The development of a thought-through disaster management plan is essential to proper and immediate response in emergency situations. Human lives and safety depend on the disaster management cycle, which is improved and facilitated under the Healthy People 2020 objectives (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2016). Nurses play a pivotal role in addressing disasters, both human-made and natural, since they are professionally trained to respond quickly and competently to the health challenges imposed by an emergency. In a scenario of an earthquake, nursing staff must be aware of the stages of disaster management and disaster preparedness in particular.
An earthquake is a natural disaster that might induce significant material and health damage by its destructing forces. In managing earthquake cases, nurses should follow the four stages of disaster management, namely prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2016). However, preparedness predetermines the effectiveness of all the consecutive stages in the cycle. The essential steps of nursing disaster preparedness include personal preparedness, professional preparedness, and community preparedness. According to Stanhope and Lancaster (2016), the personal preparedness of nurses is a stepping stone of disaster management since the ability of healthcare professionals to preserve their safety and functioning helps save the lives of the community. Professional preparedness entails the knowledge, awareness, and practical skills necessary to ensure the safe evacuation of people in an earthquake and provide competent and timely health care through triage and proper management. Finally, community preparedness also depends on the competencies of nurses since it includes healthcare-informed response planning and coordination of all involved stakeholders (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2016). Thus, preparedness is an essential element in the disaster management cycle, the role of nurses in which is crucial.
In summation, nurses’ preparedness to respond to a disaster predetermines the success of the rescuing operations and the well-being and survival rate of the victims. In the case of an earthquake, nurses must ensure personal preparedness, professional preparedness, and community preparedness. These steps will allow for proper planning of response to emergency and smooth implementation of the planned rescuing and healthcare procedures aimed to save people’s lives.
Reference
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2016). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community (9th ed.). Elsevier Mosby.
In 25 March 1947, a blast in Centralia, Illinois highlighted several failures in Public Administration. This once peaceful town was rocked with a coal mine explosion, that had deadly consequences. The buildup coal dust was ignited by a charge, causing an explosion on the mine that had been very essential in providing coal during World War II. However, this incident did not come as a surprise to the federal agencies and other professionals. This is because there was an accumulation of letters and complaints from inspection results reiterating the hazards posed by the mine. The mine companies as well as the mine safety agencies had been notified by safety professionals about the danger in the mine. These notifications had been made in several occasions. Amidst calls from the mine’s union to correct the identified hazards, no action was taken. One hundred and one people lost their lives in the coal mines after the explosion (Hartley & Kenney, 2006).
Logistical options for Scanlan
“The 1974 coal mine disaster in Centralia, Illinois changed how mining laws and regulations were enforced” (Hartley & Kenney, 2006). Scanlan, who was the district inspector at the time, identified the hazards surrounding the coal mines and reported his findings about a possible explosion to other relevant professionals. However, these professionals failed to observe the law and the safety procedures recommended by Scanlan. Scanlan should not have taken heed to the words of the director of department of Minerals and Mines. He should have taken his concerns and findings to State Mine Board or the Governor of Illinois so that further investigations are done on the matter. The logistical options that he should have dealt with include corruption, responsibility, communication and time.
Scanlan had trouble when communicating with people who were able to impose laws and regulate activities in the mines. After sending many reports to his seniors without getting any response, Scanlan should have sought face-to-face meetings in order to resolve the issue about the reports he had filed. It was also clear corruption was rampant during the time when Scanlan worked as inspector. The officers high in authority would bend some rules for corrupt businesspersons to run their agenda. This is evident by the fact that some mine owners partied with some inspectors. Scanlan also took a lot of time trying to communicate with his seniors. However, a lot of time was wasted as he waited for the implementation of his reports. Scanlan also wanted the responsibility for the conditions in the mines to be taken by someone. More than a hundred people lost their lives because of lack of responsibility from the relevant authorities (Fanning, 2007).
Scanlan’s motivation towards the Constitution (the law)
Scanlan knew that it was his responsibility to provide the mineworkers with fair working conditions, representation as well as equality. He knew about the misappropriation of funds within the mining companies as well as the discrimination that was being practiced against the mineworkers.
Scanlan’s bureaucracy
Scanlan’s job was to oversee safe and regulated practices in the mines. He duly observed his chain of command by alerting his seniors about hazards present in the coal mines. At one time, he recommended that the mines be closed because of the dangers present there. He made numerous phone calls and wrote many letters in efforts to fulfill his obligation to the public as well as to the mineworkers. However, when it became clear to him that the authorities were not interested in taking any action, Scanlan should have made a public outcry about the matter to protect the safety of the miners; this would have attracted the attention of human rights’ activities, trade unions as well as other relevant organizations and authorities.
Although Scanlan showed a lot of concern about the results of the inspections that he did, he failed to take matters further than his immediate seniors did. Had he done so, his findings would probably have been viewed more seriously than before and the relevant procedures established. Miners and public always depend on people in Scanlan’s position to protect their interests and notify them whenever a serious concern arises. Having been a miner at one time, Scanlan must have been fully aware of this. He should therefore have gone out of his way to notify the miners through their union.
Possible paths of action for Scanlan
These two possible paths of action for Scanlan were to impose his own power and authority and have the operations in the mines postponed until it was safe to there again, and address the federal, local as well as the state mining authorities about the matter. The reports that Scanlan filed showed that mining laws were not being observed. Although he communicated this to his immediate senior official, no action was taken and there seemed to be lack of commitment from those corrupt authorities. He recommended to the director of mining, Mr. Robert Medill, to shut down the mines and clean them up but that did not happen.
After having several unsuccessful attempts to have his report implemented, Scanlan should have taken the responsibility to correct all the concerns. However, many unethical and illegal dealings were going on beyond the control of Scanlan. The miners were being controlled with money by some government authorities and mining companies. In this case, it was clear that no one was ready to protect the interest of the miners. Although Scanlan had the power to shut down the mines immediately he was sure that they were in danger of exploding, he chose to be fair to the mine companies by giving them numerous chances to improve the conditions in the mines. He followed this up with the numerous reports he sent to his seniors about the condition of the mines.
Scanlan’s best option when he realized that no action was being taken would have been to resign from his job. However, he knew that he was professionally obligated to protect the concerns of mineworkers. Since he had the power to shut down the mines, he should have done so after realizing the danger lurking in the mines. Such an action would have not only attracted the attention of many agencies and authorities, but also saved the lives of the more than a hundred people who eventually died in an explosion in the mines. Besides this, the morality of the situation should have mattered more than its legality since there was no law in Illinois that prevented anyone from contributing secretly to a political cause (Stillman, 2010). Therefore, if Scanlan had resigned after making fruitless attempts to protect the interest of the miners, he would not have professionally been accountable for the death of the 111 people (Scanlan, 1947, April 24).
References
Fanning, F. (2007). Best of the best newsletter article. Web.
Hartley, R. E., & Kenney, D. (2006). Death underground: The Centralia and West Frankfort mine disasters. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
Scanlan, D. (1947). Statement of Driscoll O. Scanlan before legislative Committee. Centralia: Illinois.
Stillman, R. J. (2010). Public administration: Concepts and cases. Boston, Mass: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
The Everest case study illustrates some key problems that need to be addressed to avert the recurrence of errors or omissions that may have occasioned the deaths of the climbers. The mountaineers encountered numerous hurdles and setbacks that led to their demise. The deaths resulted from both human errors and natural events that increased the climbers’ risks. The specific problems that need to be addressed include communication and teamwork issues, overconfidence bias, and inter-team rivalry (Tempest, Starkey, & Ennew, 2007).
The team leaders had a tendency of exercising dictatorial leadership by ignoring the clients’ input, which would be important in decision-making. The team members lacked the confidence to raise their concerns owing to the organizational culture that promoted dictatorship.
Regarding the overconfidence bias issue, the team leaders were cocksure that they would lead their members to the summit without encountering any risks. This assumption was ill-informed since the reality was that risks were inevitable, and they would only be addressed by being open-minded. Lastly, the rivalry between the companies may have contributed to the deaths of the team members. The rival team leaders would make naive decisions as they strived to show their exceptional capabilities regarding tour guiding.
Analyzing the case data
Schein (2010) argues that communication amongst the team members is essential since it facilitates the introduction of new ideas into the group, thus, facilitating informed decision-making. Communication in the Everest case was hampered by insufficient radios and the mismanagement of the available ones. The available radios were only accessible to the team leaders, who in one instance used them to claim falsely that there was insufficient supplemental oxygen for the group. Besides, Hall, who was one of the most experienced climbers, was overconfident of his ability to lead any group successfully regardless of the members’ personal weaknesses.
