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Avalanches
A hydrological type of natural disaster caused by forces on top of a hill or
slope that are too heavy for its foundation, melting from solar radiation, rain, icefall,
rock fall, or earthquakes. It contains air and snow but can accumulate ice, rocks, or
anything along its path.
Most common in the 24 hours right after a storm dumps 12 inches or more of
fresh snow and can reach speeds up to 80 mph within 5 seconds and kill more than
150 people worldwide each year, mostly skiers and snowboarders
Types of Avalanche:
1. Loose Snow
Also known as sluffs, are common in steep terrains and occur in snow that
has just fallen or in old surface snow moistened by heavy solar radiation. It starts at
the point of the slope and widens as it travels downhill.
2. Wet Snow
This type of avalanche is triggered by loose snow releases and consists of
water and snow. It is low in velocity suspension but can also cause great damage
because of the combined mass and large density of water. It occurs usually at the
end of winter season.
3. Powder Snow
It is a cloud of powder that lies over a dense avalanche (wet snow
avalanche). It moves faster than 300 kph carrying a mass of 10M tones and can
travel long distances on a flat surface for a short time.
4. Slab
Slabs are formed when snow is deposited or redeposited by wind. It looks like
a block of snow cut out from its environment by fractures. This type of avalanche
causes 90 % of avalanche-related fatalities.
Earthquake
A sudden movement caused by the breaking and moving of the rock in the
earths crust as it releases strained energy. It occurs at fault zones, where tectonic
plates giant rock slabs that make up the Earths upper layer collide or slide
against each other.
Types of shock:
1. Foreshock
These are shocks of smaller magnitude that occur before the main shock.
2. Main shock
Also known as the main earthquake, it has the largest magnitude in a series
of earthquakes.
3. Aftershock
These are shocks of smaller magnitude that occur after the main shock
Foreshocks and aftershocks can occur for days, weeks and months of a main
earthquake. It can also occur for years as long as it happens at the same area of the
main earthquake. Types of shocks can be replaced or interchanged depending on
the magnitude and the time that a certain earthquake happened.
For example, a certain place experienced an earthquake of magnitude 3.0,
after a few hours, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 occurred at the same place, then
two other earthquakes of magnitudes 5.0, 2.0, and 3.0 follow. Therefore, the
foreshock is the very first earthquake with magnitude 3.0; the main shock is the one
with a magnitude of 7.0, since it is the highest; and the aftershocks are the three
earthquakes that followed after the main shock because they have lower
magnitudes. But if another earthquake of magnitude 8.5 happened right after the
magnitude 7.0 earthquake, then the foreshocks will be changed to the earthquakes
of magnitudes 3.0 and 7.0 while the 8.0 magnitude will then become the main
shock.
Terms related to earthquakes:
O Tectonic Plates
These are huge layers that make up the earths upper layers. Tectonic plates
continually stretch, move, slide, and collide against each other and are about 80
to 400 km thick.
O Faults
These are weak lines that can develop in the plates, usually on the surface of
the earth.
Types of Faults:
1. Divergent
Continental plates are forced apart from each other. It allows the crust
to sink as it forms a rift zone or rift valley.
2. Convergent
One plate is forced over another plate during movement. It forces rock
layers to fold and pile up into mountain ranges.
3. Strike-Slip
Also known as transform, wherein plates slip by each other and is more
destructive to mankind because of its nearer focus.
O Hypocenter
It is a location below the earths surface where the earthquake starts.
O Epicenter
It is a location directly above the hypocenter on the surface of the earth.
Measurement of Earthquakes:
1. Seismographs
It is a device that scientists use to record amplitude, frequency and duration
of seismic waves, vibrations from earthquakes that travel through earth.
2. Richter Scale
It is a scale or measure that is used to compare earthquakes, where each
level is 10 times stronger than the previous level. In this scale, earthquakes of
magnitudes 1.0 to 4.0 are described as small, 5.0 to 6.0 as moderate, 7.0 as major,
8.0 to 9.0 as great, and 10.0 are super.
