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Earthquakes
sudden shaking of the Earth's crust. The
An earthquake is a
shaking happens when tectonic plates move. Earthquakes
happen at all plate boundaries.
At constructive plate margins, the plates are moving away
from each other. Magma then rises to the surface. An
earthquake can occur as the magma moves its way throug
the crust.
At destructive plate boundaries, two plates are mevirng
towards each other. As they push against each other
the oceanic plate is forced underneath the continernta
plate. The sudden downward movement of the oceaic Ëarthquakes happen at all plate
the focus
and trav through the crust. These waves
hom
e
thenpicke up
and recorded on instruments called
Seismographs are able to detect strong
Activity
ismographs. Using a shake table,
in the world. They can also record explain how different
uakes anyvwhere
earthe
time
and
location. pick up smaller magnitudes, local
To
geismographs are used.
structures respond to
earthquakes.
da cize of the earthquake is then shown using the Richter
cale. The Richter scale goes from 1.0 to 9.9, with 9.9 being
the strongest. There has never actually been an earthquake
nea5uring 9.9. The most powerful earthquake ever recorded
Was 9.5-Occurring in Chile, in 1960.
10-1.9 Micro
Minor
.0-30
4.0-4.9 Light
5059 Moderate
7.0-79 Major
8.0-8.9
Great
9.0 and
greater
Key vocabulary
tarthquake magnitude Scale.
earthquake
Exercise seismic/seismic activity
1.
Explain how earthquakes occur t constructive and focus
2.
estructive plate boundaries. epicentre
at is the
difference between the focus and the
3.
epicentre? magnitude
What is the difference between magnitude and the Richter scale
Richter sra
ichter scale? seismic waves
4.
What seismomographs pick up? seismographs
133
n t 6: The physical Earth and human
interactions
Effects of We are learning to:
Effects of earthquakes
The damage caused by an earthquake depends on a number
of different factors, however the strength of the earthquake
is
possibly the most
important factor.
Earthquakes with a magnitude of les than 6.0 generally
don't cause a lot of
damage. However, earthquakes with a
magnitude of over 6.0 can be highly destructive.
one
landslides sudden movement of rock, earth or
-
debris
down a slope
mudslides wet soil or sand moves suddenly downhill
.
farmland and vegetation destroyed by tsunamis,
landslides, mudslides and flooding.
Haiti earthquake
6.6
On 12 January 2010,
an earthquake measuring 7.0 on
scale aftected the countries of Haiti and the
the Richter
nominican Republic. The epicentre of the earthquake
aS 16 km west of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. The
8 km beneath the surface.
focus was only
Haiti lies on the boundary of the Caribbean and North
American Plates. This is a conservative plate boundary
-
there 52
ollowing the initial earthquake, were
earthquake.
Questions
Activity
Write three paragraphs
1. Name five effects of earthquakes on the human and
explaining how you felt
physical environment. (or think you would
What caused the earthquake in Haiti feel) if you were in an
in
20T0 earthquake.
3. In total, how many people are thought to have been
affected by
earthquake?
the
4. initial Key vocabulary
ow many aftershocks followed the * * * **************************"****
earthquake? aftershock
a y the photographs below showing the etfects landslide
or an earthquake. Analyse the impact of the
carthquake in these photographs. mudslide
135
Onit 6: The physical Earth and human interactions
learning to:
We are
People stock up on food, water and medical supplies. sturdy desk or table
Preparedness kit
People in areas prone to and tsunamis will
earthquakes
also be encouraged to have a disaster supply kit in their
houses and businesses. This is usually a rucksack filled with
move
belongings that will be useful in the event of a natural lf you are outside,
disaster. Some of the things that people might put in their away from buildings, tre
disaster supply kit include: street lights and powel
first-aid kit and medications lines, then 'Drop, CoVe
the sha
and Hold' until
torch
stops.
water and canned/tinned food
emergency contact numbers
cash.
Insurance
137
Unit 6: The physical Earth and human interactions
create an
action plan to assist
peop
action plan affected by earthquakesPe
practise responsible behaviqur:
iour in tre
of disaster.
Action Plan
OBJECTIVES
The main objectives are to:
ensure the safety of all students, staff and visitors during and after an emergency
prepare students, staff and visitors for an emergency
plan a safe and well-designed response to emergencies
protect the school building and school facilities
provide the school with a coordinated approach to restoring normal conditions
following an emergency.
IDENTIFY TASKS
There are a number of tasks that need to be completed before, during and after an
DELEGATE TASKS
Some members ot staff will have more responsibility than others - for example
ore
the time taken for a drill to be issued and time taken to evacuate the SC
whether all staff and students followed procedures
138
Lower Secondary Social Sciences: An earthquake action plan
the number
of casualties 6.8
the time taken for emergency services to respond.
TIME FRAME
Being responsible
things that people should do
Above all else, there are
during an emergency:
stay calm and try not to panic
follow instructions that are given to you
put into practice safety procedures -
Exercise
What are the main objectives of an Action Plan?
How is the success of an emergency situation
measured?
3. What resour must all classrooms have?
4.
Why do you think it is important for schools to have
an Action Plan?
5. Why do
do you think you need to act responsibly during
an emergency?
139