Overconfidence often leads to poor decisions since it offers an incentive for dictatorship. Hall advertised “100% Success” ignoring the hurdles that were imminent in the climbing endeavors (Roberto & Carioggia, 2003). The overconfidence exuded by the leaders caused them to ignore the season supposedly perceived as safe for ascending to the summit hence causing the death of the team members. Competition between Hall and Fischer’s companies may also have contributed to the errors and the death of the team members. The rivalry contributed to the climbing of the mountain during the dangerous seasons as the two leaders sought to prove their capabilities.
Generating alternatives
To mitigate the recurrence of the identified issues, there should be effective strategies to reduce the risk of human errors. This section shall provide two sets of mutually exclusive alternatives. The two include:
Communication and teamwork
As noted previously in this paper, one of the challenges that contributed to the deaths of persons in the Everest tragedy was communication deficiencies occasioned by faulty devices and the reluctance by the leaders to accept team members’ inputs. Communication introduces new ideas that may be helpful in making informed decisions (Roberto, 2013). This move may be a sure way of reducing the recurrence of the deaths experienced in the past.
Shaping Perceptions and Beliefs
In any organization, there needs to be an organizational culture that promotes the respect of authority. The culture shapes the firm’s structure and the people’s perceptions regarding their roles, status, and relationships with other stakeholders. Most accidents in the Everest case occurred during summiting. The leaders need to be authoritative during summiting to prevent avoidable deaths.
Selecting decision criteria
The two alternatives identified above are mutually exclusive meaning that both cannot be implemented at the same time. Therefore, only one of the alternatives may be implemented at a time. While communication and team working require a democratic style of leadership, shaping perceptions and beliefs necessitate a dictatorship style of headship. However, inasmuch as the choices are mutually exclusive, the alternatives may be effective tools for mitigating the climbers’ deaths in the future. In selecting the best alternative from the two, the following criteria will be used:
The alternative shall be one that minimizes the overall risks associated with climbing the mountain
The alternative must reduce the number of deaths during summiting
Promotes the evaluation of different causes of action when making a decision
The alternative shall be acceptable to all the stakeholders
Evaluating alternatives
Communication and teamwork
Communication in this context refers to the interaction between the team leaders and the group members during the climbing endeavors. Communication between the team leader and the subordinates is important since it allows each stakeholder to contribute to the decision-making processes. In a situation where every member of the team is involved in the decision-making process, the stakeholders tend to abide by the course of action agreed by the team.
In this case, communication would require the increment and the appropriate use of radios so that false propaganda is mitigated. As noted previously in this paper, communication in the concerned Everest companies was limited to the leaders, and thus, other team members were not involved (Tempest et al., 2007). The companies should procure more radios so that each team member can access one. The team leaders should use the radios to counter propaganda and only give the right information to the clients.
Shaping Perceptions and Beliefs
Shaping perceptions and beliefs involve the team leaders organizing the members and encouraging them to shun some of the negative beliefs. To achieve this objective, the leaders need to be authoritative so that they command the team members on what to do during the summiting periods. As noted from the Everest case, most accidents happened during summiting, and they would thus be avoided through strong guidance from the leaders in such critical situations. The leaders should use their experience to determine the best time for summiting, and they should not bow to calls by the subordinates to continue with the climbing when there is evidence to support an imminent risk.
Wrong timing often led to the deaths of the climbers despite Hall and other leaders having knowledge about the inherent risks during certain times of the year. Pressure from the followers coupled with the rivalry between the companies contributed to the wrongful climbing of the mountain during the risky seasons. Authoritative leadership could be a sure way of avoiding the risks of ascending during such periods.
Selecting the preferred alternative
Based on the analysis of the two alternatives and their assessment against the selection criteria, the first option, viz. communication and team working, is the preferred choice. The mentioned strategy meets all the selection criteria previously identified in this paper. Firstly, the communication shall minimize the deaths of the climbers by ensuring that the entire group is involved in the decision-making process. Involving all the stakeholders in formulating key decisions and strategies shall avert resistance from the team members hence ensuring that the climbers work in teams to accomplish their mission. Besides, it will facilitate the consideration of different courses of action when faced with a certain situation.
Secondly, communication between the stakeholders will facilitate the adoption of common ground on the various issues affecting the group. Therefore, the strategy shall be acceptable to all the stakeholders involved.
Developing an action/implementation plan
The implementation plan should be based on new technology and the Internet at large. The traditional radios used at the time were inefficient since they were based on analog technology. The companies should hire a team of Information Technology (IT) experts to assess the applicability of the Internet-based communication technology to avert the communication barriers. The communication strategies adopted by the companies should be devised in such a way that they promote both horizontal and vertical communication.
Recommendations
Balancing competing forces
The Everest case demonstrates an example of competing forces that occasionally lead to the loss of lives. Overconfidence was one of the leading causes of errors and the subsequent demise of the team members. To deal with the problem of impudence, the team leaders need to evaluate different courses of action when faced with a given challenge. The leaders should not be biased when choosing the right course of action in such situations and only the decision that maximizes the welfare of the group should be selected.
Learning from failure
One of the factors that may contribute greatly to the success of a firm is the ability to learn from mistakes (Roberto, 2013). This view is grounded on the assumption that failures are attributable to human error. In the Everest case, human errors were among the leading causes of death. The companies should analyze the past failures to come up with a strong strategy aimed at mitigating the recurrence of the problems in the future.
References
Roberto, M. A. (2013). Why great leaders don’t take yes for an answer: Managing for conflict and consensus. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.
Roberto, M. A., & Carioggia, G. M. (2003). Mount Everest, 1996. Harvard Business Review, 3(8), 1-22.
Schein, E. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.
Tempest, S., Starkey, K., & Ennew, C. (2007). In the death zone: A study of limits in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Human Relations, 60(7), 1039-1064.
The factors identified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) determine the occurrence of potentially damaging energy exchanges due to the discrepancy in ignition time and the size of mass required to sustain energy during a fire. Polyurethane foam has a small ignition time, which makes it an appropriate source of the initial fire growth. Although wood and carpet flooring take long to ignite, they have sufficient mass to sustain a fire once the polyurethane foam reaches its peak heat release.
The factors identified by the NIST affect the period in which an energy exchange and damage occur by creating a chain so that once a material reaches its peak heat release and can no longer sustain the fire, another material of greater mass facilitates the continuation of the fire. In this regard, although the non-fire retardant polyurethane released all its energy in about 40 seconds, wood and carpet flooring sustained the fire for a long time.
Analyses of the extent of the damages after the energy release had occurred illustrates that the lack of fire sprinklers in the nightclub’s egress aggravated the rise in carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide levels so that conditions in the nightclub reached extreme and fatal levels in a considerably short time. In addition, wood and carpet flooring produce large amounts of energy and temperature, which cause low oxygen levels.
The Station nightclub comprised of a soundproofing polyurethane foam and wooden structures and paneling, which provided optimal conditionals for the onset and spread of fire. Although polyurethane has a significantly low ignition energy, flames from ignited polyurethane foam have a high spread rate and generate sufficient heat to ignite wooden structures and paneling.
The lack of a fireproof covering on the foam increased the likelihood of ignition of the polyurethane when exposed to a high temperature source. The polyurethane foam covered the stage area, which was adjacent to walls and the ceiling.
In this regard, the flames from the polyurethane foam quickly spread and ignited the wooden structure, which caused the development of an oxygen-limited fire. Wood and carpet flooring provided the fuel load that sustained the fire. The combination of different building materials provided appropriate fuels to start and spread the fire. In addition, due to their different locations within the nightclub, the building material achieved optimal contribution to heat release.
Inadequate capability to suppress the fire considerably limited the time within which occupants of the nightclub could exit the facility. Although the nightclub had portable fire extinguishers, their location was inconvenient relative to the fire. In addition, the facility lacked fire sprinklers, as it was not a legal requirement for a building of its size. In this regard, the fire spread at a rapid rate causing panic and overcrowding at the fire exits.
Therefore, flight halted with some occupants opting to escape through the facility’s window. The lack of means to suppress the fire allowed temperature and combustion gases to rise quickly beyond the survivability limit. Most deaths occurred in less than 90 seconds after the fire began. Compressing the fire would have increased the survival rate by mitigating the rate of spread of the fire, and rising levels of temperature and combustions gases.
The inability of exits to handle the egress of all occupants in a short time causes people to crowd at the available exits making any evacuation attempts futile. Exits could not handle the large number of occupants since their width was less than the size recommended to handle maximum occupant capacity.