Some 81% of the planets earthquakes occur along the rim of the Pacific
Ocean called the Ring of Fire where many volcanic activities occur for it contains
452 volcanoes. The Ring of Fire is a 25000 mile horseshoe shape and causes a
spontaneous series of faults, volcanic arcs, belts, plate movements and oceanic
trenches.
Types of Earthquake Waves:
1. Primary
Also known as compressional waves and P-wave, its vibrations are along the
same direction as the direction of travel. These waves are longitudinal in nature and
travel faster than S-waves.
2. Secondary
Also known as transverse waves and S-wave, its vibrations are perpendicular
to the direction of travel such as water waves.
Types of Earthquake:
1. Tectonic
Tectonic Earthquakes occur when the earth's crust breaks due to geological
forces on rocks and adjoining plates that cause physical and chemical changes.
2. Volcanic
These are any earthquake that results from tectonic forces which occur in
conjunction with volcanic activity.
3. Collapse
These are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines that are
caused by seismic waves produced from the explosion of rock on the surface.
4. Explosion
Earthquakes of this type are the result of the detonation of a nuclear and/or
chemical device.
Epicenter was 130 km off the east coast Oshika Peninsula of Thoku
near Sendai
more recent eruption has since created another island called Anak
Kratatau (child of Krakatau).
O Vesuvius (AD79)
-
The cities were never rebuilt and lay forgotten under layers of ash and
pumice until they were accidentally discovered more than 1,500 years
later.
The excavation of the two cities well-preserved due to the lack of air
and moisture they were exposed to under the ash has since provided
the modern world with incredible insight into what life was like during
the Roman Empire.
The government at the time was criticised for failing to handle relief
efforts and protests led to its defeat in the national elections a month
later.
November 3, 2013
Guiuan in Eastern Samar was the point of Haiyan's first landfall, and
was severely affected due to the typhoon's impacts
Around 40-50 inches of snow fell in parts of New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut, completely paralyzing the East Coast. All rail and road
transport ground to a halt and took days to clear.
It is believed that the storm is one of the main reasons the Americans
created the first underground subway system in Boston, which opened
nine years later. Similarly, following the storm New York began placing
telegraph and telephone infrastructure underground to protect them in
the event of future storms.
infected 500 million people across the world, including remote Pacific
islands and the Arctic, and killed 50 to 100 million of themthree to
five percent of the world's populationmaking it one of the deadliest
natural disasters in human history
1348 - 1351
it was the second plague pandemic of the Middle Ages, next only to the
Justinian plague in the 6th century
QUESTIONS:
By Maam Yesh
1. For example, you were caught in an avalanche, how many hours can you survive?
Stats show that 93% survive within 15 minutes. After 45 minutes, 20 to
30%of victims are alive when rescued; then, after 2 hours, only very few people
survive.
2. What are the sicknesses that you may develop when caught in an avalanche?
When caught in an avalanche, a person is exposed to severe cold
environment which may cause a potentially dangerous drop in body temperature
called hypothermia. Also, due to the heavy mass of snow, sometimes combined with
water, the person may experience suffocation or the inability to breathe.
By blockmates
1. Can humans cause earthquakes?
People can cause earthquakes is partially a fact. The injection of fluids into
deep wells for waste disposal can cause minor earthquakes, same goes for deep
mining and nuclear testing that cause small quakes in the immediate area
surrounding the test site. But earthquakes are a natural part of the global tectonic
process that generally occurs well beyond the control and influence of humans.
2. Can animals really predict earthquakes because of foreshocks?
No. Changes in animal behavior cannot be used to predict earthquakes, they
just have finely tuned senses and can often feel the earthquake at its earliest stages
before humans around it can but that does not mean that they can predict an
eathquake and it is not because of foreshock, which are earthquakes that already
happened but in lower magnitude than the main earthquake.
REFERENCES
www.basicplanet.com
www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0775896.html
environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment
eschooltoday.com/natural-disasters
list25.com/25-worst-natural-disasters-recorded
earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/megaqk_facts_fantasy.php