Earthquake Essay
Annabella Rubio
Geology 110
Professor Weaver
June 16, 2014
Kobe vs Northridge Earthquake Earthquakes can be devastating natural disasters as experienced in the Kobe earthquake in Japan. However, earthquakes are not what kill people, being unprepared is what causes the most harm. In the Northridge earthquake in California which was of very similar magnitude to the Kobe earthquake there were far less casualties. However, being prepared was not the difference in these cases. Factors that created such a huge difference in damage in Kobe were the high population density, the soft soil, the direction of the waves and the response time to the earthquake and its aftermath such as uncontrollable fires. The Northridge and the Kobe earthquake had many similarities, such as they were both in the morning and consisted of about the same magnitude. Neither earthquake was expected as neither was on a fault already known to geologists. Both Northridge and Kobe are on fault edges and now it is realized that there are many blind faults that could erupt at any given time. In both locations the fault lines are not in a straight line so, when they begin moving this causes cracks in the earth and as a result mountains are formed, this is showed in both Northridge and Kobe. Kobe sits on four titanic plates; Eurasian Plate, North American Plate, Pacific Plate and Philippine Plate. Because of this and the movement of the plates it causes earthquakes on the fault lines near the plates throughout all of Japan. As a result of the Kobe earthquake more then 5,400 people died whereas in the Northridge earthquake 57 people died. One of the major differences in these two earthquakes is the population density in the city of Kobe versus in Northridge. In Kobe millions of people live making the harm of an earthquake much more extensive and the potential to harm much larger. Whereas in Northridge where the earthquake hit the population density is much less making the probability of
Geology 110
Professor Weaver
June 16, 2014
Kobe vs Northridge Earthquake Earthquakes can be devastating natural disasters as experienced in the Kobe earthquake in Japan. However, earthquakes are not what kill people, being unprepared is what causes the most harm. In the Northridge earthquake in California which was of very similar magnitude to the Kobe earthquake there were far less casualties. However, being prepared was not the difference in these cases. Factors that created such a huge difference in damage in Kobe were the high population density, the soft soil, the direction of the waves and the response time to the earthquake and its aftermath such as uncontrollable fires. The Northridge and the Kobe earthquake had many similarities, such as they were both in the morning and consisted of about the same magnitude. Neither earthquake was expected as neither was on a fault already known to geologists. Both Northridge and Kobe are on fault edges and now it is realized that there are many blind faults that could erupt at any given time. In both locations the fault lines are not in a straight line so, when they begin moving this causes cracks in the earth and as a result mountains are formed, this is showed in both Northridge and Kobe. Kobe sits on four titanic plates; Eurasian Plate, North American Plate, Pacific Plate and Philippine Plate. Because of this and the movement of the plates it causes earthquakes on the fault lines near the plates throughout all of Japan. As a result of the Kobe earthquake more then 5,400 people died whereas in the Northridge earthquake 57 people died. One of the major differences in these two earthquakes is the population density in the city of Kobe versus in Northridge. In Kobe millions of people live making the harm of an earthquake much more extensive and the potential to harm much larger. Whereas in Northridge where the earthquake hit the population density is much less making the probability of