In this regard, the nightclub’s occupants had difficulties accessing exit routes, which is the main reason why a large number of survivors escaped via windows rather than the fire exits. Complex exits without a direct connection to the outside caused confusion and panic. Thus, people sought other means of exit that could lead them outside.
With a single interior door providing the easiest exit, the evacuation processed significantly delayed creating chaos. The lack of exits to handle the egress of occupants in a facility during a fire tragedy contributes directly to a high causality rate. Overcrowding in the exits aggravates the impacts of low oxygen levels and high levels of temperature and combustions gases. Furthermore, it may cause a tramped as everyone attempts to find a way out of a facility on fire.
The NIST reports on the Station nightclub fire accident provides insights on measures and polices that are crucial in minimizing the fatalities and property damage relating to a fire accident. It is not advisable to use material with low ignition energy in facilities with diverse high temperature sources since they increase the likelihood of the onset of a fire.
Buildings should have enough systems and tools for suppressing the rate of spread of flames in case of a fire outbreak. Locating sprinkler systems and portable fire extinguishers in strategic locations within a building minimizes the time taken to respond to a fire outbreak. Buildings should have sufficient fire exits that can handle the maximum occupation capacity of a facility to minimize instances of overcrowding at fire exits.
The three web pages selected for rhetorical analysis are based on the same subject, the infamous Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The first one is Sambhvana Clinic’s review of the consequences of the incident “The children of Dow’s chemicals”, the second is Somani Sengupta’s article “Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal.” And the third is “The Incident, Response, and Settlement” by Union Carbide.
Website 1: Rhetorical analysis
The website is devoted for the analysis of the aftermath of the tragedy and its effects on the residents. The web page states that a total of 25000 people died due to the gas leak.
The main attempt of the communication is to show the initial affects on the children of Bhopal. There is some heart wrenching pictures that successfully communicates the pain of the people to every one who browses the website and successfully influences the audience.
The entire web page is covered with visuals and statistics. All these are definitely helpful for the attempt. The significance of pathos, mainly through visuals, convinces the audience with the point of view of the author.
The strategy in this case is to overwhelm the audience with sympathetic visuals and attract their interest. The argument presented in the web page is fundamentally compilation of statistics about the tragedy and it is followed by persuasion to donate for the cause. The structure, and the species of rhetoric used in the page is the intelligent use of visual and statistics of causalities with text that generates sympathy in order to donate for the cause. The literary style used in this page is full of words that generate pathos, like “deafmute, brain-damaged, with hare-lips, cleft palates, webbed fingers, cerebral palsy” (Sambhvana Clinic 1) etc.
As per effectiveness is concern, it is clear that the website is successful in its attempt to show the horrible tragedy and what are they doing to help those who are affected.
Website 2: Rhetorical analysis
Sengupta’s article is to show that even after 25 years “Bhopal’s long suffering victims of Union Carbide disaster still fobbed off at every level” (Sengupta 1).
The main concern that this article is trying to communicate is the issue of justice. It is an evaluation of the incident in order to find justice for the victims. The main concern of this text is to make the audience think about the incident and feel that it time for justice to be done.
The setting of the page starts with the location of Bhopal pointed in a map, followed by several visuals accompanied by texts to describe the visuals. Then there is a continuous set of paragraphs evaluating the condition of the issue with statistics, interviews and analysis. The attempt of the writer is not to make the audience agree or disagree but to present the audience with information to evaluate the situation by themselves.
The strategy is very clear in this context. The writer presents an informative text for evaluation and it is assumed that the audience would follow an analytical path rather than an emotional one. Thus, the main approach is presentation of ethos rather than pathos.
Similarly, the structure and the rhetoric is presented in the most simplistic manner whereby the audience is provided with several details like “At least 3,000 people were killed immediately” (Sengupta 1) or “More than 500,000 people were declared to be affected” (Sengupta 1) and can evaluate the ethos by themselves.
The literary style is ethos and it helps the author by a great margin because the main purpose of the text is to spread awareness about the issue.
This method is very effective because it is completely unpretentious and honest. It presents the details and asks the audience to decide by themselves. This is a way to honor the intellect of the audience and thus, it is a very effective method.
Website 3: Rhetorical analysis
The third one can be enumerated as a report on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the effects that are still visible on the residents of the place even in today. It presents step by step details of the incident and its results.
As per communication is concerned, this web page is the compilation of facts and thus it can be termed as an informative text. The main idea of influencing the audience is through presentation of data and details.
There are no visuals or photographs and the authors have given the importance on the logical facts of the incident (Union Carbide 1). According to the number of facts that the website provides to the readers, we can say that it is one of the most comprehensive website on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. But the website lacks any visual element that generally helps to grab the immediate attention of the viewers.
As per strategy, no argument is presented in the web page. Similarly, it has no specific assumptions too. It is full of information about the incident. The main audiences in this context are students and researchers.
The style of this text is extremely effective as rhetorical strategy. It generates neither ethos nor pathos; rather it is a plain informative report.
It is extremely effective because it is well known fact that the Bhopal Gas Tragedy is one of the biggest industrial tragedies in recent times. The sheer magnitude of the accident had invoked criticisms from all the corners of the World and many organizations have come to help the persons who were victims of the tragedy. Thus, rather than ethos and pathos the most helpful rhetoric method would be presentation in an informative manner.
Conclusion
The websites show that the people who had suffered from the tragedy are still suffering from the aftermath of the tragedy and there is no visible comfort for them. The websites are really doing a very noble job to promote the rights of these persons. However, each website used a different approach or strategy in accordance to their audience and each of them can be stated as successful by some degree.
References
Sambhvana Clinic. “The children of Dow’s chemicals.” bhopal.org. 2009. Web.
Sengupta, Somani. “Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal.” The New York Times. 2008. Web.
Union Carbide. “The Incident, Response, and Settlement.” Union Carbide Corporation. 2010. Web.
For the natural evil, I chose earthquakes; the evil that I believe is the result of people’s actions is murder. The world is viewed as a combination of good and evil, a place of growth and development where humans can reach the level of perfection for which God created them.
The problem of evil concerning animals and their suffering, which can be avoided, is the harm caused by people, for example, during the slaughter or exploitation of eggs and milk. This problem demonstrates that such justifications for the problem of evil, such as the fact that suffering exists to improve the moral qualities of a person and thus serve the greater good, are unconvincing. After all, animals are innocent, defenseless, immoral, but sentient beings.
It should also be said that the existence of evil forces people to live in fear, which is absolutely unnecessary. As mentioned above, evil is created so that a person becomes morally more perfect. However, if we define this perfection as the absence of a person’s motives to commit sin, then the conclusion suggests itself. The reduction of evil will initially make a person morally more perfect since people will not know what it is. Respectively, they will not have ideas about non-good deeds.
To sum up, the theodicy is quite contradictory in this case. The fact is that a person intentionally commits the murder of animals, realizing at the same time that they feel pain and are conscious. This act has nothing to do with a person becoming morally more perfect. The absence of evil would initially lead to the absence of such deaths of innocent animals or people.
The article by Quarantelli (1994) summarizes the trends and approaches observable in the field of disaster studies. Specifically, it focuses on the incorporation of the sociological component in the research and the resulting positive changes in the understanding of the issue. In other words, the author argues that the combination of applied concerns and inquiries into the sociological aspects of disasters established throughout several decades had a positive influence on the understanding of the topic and contributed to the functional properties of the studies in the field.
The author elaborates on the factors contributing to the shift towards the sociological perspective in disaster studies. First, Quarantelli (1994) points to the fact that the sociologists were numerous in the academic domain on the middle of the twentieth century and often held important administrative positions within the establishments. In addition, the core team involved in the analysis of data of the decisive research on the impact of Arkansas tornado consisted of sociologists. Of the three pioneering teams in the field, two were headed by sociologists, with the tendency being observed across the segment. Second, the available informal data points to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the key figures displayed a strong interest in bringing sociological studies and the principles of collective behavior into the domain of natural disasters. Conversely, the author points to the fact that the quantitative approach characteristic of the field at the time severely limited the options for psychological inquiry on the matter of disasters (Quarantelli, 1994). Importantly, some of the perspectives introduced to the field were rejected, such as the attempt to incorporate the Parsonian structural-functional theoretical orientation (Quarantelli, 1994). Nevertheless, it is evident that the sociological perspective eventually permeated the field and could be identified in the approaches of the overwhelming majority of the studies.
