Izzie

media type="custom" key="10059275" __﻿Did You Know? __
 * __In Australia an earthquake of Richter magnitude 5.5 (ie: almost that of the Newcastle event in 1989) occurs every 15 months on average, __
 * __90% of all earthquakes in the world take place on plate boundaries and are the result of the constant movement of the plates against each other, __
 * __The geographically oldest western and central parts of Australia, are most seisemically active, __
 * __The 1989 Newcastle earthquake has been Australias most damaging earthquake with 13 fatalities and insured damage of $1,124 million, __
 * __The most deadly earthquake was recorded in China in1557. During this time many people lived in the mountains in artificial caves and the quake resulted in over 800,000 deaths.__

__ EARTHQUAKES __

Earthquakes are sudden, violent and unpredictable. They can strike at any time of the day or night throughout the whole year. Smaller earthquakes often follow the main shock. An earthquake is caused by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath the earth’s surface when an earthquake strikes it can result in buildings collapsing and bridges collapsing. Earthquakes can also disrupt gas, electric and phone services and sometimes trigger landslides, avalanches, flash floods, fires and huge, destructive ocean waves (Tsunamis’). Most injuries related to earthquakes are caused by collapsing walls, flying glass and falling objects.

Several thousand shocks of different sizes occur annually in the United States, and 70 to 75 damaging earthquakes occur throughout the world each year. All 50 states and all US territories’ are vulnerable to earthquakes. Were earthquakes have occurred in the past they are most likely to happen again.

Earthquakes are caused when two tectonic plates rub or crash together causing the earth to move. In some cases the earthquake is so powerful it causes a Tsunami (Giant wave) Depending on the force of the earthquake determines the size of the tsunami. In Japan there are up to 6 earthquakes per day still after the tsunami.

California experiences the most frequent damaging earthquakes; However Alaska experiences the greatest number of large earthquakes- most located in uninhabited areas.

In Australia, an earthquake of Richter magnitude 5.5 (ie: almost that of the Newcastle event in 1989) occurs every 15 months on average. 90% of all earthquakes in the world take place at plate boundaries and are the result of the constant movement of the plates against each other. The geographically oldest western and central parts of Australia are most seismically active. The 1999 Newcastle earthquake has been Australia’s most damaging earthquake with 13 fatalities and insured damage of $1,124 million. The most deadly earthquake was recorded in China in 1557. During this time many people lived in the mountains in the artificial caves and the quake resulted in over 800,000 deaths.

Earthquakes occur most frequently in the west of the Rocky Mountains, although historically the most violent earthquakes have occurred in the central United States. The largest earthquakes felt in the United States were along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri, were a 3 month long series of earthquakes from 1811 to 1812 included three quakes larger than the magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale. These earthquakes were felt over the entire eastern United States (over 2 million square miles), with Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi experiencing the strongest ground shaking.

The Richter scale, developed by Charles F. Richter in 1935, is a logarithmic measurement of the amount of energy released by an earthquake. Earthquakes with a magnitude of at least 4.5 are strong enough to be recorded by sensitive seismographs all over the world. It is estimated that the major earthquakes in a highly populated area of the United States could cause as much as $200 billion in losses.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event whether natural or caused by humans- that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquakes point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The epicentre is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter. At the earth’s Surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When the epicentre of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan 2011 (as of March) and it was the largest Japanese since records began. As you can tell by this report, earthquakes are very dangerous and deadly so stay safe and aware!