Earthquakes


 * Effects of Earthquakes **

// By: Carrie-Syakirah 7A //

Around sometime in your life, the topic “//earthquakes//” usually does come up, and someone explains to you, how they occur. Therefore, we all have a pretty good knowledge towards earthquakes and what exactly causes them. She/he will probably also go into very vague detail of what happens when earthquakes occur. Vague detail meaning just describing how poor the victims are, the lack of food, etc., and how we should be feeling so much sorrow as something like that has occurred. You don’t get the scientific lecture and understanding; so, hopefully after you read this wiki, you’ll get more of a better idea on earthquakes and their effects.

If you watch TV after a horrible earthquake has occurred, you may see all these celebrities and maybe not even celebrities, just kind-hearted people //donating// a lot of money to victims, or the country. Obviously, after earthquakes there are lots of cases of //property loss// and insurance companies lose billions and billions of dollars paying, and countries often are //too poor// and run out of money too soon. This means that they totally rely on other programs or associations like the //United Nations//, or other countries to donate money and help victims.
 * Property, Money, and Life Loss **

**Liquefaction** Another very devastating effect caused by earthquakes is //liquefaction//. When liquefaction occurs, the sand or soil loses strength temporarily and turns into a liquid from a solid. When this happens, building structures, bridges, etc. //tilt// or //sink in//.

**Ground Rupture and Shaking** The main effects of earthquakes are ground rupture and shaking. Ground rupture is a visible breaking along the trace of the fault line. It is harmful to and usually damages these structures stated: bridges, dams, nuclear power stations, etc. The measure we use for ground shaking is ** acceleration **. Another important thing to know is ** local amplification ** which is the seismic motion of turning hard soil into soft soil. Local amplification is another type of ground shaking that is specific, and can induce high levels of ground shaking even in the cases of small earthquakes.

**Landslides and Avalanches** Landslides and Avalanches are what you often see after an earthquake has occured. There are many ways to cause landslides. They are // volcanic activities //, // earthquakes //, // severe storms // or // coastal wave activities //. When any of these natural disasters occur, they can produce slope instability that lead to landslides. Landslides and avalanches are very frustrating to people who are trying to rescue the victims.

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