Have you ever wondered why earthquakes happen and why they happen? Well so have we. Continental and Oceanic plates play a major role in these disturbances, because moving plates= Earthquakes. There are 3 ways plates move, and not the plates we use to eat, but the plates that we stand on, tectonic plates.
Diverging: 2 plates separating
Converging: plates moving together
Transform: 2 Plates going opposite ways
Every year around 1,000 earthquakes hit the earth, what happens is the tectonic plates move, sending Primary waves and Secondary waves off. Primary waves can travel through anything, traveling faster than secondary waves which can only travel through liquid, these are also called transverse waves. In some cases, when S waves and P waves meet, tsunamis are formed. The reason why this whole process of plate tectonics moving started was because the heat from molten lava makes the plates move either come together or apart. Colliding plates don't only cause earthquakes but even mountain ranges, mountain ridges, sea floor spreading and subduction zones.Depending on the strength of the earthquake, it can have different amounts of damages, but it is a natural disaster making it nearly impossible to predict them, keep safe and stop them.
They are also created by:
Earthquakes mostly occur in places where there is a Fault Line." (or near the pacific ring of fire-80% earthquakes)We don't see the disturbances, but these plates moving at about the speed of our fingernails, are constantly moving under the ocean. Once they collide they will cause waves to pass through the ground. Tools called seismographs record the strength of the earthquake, there are more than 100 of these stations around the world, once the earthquake hits all the states can compare the strength of the earthquake and figure out where the epicenter really was. The highest magnitude of an earthquake wave was 9.5 (very high), where as medium ones are between 5 -7.
Effects of earthquakes
Earthquakes can have many effects depending on where the happen and how ready the city is. The main causes of earthquakes are falling houses, fire, diseases and injuries to the citizens. There are barely any positive effects from earthquakes, scientists know much more know about earthquakes compared to what they knew 50-100 years ago, still they can't predict exactly when an earthquake is going to happen, however they are able to predict which direction the earthquake will go. However there is one earthquake/tsunami system warning created by the Japanese, basically what it does is when the smaller shock hits, the system automatically takes over cellphones, TV's and radios alerting people for the bigger hit. To avoid houses being destroyed, architecture should be very important in all places with many earthquakes instead of making them out of wood. Here is how the Japanese warning system works:
It is very important for a person to know what to do during earthquakes, those are some of the ways to stay alive, for example: all flammable liquids should be kept out of the house or garage, fragile objects should be wrapped and put into low leveled cases, you should have a spot in your house where there is no way a light would fall on you, or it might just be behind the door:hide there, shut off water and natural gasses, sit away from large objects, have an emergency kit always prepared, if you are outside find a spot with nothing over you.
Resources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_do_most_earthquakes_occur_in_the_world
http://www.english-online.at/geography/earthquakes/earthquakes-and-plate-tetonics.htm
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/423279/how-japans-earthquake-and-tsunami-warning-systems/
http://www.sheknows.com/home-and-gardening/articles/804483/what-to-do-when-an-earthquake-hits
Japan is one of the many countries that has been hit by earthquakes, fortunately for them they have a small warning system however there is one earth quake, 3/11/2011 hitting and just 30 minutes later causing 3 huge tsunamis. I found a great viideo wich has people inteviewed, showing what happened and survivors, here it is:
Diverging: 2 plates separating
Converging: plates moving together
Transform: 2 Plates going opposite ways
They are also created by:
- "Volcanoes that suddenly erupt
- Meteorites that hit the earth
- Undergrounds explosions
- Buildings that fall apart"
Earthquakes mostly occur in places where there is a Fault Line." (or near the pacific ring of fire-80% earthquakes)We don't see the disturbances, but these plates moving at about the speed of our fingernails, are constantly moving under the ocean. Once they collide they will cause waves to pass through the ground. Tools called seismographs record the strength of the earthquake, there are more than 100 of these stations around the world, once the earthquake hits all the states can compare the strength of the earthquake and figure out where the epicenter really was. The highest magnitude of an earthquake wave was 9.5 (very high), where as medium ones are between 5 -7.
Effects of earthquakes
Earthquakes can have many effects depending on where the happen and how ready the city is. The main causes of earthquakes are falling houses, fire, diseases and injuries to the citizens. There are barely any positive effects from earthquakes, scientists know much more know about earthquakes compared to what they knew 50-100 years ago, still they can't predict exactly when an earthquake is going to happen, however they are able to predict which direction the earthquake will go. However there is one earthquake/tsunami system warning created by the Japanese, basically what it does is when the smaller shock hits, the system automatically takes over cellphones, TV's and radios alerting people for the bigger hit. To avoid houses being destroyed, architecture should be very important in all places with many earthquakes instead of making them out of wood. Here is how the Japanese warning system works:
It is very important for a person to know what to do during earthquakes, those are some of the ways to stay alive, for example: all flammable liquids should be kept out of the house or garage, fragile objects should be wrapped and put into low leveled cases, you should have a spot in your house where there is no way a light would fall on you, or it might just be behind the door:hide there, shut off water and natural gasses, sit away from large objects, have an emergency kit always prepared, if you are outside find a spot with nothing over you.
Resources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_do_most_earthquakes_occur_in_the_world
http://www.english-online.at/geography/earthquakes/earthquakes-and-plate-tetonics.htm
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/423279/how-japans-earthquake-and-tsunami-warning-systems/
http://www.sheknows.com/home-and-gardening/articles/804483/what-to-do-when-an-earthquake-hits
Japan is one of the many countries that has been hit by earthquakes, fortunately for them they have a small warning system however there is one earth quake, 3/11/2011 hitting and just 30 minutes later causing 3 huge tsunamis. I found a great viideo wich has people inteviewed, showing what happened and survivors, here it is:
