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Examples Of Natural Disasters Affecting The Pacific Northwest Earthquake

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In the coming years, the Pacific Northwest will be hit with one of the largest earthquakes in history. The Cascadia subduction zone runs over 700 miles long along the west coast from northern California up to Vancouver, British Columbia- approximately 13,000 people will die, along with 27,000 injured, and over two million displaced, (Sullivan, 2015). With the 8.0- 9.2-magnitude earthquake already overdue, states, cities, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are beginning to prepare for the worst. While the damages caused by natural disasters are easily expected in comparison to the Japanese earthquake of 2011, many don’t factor in unnatural disasters. Unnatural disasters are usually what cause the majority of the damage and effect how long the rebuild process can take. Kathryn Shulz explores how the earthquake will affect the Pacific Northwest, as well as the reasons behind why people choose to live in these areas despite the threats in her online article The Really Big One (2015). When the Cascadia subduction zone ruptures, causing the biggest earthquake the Pacific Northwest will ever encounter, many natural disasters will be born. After the first earthquake hits, tsunamis will follow about fifteen minutes …show more content…

The majority of these beachside cities will be entirely swept away and will be almost impossible to get to immediately, because they will be one of the most dangerous places to immediately go to and will be furthest away from the assistance programs, which will go to the most populated areas first. Restoring electricity and running water to areas that were completely destroyed will be a much larger feat than going to areas that are damaged and in need of repair, rather than a complete rebuild. Economic, social and political decisions will greatly affect the assistance and support needed in every affected

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