Preview

Difference Between Earthquakes in Ledcs and Medcs

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1263 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Difference Between Earthquakes in Ledcs and Medcs
Why are earthquake impacts different in LEDCs and MEDCs?

Any disaster either caused by humans or Mother Nature will make an impact but this depends where it hits. Obviously, if a disaster, or an earthquake in this case occurs somewhere densely populated rather an isolated area it will have a greater impact as life could be lost, buildings destroyed and as a result, high prices to pay.
We will be looking at the impacts of earthquakes in Lower Economically Developed Countries and More Economically Developed Countries, spotting the differences.

There are many earthquakes to study but we have chosen some of the most devastating ones that have occurs somewhere in the near past.

San Francisco
San Francisco, in 1985 one of Americas largest and most populated cities at the time, far ahead of other cities its size when it came to technology. San Francisco was modern as ever with large and long bridges and bays, and plenty rural areas. There were also skyscrapers and tall buildings, which towered over the population.
San Francisco was never peaceful as it lies on the fault line and earthquakes usually tend to occur there, so San Francisco is usually prepared for an earthquake with police, fire fighters and rescue teams and even volunteers if needed, this is all done before the actual disaster if predicted, if it isn't they are still very quick to get to the scene.
Even if San Francisco has the technology and all the measurements are taken to predict an earthquake or any other disaster, some disasters can happen anytime and very suddenly. Such a disaster was the 1985 earthquake, which read a strikingly high 7.2 on the Richter scale.
This earthquake, in the highly populated San Francisco might have killed only 63 and injured many more but the economic impacts were great as buildings were destroyed, bridges collapsed and fires blazed through the city destroying anything in their path. This caused a great financial problem for the cities inhabitants, as the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    On April 18, 1906 at 5:12 a.m. an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter just offshore of San Francisco, struck, lasting around one minute. Just weeks before this earthquake, San Francisco was a busy city full of excitement and everyday activity, not knowing…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a powerful earthquake that shook mainly the city of San Francisco (USA) the morning of April 18, 1906. The earthquake was of magnitude between 7.9 and 8.6 degrees Mw1 and its epicenter was according to the experts of the United States Geological Survey, on the coast of Daly City and southwest of San Francisco.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Discuss the view that the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors (40 marks)…

    • 2230 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Economic Development is one of the greatest human factors that affect the impacts. For example, in the Northridge Earthquake, California in 1994 only 57 people died after the 6.7 magnitude quake occurred. Compare this to an LEDC such as India, and the Gujarat Earthquake in 2001, we can see how much of a difference being developed makes. The 7.9 magnitude quake on the 26th January 2001, Gujarat claimed 20,000 people and injured a further 160,000, but in California, only 57 people died and there were only 1500 injuries. This is due to the development of the country which encompasses factors such as money to prepare for the quake and also money for aid after the quake too. As the USA’s GDP per capita stands at 49,965 USD and India’s is only 1,489 USD we can see that this would affect the money spent on quake proofing buildings, education for evacuation and money for aid too. But in India there is less economic development and as a result there were far more fatalities and impacts such as in the town of Bhuj, over 90% of all buildings were damaged.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are a variety of reasons why the strongest earthquakes are not always the most costly. One of these reasons may be that the country is well prepared when it comes to natural disasters. An example of this was the earthquake that happened in Chile in 2010. This earthquake had a magnitude of 8.8 which is the 8th largest earthquake recorded since 1900. Because Chile is on a fault line it has always been prone to earthquakes and therefore has learnt to adapt and cope with them. For example, the run drills in their schools so children will know what to do in case there is an earthquake. There are also a lot stricter rules on building regulations, so they are more likely to survive an earthquake than collapse. Because of this only 525 were killed and the total costs were $15-30 billion which is relatively small compared to other earthquakes of similar size.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is impossible for anybody to argue that human factors do not have an effect on the impact caused by earthquake hazards; however the extent of the effect is debatable depending on the situation. This can depend on many different aspects, for instance the level of development in the relevant country, the standard of infrastructure, the magnitude and location of the quake and lastly what time the quake occurs. In order to properly assess whether the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors, it is necessary to look at a range of case studies which will provide a balanced overview. For instance – looking at the LEDW – examples such as the Haiti earthquake in January 2010 as well as the earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December 2004 could suggest that the impact depends primarily on human factors as these countries are not fully developed and thus might have underdeveloped infrastructure and building regulations. Contrary to this, the MEDW with examples such as the Northridge earthquake in 1994 could provide a contrasting argument in terms of how human factors affect the impact. However, there are always multiple factors which the impact depends on, regardless of the development of the relevant country.…

    • 877 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    New Madrid Earthquake

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The results of these earthquakes was devastating. Trees were up rooted and looked to be tossed around like toothpicks. There was wide spread damage extending from St. Louis to all the way to Pennsylvania where supposedly the Liberty bell rang from the strong quakes.(Nuttli) Thirty miles south, in the river town of what is today Caruthersville, Missouri, all twenty houses were destroyed, and the surrounding land was rendered almost unrecognizable. The ground rolled in several-foot-high waves until they burst, hurling up geysers of water, sand, and a charcoal-like substance. Giant fissures swallowed buildings, along with anyone inside.…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1906 San Francisco earthquake is widely believed to be the most significant earthquake of all time with regards to destruction, loss of life, and subsequent learnings. On the 110th anniversary of the April 18th, 1906 earthquake, we delve into how our understanding of earthquakes has developed and how this particular earthquake helped further our understanding.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The cost of these property damages is to be larger than $40 billion dollars. More than 600,000 people had filed for disaster assistance. Earthquakes are not distributed throughout the world. There are usually concentrated specific areas, and Los Angeles is right in one of those specific areas. Earthquakes that could hit Los Angeles in the future cannot and will not cease to happen. Scientists started using a new model to study the likeliness of an earthquake in the state of California in 2008. At the time, USGS geophysicist and lead scientist Ned Field said, “This new, comprehensive forecast advances our understanding of earthquakes and pulls together existing research with new techniques and data. Planners, decision makers and California residents can use this information to improve public safety and mitigate damage before the next destructive earthquake occurs”. The new model shows that there is a 99% chance of Los Angeles being hit with a 6.7 or larger magnitude, and a 46% chance that the earthquake could exceed the magnitude of 7.4 within the next 25 years. So the people of Los Angeles need to be prepared for an earthquake at all times. The odds of…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ravilious, Kate. "San Francisco 's 1906 Quake: What If It Struck Today?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 13 Apr. 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0413_060413_earthquake.html>.…

    • 1766 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Click on one of the earthquakes on the map and make a note of its magnitude and region.…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The 1906 Great San Francisco earthquake is one of the worst earthquake’s to happen yet. The magnitude was believed to be about a 7.8 on the Richter scale. What made it so destructive wasn’t just the magnitude of the earthquake but the fact that the fires were uncontrollable. These factors led to the San Francisco quake to be know as a tragedy.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Francisco, Northern California on April 18th at 5: 12 am. The San Francisco earthquake caused problems for many of the people in the community; it caused lots of devastations throughout the whole city.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Family's Immigration

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco. It sparked a series of fires that raged throughout the city for three days which left over half of San Francisco’s…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who knew an earthquake which can last for no longer than a minute but can cause so much harm? On April the 18th, 1906 an earthquake struck the coast of Northern California, San Francisco at 5:12 a.m lasting for a minute. But who would think that it was the second most destructive earthquake in the world. So how did this Occur?…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays