Earthquakes

What Are Earthquakes

• Movement of Plate Boundaries or volcanic action, building up friction that is eventually realest, that causes sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometime causing great destruction.

Forces That Cause Earthquakes

• Plate Tectonics
• Pushing, pulling away, or sliding past one another.

Waves Generated

• P(primary)-Waves: Compress and move longitudinal, first wave to hit, can travel through solids and liquids.
• S(secondary)-Waves: Shear and move up and down through crust away from epicenter, second wave to hit, cannot travel through liquids.

Waves Generated

• P(primary)-Waves: Compress and move longitudinal, first wave to hit, can travel through solids and liquids.
• S(secondary)-Waves: Shear and move up and down through crust away from epicenter, second wave to hit, cannot travel through liquids.

Japans and its Earthquakes

• About 1,500 earthquakes every year.
• Lies on the Ring of Fire, on divergent plates, the North American Plate, Philippines Plate, and Eurasian Plate.
• The Island’s earthquakes are mostly magnitude 6 and up.
• Current population is 127 million people
• In some cases Tsunamis happen cause by the earthquakes.

Technologies used to Detect

• Use of seismographs monitor seismic activities.
• By placing them in 3 different locations, you can triangulate the epicenter.

Engineering

• Engineering is when the application of science, mathematics, and technology are used to design and build structures, such as houses, bridges, and skyscrapers.

Engineering's Help in Decreasing Destruction

• By making building with flexible materials, strong internal integrity, that are well maintained and up to code, earthquakes will have less impact in Japan.

Preventative Measure's

• Setting highly sensitive seismographs all around the island and when any activity over a certain level is detected have everyone evacuate, either by alarms around the island or notifications over the phones.
• Make earthquake and tsunami proof shelters all around the island.

Challenges Faced

• Despite the preventative measures there is the factor that Japan is an island. Evacuation for an island would be difficult to get the 127 million people off before the earthquake occurs.