As a result of the said trend, the quality of the findings allegedly increased dramatically. To substantiate this claim, the author points to the fact that government funding agencies proceeded with supporting the studies. Quarantelli (1994) also points out that the sociological perspective prevented the research teams from setting inadequate priorities and using unrealistic research designs. Finally, the introduction of the qualitative method associated with the shift towards sociology design made it possible to determine the impact of disasters at a supra-individual level and, by extension, advanced the geographical approach to studying natural disasters (Quarantelli, 1994).
It is important to note that the author chose the exploratory approach to substantiate his findings. As a result, many claims made in the article are not falsifiable and therefore cannot be considered robust evidence by academic standards. For instance, the classification of involved individuals as sociologists relies predominantly on common perceptions without the introduction of precise definitions. While it is an acceptable drawback considering the perspective and scope of the inquiry at hand, it should be pointed out that such an approach creates an opportunity for the introduction of bias.
Several questions can be posted based on the information provided in the article. First, it would be interesting to explore whether the benefits associated with the approach identified in the article are sufficient for pursuing it or whether it would be necessary to introduce other disciplines in order to further improve the functionality of the findings. Second, since sociology is a relatively wide field, it would be interesting to consider whether some of its components are more relevant for disaster studies than the others and whether the latter can be excluded from the equation in order to attain greater precision and decrease the complexity of the research.
Reference
Quarantelli, E. L. (1994). Disaster studies: The consequences of the historical use of a sociological approach in the development of research. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 12(1), 25-49.
It is relatively easy to draw the line between the animate and inanimate nature; everything that breathes, reproduces and/or moves can be considered a life form. It goes without saying that the inanimate elements of nature are taken for granted often mostly because of their lack of motion.
However, when it comes to the motion of these inanimate elements, people realize how powerful and threatening nature can get. Although the nature of earthquakes, which are among the most dreadful manifestations of the force of nature, have been studied for years, there are a number of white spots in people’s knowledge about these phenomena.
Hypothesis
According to the exiting assumptions, earthquakes occur in the places where tectonic plates meet; known as plate boundaries, these places are typically found in South and North America, Japan, Australia, Africa, India, Haiti, Caribbean and Philippines.
Background
Before going any further, it is necessary to figure out what actually causes earthquakes. There is a common misconception that earthquakes are caused solely by volcano eruptions. Although the given phenomenon can be considered one of the reasons for an earthquake to occur, it is still definitely not the prior cause of earthquakes.
According to the existing researches, earthquakes are caused by the motion of the tectonic plates. Several types of tectonic motion are distinguished; according to the current nomenclature of the types of tectonic plates movement, the following kinds of motion can be spotted:
Divergent (the plates are drifting apart);
Convergent (the plates collide);
Transform (the plates slide against each other with different speed).
In the course of the tectonic movement, the edges of the tectonic plates either rub, or collide, or drift apart, which creates disturbances within the lithosphere. As a result, an earthquake ensues.
Experiment and Data Analysis: Earthquakes and What Causes Them
Since, according to the above-mentioned information, natural earthquakes are most common in the places where the edges of tectonic plates meet, it is reasonable to suggest that earthquakes are most common in the countries that are located at the joint of two or more tectonic plates.
Indeed, taking a closer look at the map and specifying the position of the countries listed above as the main locations of the most frequent earthquakes, one must admit that these states are either in the plate boundaries, or are located very close to them. Indeed, according to the following map, the states mentioned above are very close to the plate boundaries:
Active volcanoes and plate tectonics, “hot spots” and the “Ring of Fire”. Web.
The map above shows clearly that the states specified above are located exactly at the plate boundaries. As a result, the earthquakes in the specified regions are especially severe and bring the greatest damage. However, the aforementioned does not mean that earthquakes occur in the given states on a regular basis; in fact, the seismic patterns of the given states are very different and are predetermined by a number of issues other than the plate boundaries. Considering each place in particular will help define the key patterns.
South and North America
The Andes and the Cordilleras are known as the result of the collision of the North American and the South American tectonic plates. Consequently, the given mountain range is a typical seismic zone.
Sziema, Y. et al. (2012). Seismic velocity structure of the slab and continental plate in the region of the 1960 Valdivia (Chile) slip maximum – Insights into full release and plate coupling. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 331-332, 164–176.
Japan
As it has been mentioned previously, earthquakes are typically associated with volcanoes, and, though the latter do not necessarily factor into the earthquake process, they do play a major role in the pattern of an earthquake and its severity; moreover, the two are closely related, which Japan shows in a very graphic way.
Sendai, Japan earthquake (2003). Web.
Earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates. However, this movement also causes cracks and ruptures in the surface of the earth. Because of the difference in pressure, either magma oozes onto the surface, or ash, dust and melted minerals come out of the raptures. Both are commonly referred to as volcano eruptions and often follow earthquakes in the upland, which is exactly the case of Japan.
Australia
In Australia, both tectonic plates movement and volcanoes contribute to frequent earthquake occurrences. To make the matters worse, Australia is one of the few states that actually have intraplate earthquakes, i.e., the ones that are caused by thrust faulting.
Indi-Australian tectonic plate is breaking up (2012). Web.
Africa
Also known as one of the world’s greatest volcano clutters, Africa suffers earthquakes on a regular basis. Also being the place where the tectonic plates meet, Africa is known for the earthquakes, the epicenters of which are typically located by the edge of the mainland, where the tectonic plates meet. As it has been brought up before, volcanoes are activated by the same factors that earthquakes are, which is nowhere as evident as in Africa.
Map of East Africa showing tectonic plates. Web.
India
Weirdly enough, India is also no stranger to earthquakes. In India, earthquakes happen just as often as in the regions listed above due to the movement of the Eurasian plate, which forms the Himalayas. The tectonic movement is especially strong in this region, since the Eurasian plate’s velocity makes .52 (Shad & Hossein, 2010).
When the Earth moved Kashmir. Web.
Haiti
Even though Haiti is not a volcanic island, it still has its fill of earthquakes once in a while, which once again proves the fact that the two phenomena are not necessarily linked.
Tectonics of the Haitian earthquake. Web.
Caribbean
The residents of the Caribbean Islands also experience earthquakes rather often. Much like in the above-mentioned cases, the reason for these cataclysms to happen is the position and the movement of the tectonic plates, which creates a subduction zone in the given case.
Eastern Caribbean earthquakes. Web.
Philippines
Like the Caribbean Islands, Philippines provide enough factors for earthquakes to erupt on a regular basis due to the movement of the Philippine Plate.
Tectonics and volcanoes of Philippines. Web.
Results Interpretation
As the results of the given research show, earthquakes are not necessarily connected to volcano eruptions; as a matter of fact, the two phenomena may occur separately, which means that they are caused by the same factors, i.e., the movement of tectonic plates, yet presuppose completely different outcomes and are, in fact, completely different phenomena.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that the places where earthquakes occur most often, i.e., the so-called seismic zones, are typically found at the plate boundaries. Considered the most seismically unstable parts of the planet, these zones are the earthquake centers in most cases.
Unless an earthquake is caused by the human activities, plate boundaries will most likely be location of the earthquake, and the seismic activities in these places will be the cause of the earthquake themselves. That being said, one must not forget about human-induced earthquakes; in the case of the latter, the cause of an earthquake can possibly be anything that triggers a massive disruption in the lithosphere.
Reference List
Shad, M. N. & Hossein, S. (2010). Upper mantle S-velocity structure and Moho depth variations across Zargos Belt, Arabian-Eurasian plate boundary. Physics of the earth and planetary Interiors, 180(10, 92–103.
Sziema, Y. et al. (2012). Seismic velocity structure of the slab and continental plate in the region of the 1960 Valdivia (Chile) slip maximum – Insights into full release and plate coupling. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 331-332, 164–176.
An earthquake is a dangerous tremor that is caused by sudden release of energy in the crust of the earth leading to seismic waves that cause movements of the ground thus causing deaths and damages. These movements only last for a few minutes during which many deaths and a lot of damage is caused. This damaging process begins with violent shaking of the earth after which the ground ruptures leading to permanent displacement along the earth’s fault lines.
Earthquakes have also been known to cause landslides and even damaging volcanic activity. While earthquakes can come as naturally occurring events, they are also triggered by man’s activities. Some of the human activities that can cause earthquakes include mine blasts and nuclear tests. The naturally occurring earthquakes are the most common (US Geological Survey para 2). Seismometers are the instruments used for measuring earthquakes.
Earthquakes are measured using a local magnitude scale called the Richter scale or the moment magnitude where the latter is more common in reporting earthquakes that measure higher than 5 in magnitude. The earthquakes that are below magnitude 4.5 are considered as minor earthquakes.
