake. It was so expensive because 384,000 homes burned down and also because there was a high population density. As far as people dying, the most damage was from the 1556 earthquake in Shaanxi, China. There were 830,000 deaths. Most of the people, at the time, lived in caves and the caves collapsed. What causes all the DamageFor starters the gas lines are ruptured and much of the gas will eventually catch on fire. There will be a lot of sparks from downed power lines and friction from falling objects. Once the quake starts, the city will usually catch on fire in many places at the same time. The building structures are built to have vertical support for roofing material, snow, etc. Earthquakes have a side to side horizontal motion that tends to take out the base of the buildings. For that reason, some earthquake resistant buildings have the base isolated and built to have flexibility with the horizontal energy. You can also create an earthquake resistant structure through energy dissipation. The use of rubber and foam can absorb energy as it moves upward into the building. The goal is to slow it down so that damage does not occur. The use of hydraulics and also push or pull parts of the building back into place and that gives the building some flexibility.
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