Compare And Contrast Earthquakes

Comparing 2 different Earthquake Cases

Introduction:

In this essay I will be comparing 2 different cases of Earthquakes, 1 in an MEDC (More Economically Developed Country) and the other in an LEDC (Less Economically Developed Country) both of a magnitude of 7.0. The two earthquakes that I will be comparing are the Kobe Earthquake in Japan in 1995 of a magnitude of 7 (for the MEDC) and the Haiti Earthquake in 2010 of a magnitude of 7.0 (for the LEDC).I will be comparing the impact after the Earthquake, the damage inflicted on the city, the cost in damage and the loss of lives and the amount of injuries. I will be doing this to see how the economic bracket and earthquake proof buildings can affect the damage inflicted onto the cities affected

The economic loss was estimated to about 200 billion american dollars. The epicenter was situated directly above a densely populated area, explains the great amount of loss of lives and the damage. The extraordinary collapse of the Hanshin highway demonstrates the pressure put onto the buildings in the area.The extremely strong ground motions that caused the collapse of the Hanshin Highway has also caused some severe cases of liquefaction around that area. The principal effects of the earthquake consisted of the destruction of 150000 building, the ruin of 120 of 150 quays in the port and the collapse of 1 full km of the Hanshin Highway.One out of 5 of the buildings in the worst hit part were uterly destroyed or uninhabitable after the earthquake and about 22% of the offices in the central buisness region were unusable.The tremors lasted for approximately 20 seconds, and during this time the south side of the Nojima Fault moved 1.5m to the right and 1.2m downwards.The earthquake started at the north of the island of Awaji, which sits just south of Japan. It spread toward the south west descending along the Nojima Fault on Awaji and toward the north east straight down the Suma and Suwayama faults, which go straight through the center of Kobe. Previous earthquakes registered in the west

Although it is not the closest city to the margin, this city still lies on a fault line. The earthquake that struck the city of Kobe in the winter months of 1995 measured 7.0 on the richter scale and 6.9 on the most current magnitude scale nowadays.

On this plate Margin, the pacific plate is being forced under the Eurasian plate causing stress to build up and be released when the earth shakes. This is understood as an earthquake occurring against a subduction zone. The epicenter of this earthquake was only just 16km underneath the earth's