Those that fall below the magnitude of 3 do not cause much damage and may even not be suspected in some areas. However, those that measure magnitude 7 and above have been known to be catastrophic depending on their depth. The recent largest earthquake in the world is the one that occurred in Japan on March 2011. This particular earthquake measured magnitude 9.0.
The effect an earthquake has depends on the location where it occurs and its strength and the shallow it gets. The earthquakes that are known to be shallower lead to more damage as they destroy even the structures that are designed to handle such catastrophes.
On the other hand, an earthquake of a certain magnitude will have less impact on an area where the ground that underlies it is a solid rock than if the same earthquake occurred in an area with sediment as the underlying ground. However, the surface waves which are both shallow and of high magnitude cause great damage irrespective of where they occur. This is because they cause the ground to shake in the region that they occur and any rapid ground shaking leads to damaging of structures and buildings.
The shakes caused by these waves often buckle roads and even rail tracks (Scientific American 230). Basically, ground shaking is often viewed as the major and most common earthquake damage where it results to deaths and a lot of damage. The other damages that an earthquake can cause but not always are landslides and avalanches. These too can be equally damaging, like the one that occurred in Peru in 1970 killing about 80,000 people.
Brief history of earthquakes
Earthquakes are not new phenomena since both high rated in magnitude and those that have not made huge impacts after they have occurred have been experienced on the globe.
In the last few decades, seismologists have been keen where they have noted an increase in number of earthquakes that are of high-magnitude and those that have had great impacts. Some theorists have proposed that the energy that these earthquakes have released on a global scale in the last decade alone measures more than that which have been released in the last two or three decades before.
However, the earthquakes that occurred between 1952 and 1965 had a lot of energy just like the ones being experienced in this decade. During the period before 1950s, there was no accurate seismological equipment that would have been used to record the earthquakes that occurred during this period.
There have been large magnitude earthquakes in the world’s history ranging from 8.5 to 9.5 and causing different damages depending on where they have occurred.
For instance, in May 1960, an earthquake occurred in Valdivia, Chile killing 1665 people and injuring about 3000 others while those that were displaced amounted to more than 2 million people. This earthquake has been the highest recorded in magnitude in the world history since it was rated magnitude 9.5. The damage was so great to this nation that it caused the country around US$550 million.
The earthquake also caused a tsunami that caused deaths in Hawaii, Japan and even the Philippines with a rupture zone of more than 1000km. The earthquake also led to a volcanic eruption in Puyehue that caused steam to spread to a region of about 6km from where the eruption took place. There have been other more damaging earthquakes though rated lower than this in magnitude. The level of damage an earthquake causes depends on the location and its magnitude.
Types of earthquakes
Since earthquakes are viewed as the ground shaking, the different classifications of earthquakes depend on what causes the shaking. Basically, there are four common types of earthquakes. To begin with is a type that is known as tectonic earthquakes. The crust of the earth is composed of broken fragments of land normally referred to as tectonic plates (U.S. Department of the Interior para 4-6).
The tectonic plates loose, thus can move towards each other sometimes bumping into each other or even slide past each other (Kious and Tilling 44). A tectonic earthquake, therefore, occurs when the tectonic plates slide over each other causing great earth tremor. They are the most common types of earthquakes ranging from low to high level magnitude. Tectonic earthquakes also cause the most dangerous tremors which cause massive damage within a very short time.
Volcanic earthquakes are another type though less common than tectonic earthquakes. They are known to occur prior to or after a volcanic eruption. When classifying volcanic earthquakes by type, the first type is known as “volcanic tectonic earthquakes” while the second one is known as “long period volcanic” earthquakes.
The volcanic tectonic earthquakes usually occur after a volcanic activity where the magma that erupts leaves a space. As a result, the rocks move to cover the space causing an earthquake. In most cases the lava that an eruption causes falls on its vent thus causing blockage in pressure release. Since the blocked pressure cannot be contained for long, it erupts with a great explosion.
As a result an earthquake that occurs more often than not is of great magnitude (Simkin et al 14). The long period volcanic earthquakes occur before a volcanic eruption where the change in heat of magma below the surface of the earth forms seismic waves just before the eruption. This leads to an earthquake that may either be of high or low magnitude.
Collapse earthquakes are another type and are also referred to as mine bursts. Normally, these earthquakes are of small magnitude and often occur around underground mines. They are usually caused by the pressure that is found within the rocks leading to the collapse of the mine roof. This collapse leads to earth tremors that may cause damage in the nearby areas.
The other types of earthquakes are known as explosion earthquakes. They normally result from nuclear explosions. They are an example of earthquakes caused by human activity especially the numerous modern nuclear activities. The earthquakes of this type that have occurred in the past have been caused by testing of nuclear substances, causing tremors in the region where these activities are carried out. These tremors often cause great damage to land and the people of these regions are often affected.
General effects of earthquakes
Earthquakes do not occur in all areas but are concentrated on specific areas where tectonic plates which make up the earth’s surface meet. The people who are located in these areas are the ones who are at the greatest risk of deaths and even other effects that an earthquake causes.
These are areas which lie along the Pacific Rim, island chains and even those that are along continents’ boundaries. Some of the nations that lie on these regions include Japan and Aleutians among others. It is estimated that more than 500,000 earthquakes are reported every year where those that are of too small magnitude to cause any damage form the majority.
Of those that are susceptible by humans and are about 3000, seven to eleven of them cause destruction and loss of lives. Earthquakes cause various problems in various regions in the world. The most common problem that earthquakes are associated with is urban fires. These fires are normally caused by the ground shaking that occurs during this time (Seligson and Shoaf 903). This shaking and displacement of the ground leads to destruction of electrical and gas lines.
As a result, fire break ups are common during earthquakes. Handling this effect may be a problem as the means to respond to it like water may also be affected by the water pipes rupturing. Normally, the highest damage even to the buildings is caused by theses fires which are hard to deal with during the time of this crisis. In regions that are mountainous, earthquakes often cause landslides. These landslides are equally damaging.
Earthquakes have always been known to cause a lot of damage and destruction. Depending on where the earthquake occurs, it may cause destruction by damaging structures and buildings, fires, generation of tsunamis and even lead to loss of lives. The level of damage that an earthquake causes depends on several factors.
The region that it occurs
There are earthquakes that occur in remote regions of a country where there are few structures and are sparsely populated. The effects of such earthquakes are less damaging than those that occur in densely populated and more developed areas.
This is because in remote regions fewer lives are lost and fewer structures damaged. In addition, the time of the day when an earthquake occurs can determine the number of lives lost in an earthquake occurrence. This is where earthquakes that are known to cause the highest number of loss of lives or those that occur during weekdays especially between office hours which are 9.00 in the morning to 4.00 in the evening.
This is because during this time there are many people in large buildings in their offices and others in schools. Earthquakes have more effect on large structures and buildings than small homes which have no storey. The construction type also determines the damage caused. The modern buildings are designed to be less susceptible to the damage caused by earthquakes. Buildings that are well built can easily withstand ground shocks, thus limiting the damage caused.
Prediction
Another factor is earthquake prediction. This is where a prior warning is given of a potential earthquake. When a warning is given early enough, the right measures to respond to it are put in place enabling less damage to occur and fewer lives to be lost. Prediction is done by estimating that an earthquake will happen in a region during a specific year.
Scientists who possess wide knowledge on earthquakes are made to determine the location that an earthquake will occur and the magnitude that it has. This is because earthquakes mainly occur in specific geographic zones where they may even recur along a specific fault line at different times. Using this awareness, prediction can be made thus creating the appropriate awareness.
Earthquake in Japan
Japan is situated on the eastern edge of the Eurasian Plate. On Friday, March in 2011, a catastrophic earthquake hit Japan. This earthquake occurred near the Pacific coast of Japan which is about 400 km away from Tokyo. The US Geological Survey rated the earthquake to be of a magnitude of 8.9 while the USGS Japan Meteorological Agency (para 5) later updated it to magnitude 9.0 and a depth of 20 miles.
This, therefore, made this particular earthquake the fourth largest in the world history and the largest in Japan as the last one that had occurred with such a high magnitude in this nation was of 8.3 magnitude. The earthquake began near Sendai, in the north east of Japan.
Due to the risky region of Japan location, the Pacific oceanic plate sunk under the Eurasian continental plate (U.S. Department of the Interior para 7). This led to a type of plate margin that is known to be very destructive. This is because during the process of sinking friction caused the Pacific Plate to stick thus building up pressure.
During the release of this pressure, an earthquake occurred due to the massive pressure that had already accumulated. The result was that the earthquake. Though the earthquake was at a shallow depth of 20 miles under the Pacific Ocean surface, it combined with the high magnitude to lead to a tsunami. This caused a dangerous tsunami at the northeastern coast of Honshu.
The earthquake triggered aftershocks and a tsunami that measured 23-feet. Besides huge loss of lives amounting to more than 10,000 people, the economic impacts were huge especially considering that the crisis also caused the shutting down of the nuclear reactors which provided power to many industries.
Effects of the earthquake on Japan
The Japan earthquake had both short-term and long-term impacts; the immediate impacts being on how the nation was going to provide humanitarian aid to those who had been affected and do it in time to prevent increase in the number of fatalities.
The earthquake caused a lot of damage that caused billions of dollars wastage with a death toll of more than 10,000 people. The National Police Agency confirmed more than 15,000 deaths and more than 6,000 injured individuals. Among those who died, 92.5 percent died from drowning where the aged who were 60 years and above composed the largest number.
This is where they rated 65.2 percent of all the deaths with 24 percent of them being those who were 70 years and above. The earthquake hit during a weekday making it even worse especially to the school going children. About 100,000 children were displaced from their homes especially those who were away attending school. The earthquake also orphaned about 300 children and killed 378 school going children.
The earthquake caused a lot of damage too besides the high numbers of casualties. Most of the damage that occurred was caused by the tsunami. Though Japan had constructed a seawall that was 39 ft high along 40 percent of the country’s coastline to prevent the effect of a tsunami, this particular one was so strong that it went past the seawall and even washed away some parts of it.
Reports given by the police indicated that while 144,330 structures were destroyed due to the tsunami, a significant 45,700 resulted from the earthquake. Among the buildings that were damaged by this crisis included 44,000 prefectures and three hundred hospitals, some of which were destroyed completely.
The earthquake had long-term impacts on the nation of Japan. Being an industrial nation, this crisis caused massive effects especially due to its destruction of the nation’s main power supplies to these industries.
This forced some industries to slow down their production processes or close temporally in order to enable the restoration of essential economy. For instance, Japan being the largest China’s customer for earth metals and alloys, the industries that deal with the processing of these products had to reduce their imports or reduce their processing capacity.
Earthquakes in China
China has been a victim of several catastrophic earthquakes in the recent history; the most recent being the one that occurred in Sichuan on May 2008 with a 7.9 magnitude and killing about 70,000 people and leaving 18,000 others missing (The New York Times para 2).
There have been others that have been equally devastating in the history of this nation. A particular one is the one that occurred in Tangshan in 1976 killing more than 240,000 people after which China acquired a new policy that required structures to build with an ability to withstand strong earthquakes.
The central point where the earthquake began is said to be the county of Wenchuan, making the earthquake be labeled as the Sichuan earthquake. The earthquake had a depth of 19 kilometers making it endanger as far as Beijing and Shaghai which are 1500 and 1700 kilometers away respectively. The earthquake became the worst to hit China since the Tangshan one. Approximately 15 million individuals were victims of the earthquake in one way or the other.
The earthquake triggered very strong aftershocks which were above magnitude 6 and these aftershocks progressed one month after the main earthquake leading to more deaths and damage. It is reported that a movement in the northeast with an impact on Sichuan Basin which is located in the northwestern region occurred. Tectonic pressure that accumulated during these events culminated into the earthquake.
Effects of the Earthquake on China
The Sichuan earthquake caused a lot of damage due to both the high number of casualties and the damage of property and other structures. The number of those who died was about 70,000 people while those who were injured were about 375,000.
Other damages included destruction of buildings including schools, hospitals and factories among others. Since this earthquake occurred in an area that had not developed like the other urban centers, the damage was even more massive on its structures due to poor constructions that had not followed the policy placed for the strength to withstand earthquakes.
Most of these buildings were old and were built without being passed by the appropriate earthquake and seismic regulations bodies. As a result, the collapse of schools alone killed around 5,500 students while around 600 were left disabled. The parents who lost their only children in this earthquake had to reverse their sterilization with the assistance from the government medical teams who advised them and gave them fertility medication in order to get more children.
The earthquake also damaged a lot of property where it left more than 5 million individuals without housing. In addition, massive agricultural products and livestock were destroyed leading to more losses. The total economic loss that the earthquake caused was estimated to be more than US$75 billion dollars. This meant that this was the most costly earthquake that the country experienced in its history.
Earthquake in US
The United States has not been spared by the phenomenon of earthquakes either. A particular one is the one that occurred in San Francisco on April 18, 1906. The earthquake was estimated to have measured magnitude 7.9 but others have given a value of magnitude 8.25. The earthquake caused a rupture of 477 kilometers of the San Andreas Fault which stretched from northwest of San Juan Bautista to Cape Mendocino.
A strong aftershock which was so strong that it was felt in the whole of San Francisco Bay occurred after which the earthquake with an epicenter near San Francisco hit. Violent shocks and very strong ground shakings that lasted a minute or less were felt. One unique feature of this earthquake is the numerous fires that it triggered making it one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history. The total death toll that the earthquake caused was about 3,000 people in addition to the huge economic impact it had on this nation.
Effects of the Earthquake on US
The earthquake caused deaths that were estimated to be 3,000 people though the government only reported a few deaths of about 400 people with an aim of preventing negative impacts on the rebuilding efforts. Most deaths were experienced in San Francisco but deaths also occurred in other neighboring cities like Santa Rosa (US Geological Survey, para 4-7).
The earthquake also left about 300,000 people homeless since at the time of its occurrence, San Francisco was the largest city on the West Coast. The effect was so massive that it destroyed 80 percent of this city where most of the damage was caused by the fires.
his is because more than 30 fires from ruptured gas mains led to destruction of more than 25,000 buildings and around 500 city blocks where they burned four days continuously. About USD 9.5 billion was the cost incurred as damage. San Francisco lost some important treasures like the Palace hotel which was the city’s landmark. In addition, scientific libraries and their rich discoveries were also destroyed by the fire. The monumental “Bear Flag Revolt” was also destroyed thus denying California its original flag.
Earthquakes prediction
There has been need for the prediction of earthquakes in the recent past due to the damaging effect that this phenomenon has been causing. Although studies have indicated the areas that are at risk, predicting the specific time that any earthquake may occur is still a challenge. However, using past statistics, geologists have been able to identify that most large earthquakes normally occur on far stretching fault zones especially around Pacific Ocean margin.
This has been caused by the consistent enlargement of the Indian Ocean while on the other hand the Pacific Ocean is shrinking. This shrinking effect pushes the ocean floor under the Pacific Rim making it vulnerable to earthquakes. In addition, the Pacific is characterized by long fault zones that cause geologic irregularities that lead to minor fault segments that crack separately (Ludwin para 2).
During such situations, the magnitude and timing of the earthquake is determined by the size of this fault, the stress that has accumulated below the surface and the type of rock of underneath. In the areas where the fault line and the movement of the earth plate have been established, there is a high possibility of an earthquake occurrence. This is particularly if these areas have had a history of breaking in history. However, this can only be possible when the fault zone is well established.
Earthquake prevention
There are various ways that earthquakes can be prevented in order to prevent their damaging effects. This is possible especially with those that are caused by human activities. Scientists have been trying to come up with ways of reducing the friction that is caused by colliding plates during the occurrence of an earthquake. This is through pouring water on areas where the two plates glide acting as a lubricant to the fault.
This releases one plate making it reduce the effect caused by the earthquake. The other solution that has been suggested is preventing the tidal waves. This is where sea tides are discontinued by obstructing the sea passage that is around the South Pole. This can be done in the area that borders Antarctica and South America. Matter can be brought closer to the earth using material from Andes Mountains thus help to come up with a long term solution to the problem of earthquakes (Earthquakes para 1-3).
Conclusion
Earthquakes are phenomena that will continue having their impacts on the human population especially having in mind that each earthquake is unique. This is besides there being new technological innovations which enable individuals to come up with new building designs and other structures that are complex in nature.
Since most earthquakes are a natural phenomenon, there is therefore the need for individual nations to come up with methods that are efficient to enable the processes of prevention and handling of these crises possible (Winchester 126). This will require the field of epidemiology to invent new methods of doing this. This will enable the nations to be better prepared when earthquakes happen in order to reduce the damage that they cause and reduce the deaths that these catastrophic events cause.
In order to effectively reduce this loss, there also need to be an increased efficiency in the way information is collected and distributed across agencies both in the local and international levels. This is where epidemiologists, seismologists and even designs engineers need to diversify their information sharing through linking their information databases with an aim of reducing the impacts of these crises.
This is because the information from these fields will provide timely details concerning the occurrence of an earthquake, thus enabling people and the whole nation to remain alert and well prepared. In addition, the population will be enlightened on the measures to take to prevent greater impacts through improving their construction methods and also remain informed on how to react when such a crisis occurs.
Disaster managers will also need to have easy access to important information after the research methods are improved in order to come up with better prevention methods and also better ways of handling the occurrence of an earthquake.
Through comparisons of various earthquakes that have occurred and their impacts on the human population, important lessons can be learnt where the nations will avoid repeating mistakes that were done in the past. In addition, new methods of carrying out the rescue processes can be invented. This is through coming up with better methods of delivering medical services and evacuating the individuals who are injured during such occurrences.
Works Cited
Earthquakes: Earthquakes prevention. Web.
Kious, W. Jacquelyne and Tilling, Robert I. This dynamic earth: the story of plate tectonics. Denver, CO: Geological Survey, 1996. Web.
Scientific American. Continents adrift and continents aground – Reading from Scientific American. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman and Co., 1976. Print.
Seligson, Hope A and Shoaf, Kimberley I. “Human impacts of earthquakes”, Chapter. 28. In Chen WF, Scawthorn C, eds. Earthquake engineering handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press LLC, 2003. Print.
Simkin, Tom, Unger John D. and Tilling Robert I. et al. The dynamic planet: world map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact craters, and plate tectonics. Denver, CO: US Geological Survey. Web.
U.S. Department of the Interior. Earthquakes and plate tectonics. 2009. Web.
US Geological Survey. Preferred magnitudes of selected significant earthquakes. 2011. Web.
US Geological Survey. The great 1906 San Francisco earthquake. 2011. Web.
USGS, Japan Meteorological Agency. Earthquakes: the 10 biggest in history. 2011. Web.
Winchester, Simon. A crack in the edge of the world: America and the Great California earthquake of 1906. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005. Print.
The accurate prediction of the timing and location of the earthquakes is crucial for reducing the hazards of seismic activity and preventing the fatalities and injuries. The seismic activity and the relatively regular sequence of the earthquakes in the area of San Paul Fault generated the interest of the geologists in exploring the processes in the rupture.
The prolonged Parkfield Earthquake Experiment was not effective for predicting the 2004 Parkfield Earthquake, but became a significant step forward in the development of the geological studies and the effective short-term prediction strategies.
It is important to take into account the wide range of difficulties in monitoring the seismic mechanisms with the current level of development of geological knowledge and the wide range of factors which had impact on the development of the state of seismic activity such as the pressure of the fluids, for example.
The experiment allowed implementing the innovative models and developing new more comprehensive patterns for monitoring the seismic events in future and making the accurate predictions for preventing the tragedies and reducing the devastating effects of the disaster.
Overview of the problem
Disregarding the recent advances in understanding the physics of earthquakes, the earthquake prediction data remains uncertain and unreliable. The earthquake forecast is beneficial for society because it can reduce the seismic hazards by imposing appropriate emergency measures. Collecting the geophysical and geological data related to the earthquakes, their precursors and consequences is important for developing the models of the earthquake prediction and making the data of the scientific forecasts more reliable.
The Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment is a long-term research which was started in 1985 for the purpose of exploring the seismic activity on the San Andreas fault in the State of California and providing the scientific basis for the earthquake prediction. The moderate earthquakes have been observed in the Parkfield section of the San Andreas fault at approximately regular intervals – 1857, 1881, 1901, 1922, 1934 and 1966 (“The Parkfield, California, Earthquake Experiment”).
Summing up the available data on the six above-mentioned moderate-sized earthquakes, the researchers hypothesized that the date of the next earthquake in this area would have been by 1993, but their prediction was not accurate because the anticipated earthquake took place in September 2004 only.
Though the forecast did not come true, the research results were valuable for enhancing understanding of the earthquake processes and contributed to the development of the strategies for increasing the accuracy of the prediction and making the short-term prediction possible.
The main problems with making the definite prediction of the Parkfield earthquake can be explained with uncertainty of the records dated before 1900, lack of data on the locations of the earthquakes and the wide range of inter-event intervals (from 12 to 32 years) (Kanamori 1207).
The fact that the predicted earthquake as opposed to the researchers’ forecast, did not occur in 1993 proves that the seismic processes in the Earth’s crust are complex and require considering a number of parameters and the use of a simple model is insufficient.
With the relative progress in understanding the processes, dynamic, and patterns of the earthquakes, the prediction of the seismic activity of the crust became possible only to some extent. The main hurdles for accurate short-term prediction include the incompleteness of the knowledge concerning the past earthquakes, on the one hand, and difficulties in measuring the corresponding variables, on the other hand.
Kanamori differentiated between short-term prediction (periods from hours to months), intermediate-term prediction (up to ten years) and long-term prediction (more than ten years) (1206). The beginning of the modern era of the earthquake short-term prediction is dated back to 1970s when the first attempts to reduce the seismic hazards using the scientific basis were made by Chinese officials.
The evacuation of the city of Haicheng in the northeast China because of a wide range of observations of the possible precursors of an earthquake decreased the devastating effects of the seismic activity. When the magnitude 7.3 earthquake took place in the region on February 4, 1975, the number of the fatalities and injuries was much less than it could have been.
There were 2, 041 fatalities and 27, 538 injured as compared to more than 150, 000 as an estimated number of possible victims of the earthquake (“The Parkfield, California, Earthquake Experiment”).
Still, the earthquake in an industrial city of Tangshan which was not predicted by the Chinese scientists in the following year demonstrated the insufficiency of the existing knowledge and the need of further research in the sphere. The methodology of prediction of the Haicheng earthquake was based on the foreshock sequence mostly but in other cases this approach can be ineffective.
Though the researchers working on the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment did not manage to predict the accurate date of the earthquake, the research results were valuable for developing complex models and methodologies for short-term prediction of earthquakes and reducing the hazards of the seismic activity.
The problem, sequence of events
The Parkfield earthquake which took place on 28 September 2004 is recognized as the best recorded seismic event till the present moment. In the frames of the prolonged Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment, the data was collected and stored by geologic, seismic, magnetic and other networks, allowing the researchers to consider a wide range of parameters which were especially important for more comprehensive understanding of physics of earthquake and developing a complex model for short-term earthquake prediction.
The San Andreas Fault (SAF) has been monitored by the US Geological Survey (USGS) since 1985 (Roeloffs 1226). The major goals of this monitoring include watching the fault behavior for predicting a moderate earthquake as its culmination and recording the seismic rupture and earthquake effects in general. After the earthquake did not occur before 1993 as it was initially predicted, the probabilities of occurrence of the earthquake in the region have been reevaluated.
With the uncertainty of the occurrence of the next Parkfield earthquake and the discouragement caused by the failure of the first predictions, the budget of the project was cut and the officials even raised the question of reasoning for continuing the experiment. Still, the experiment continued and became a significant contribution to the development of earthquake studies and the seismic hazards reduction strategies.
The microearthquakes which usually precede the main earthquake event are defined as foreshocks, and these seismic events have been monitored in the Parkfield. These observations became the basis for further work on the experiment, proving the high level of probability of occurrence of the moderate earthquake.
The picture of background seismicity has proven that the ruptures in the fault zone have a significant impact on the SAF’s behavior and are responsible for controlling it. The fault zone fluids are an important aspect which is crucial for monitoring the seismic events in the fault zone. “It has been hypothesized that high fluid pressure in the fault zone is the mechanism that reduces the frictional strength of the fault zone, and that time variations in fluid pressure control the timing of earthquakes” (Roeffols 1229).
Considering the fact that the seismicity patterns can be dependent upon the pressure in fault-zone fluids, appropriate measurements of the pressure in these fluids have been incorporated in the monitoring plans. The increase in seismicity has been monitored since October 1992 in the area of the 1966 Parkfield earthquake. A wide range of possible pre-earthquake signals have been detected since 1992, including the magnetic field variations and other seismic changes which can be regarded as possible precursors of the earthquake.
The aftershocks of the earthquake are also important sources of information which can be valuable for enhancing understanding of the physics of the earthquake and developing new strategies for short-term earthquake prediction. The data on the aftershocks of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake is one of the most significant results of the experiment under analysis (Shcherbakov 383).
The information on the reoccurrence of the aftershocks of the Parkfield main seismic shock can be used as a model for monitoring the release of the earthquake consequences and the changes caused by the increased seismic activity in the region (Figure 1). The fact that the earthquake did not occur in 1993 as it was initially predicted does not diminish the value of the experiment and the value of its results for the geophysical science and the sphere of public affairs cannot be underestimated.
The choice of the relatively narrow window for predicting the Parkfield earthquake resulted in the misconception that after the time window closed and prediction did not come true, the experiment failed.
It is significant that the mission of the experiment was no limited to the prediction of a single seismic event but was broadened to the development of the instrumental pattern and short-term prediction strategies and procedures in general. “The scientific community views it [Parkfield experiment] not only as a short-term prediction experiment but also as an effort to trap a moderate earthquake within a densely instrumented network” (Mulargia and Geller 306).
The occurrence of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake has proven that the decision to continue the experiment notwithstanding the seeming failure of the experiment.
Causes and impacts of the problem
The Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment and the 2004 Parkfield earthquake have proven that the existing seismic studies and methodologies are insufficient for developing effective short-term prediction strategies and reducing the hazards of seismic events. The main causes of the problems of the experiment were rooted in the lack of knowledge of the past earthquakes and the inconsistencies in the existing methodologies and instrumentation patterns for monitoring the associated phenomena.
The short-term prediction of the 28 September 2004 earthquake was complicated with a number of technical details and the peculiarities of the M 6 earthquake itself. The time- and slip-predictable models were ineffective for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake and this fact has proven one more time that predicting the timing and locations of the moderate earthquakes is problematic.
Another significant difficulty is the absence of detectable short-term precursors for the occurrence of M 6 earthquakes. Despite the prolonged observations of the seismic activity and ruptures in the San Andreas fault zone, the accurate prediction of time and location of the main shock event was complicated with the segmentation of the fault which became a hindrance for developing a single seismic model and concentrating on it.
The researchers team was to dissipate their efforts, monitoring numerous locations of possible main seismic event and unable to focus their attention on one of them. The 2004 Parkfield earthquake did not cause any fatalities or injuries only because it occurred in a sparsely populated region (Harris and Arrowsmith 1).
The majority of the mechanical models of earthquakes point at the importance of the energy budget and releases which play an important role in the development of the seismic activity and need to be taken into consideration while monitoring the ruptures. Considering the fact that in the San Andreas fault zone a part of energy was released aseismically, in other words, without creating any seismic waves (Harris and Arrowsmith 3).
This circumstance complicated the monitoring procedures significantly and became one of the hurdles for the successful prediction of the timing and location of the Parkfield earthquake. The transient slip is regarded as another factor affecting the probability of occurrence of earthquake in particular area because it can be consistent with the reduction of stress in the zones with the increased seismic activity.
Thus, the nucleation of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake in the area of Gold Hill can be explained with the slips and reduction of stress in the zones of the 1934 and 1966 earthquakes (Murray and Segall 12). It shows that monitoring of the areas of the past earthquakes and the postshocks can be beneficial for more accurate prediction of future seismic events.
As to the consequences of the 2004 Parkfield M6 earthquake, the observations of the displacements of the surface in the following two years play an important role in the whole experiment. The monitoring of the processes in the state of the Central California lithosphere is crucial for establishing the cause-and-effect relations between the events and considering the afterslip as an important part of the postseismic mechanism.
The observations show that the afterslip is widely spread along the Parkfield rupture with some concentration in the area of the earthquake epicenter (Freed 5). These postseismic changes were so small that could not change the behaviour of the postseismic mechanism while the distribution of the afterslip gas not altered in the course of time and are not characterized with seismic activity.
Remedial action that was taken to reduce the problem
The organization of the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment was a preventative measure imposed for predicting and reducing the seismic hazards and exploring the earthquake processes for contributing to geological knowledge.
Though the researchers working on the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment did not manage to predict the accurate time and location of the seismic event, the results of the study were valuable for the development of the geological instrumentation patterns and exploration models for developing the short-term earthquake prediction strategies in future.
The decision to continue the research of the behavior of the Parkfield rupture even after the time window closed in 1993 and the initial forecast did not come true was beneficial and allowed watching the events which preceded and followed the 2004 Earthquake.
Viewing the seismic activity events by using various instrumentation patterns and considering the additional factors which have indirect impact on the seismic activity was important for watching the earthquake in its development and making appropriate conclusions for analyzing its mechanism and evaluating possible hazards of the main shock as well as the long-term consequences for the lithosphere of the central California in general.
Along with the segmentation of the Parkfield rupture, the difficulties with monitoring the foreshock events preceding the M6 earthquake became a significant hurdle for making an accurate short-term prediction.
Disregarding all the criticism of the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment, its results cannot be regarded as failure. The lack of accuracy in predicting the time and location of the main seismic event was preconditioned with the current level of geological and geophysical knowledge, the lack of data on the previous earthquakes in the area and inability to make some of the necessary measurements for taking into account the wide range of the factors which influence the mechanism of the seismic event.
Considering the difficulties with conducting some of the measurements, the laboratory experiments were also included into the program of the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment.
For example, the transient magnetic pulsation experiments were incorporated into the program and the pattern of pulsations was valuable for predicting the size of the earthquake (Bleier 1975). Along with the correlation of magnetic pulsations, the sequence of the air conductivity and Infra Red anomalous phenomena are defined as the pre-earthquake signals.
Though this model did not aid the researchers in making the accurate short-term prediction, these observations and the results of the experiment became a valuable contribution to the development of seismologic science and the development of the strategies for making more accurate forecasts. It is significant that the experiment was not finished after the mainshock event occurred in 2004, allowing the researchers to monitor the post-earthquake events and observe the seismicity in the area of San Andreas Fault.
A new three-dimensional model was used for measuring the compressional wavespeed of the post-earthquake events for making further forecasts and enhancing the accuracy of the predictions by taking advantages from the collected data and taking into account the public significance of the accurate prediction and taking the appropriate preventative measures (Thurber 49).
The results of the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment were valuable for monitoring the state of the lithosphere of the central California in general and the processes in San Andreas Fault in particular. Though the researchers’ team did not manage to make an accurate prediction of the space and timing of the 2004 Parkfield Earthquake, the study became a significant step forward on the way to the short-term earthquake prediction.
Conclusion
The researchers working on the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment made a significant contribution to the development of the seismic studies. The prolonged experiment allowed not only collecting valuable data on the seismic patterns in San Andreas Fault but also implementing the innovative models for monitoring the earthquakes, enhancing understanding of the physics of the seismic events and developing the effective short-term prediction strategies.
The failure of the initial prediction of the researchers, according to which the earthquake was expected before 1993, could be regarded as a blessing in disguise because it drew the public attention to the numerous factors which can complicate the successful implementation of the prediction strategy.
Works Cited
Bleier, Thomas et al. “Correlation of Pre-Earthquake Electromagnetic Signals with Laboratory and Field Rock Experiments”. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 20 August 2010: 1965-1975. Print.
Freed, Andrew. Afterslip (and Only Afterslip) Following the 2004 Parkfield, California, Earthquake. Geophysical Research Letters March 2007: 1-5. Web.
Harris, Ruth and Ramon Arrowsmith. “Introduction to the Special Issue on the 2004 Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment”. Bulletin of Seismological Society of America Sept. 2006: S1-S10. Print.
Kanamori, Hiroo. “Earthquake Prediction: An Overview”. International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology 2003: 1205-1216. Print.
Mulgaria, Francesco and Robert Geller (eds.) Earthquake Science and Seismic Risk Reduction. Norwell: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. Print.
Murray, Jessica and Paul Segall. “Spatiotemporal Evolution of a Transient Slip Event on the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, California”. Journal of Geophysical Research Sept. 2005: 1-12. Web.
Roeloffs, Evelyn. “The Parkfield, California Earthquake Experiment: An Update in 2000”. Current Science 10 Nov. 2000: 1226-1236. Print.
Shcherbakov, Robert, Donald Turcotte and John Rundle. Scaling Properties of the Parkfield Aftershock Sequence. Bulletin of Seismological Society of America Sept. 2006: S376-S384.
Thurber, Clifford et al. “Three-Dimensional Compressional Wavespeed Model, Earthquake Relocations, and Focal Mechanisms for the Parkfield, California Region”. Bulletin of Seismological Society of America Sept. 2006: S38-S49. Print.
“The Parkfield, California, Earthquake Experiment”. USGS: Science for a Changing World Website. Web.
Figure 1 (Adapted from Shcherbakov S377)
The spatial distribution of aftershock events which occurred after the 2004 Parkfield earthquake.
Figure 2 (Adapted from Harris and Arrowsmith 4)
The instrumentation which was used for monitoring the Parkfield area during the experiment
