Unit 3- The Restless Earth: Earthquakes

Question 1

How are earthquakes formed?

Answer 1

Earthquakes are caused by friction and tension. if the earthquakes are severe, then they are formed at either destructive or conservative plate boundaries.
If not, the they are at other boundaries.

Question 2

Where are earthquakes usually found?

Answer 2

They are usually found on plate boundaries.

Question 3

What is the focus?

Answer 3

The focus is the exact point underground where the earthquake occurred.

Question 4

What is the epicentre?

Answer 4

The epicentre is the exact point where the earthquake occurred above ground.

Question 5

When did the Kobe Earthquake in Japan occur and what did it measure on the Richter scale?

Answer 5

The 17th January, 1995.

It measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.

Question 6

What boundary did the Kobe Earthquake occur? And what effects did it create in the ground?

Answer 6

It occurred at the destructive plate boundary, between the Phllippinian and Eurasian plate.
Because the shaking lasted for around 20 seconds, the ground moved 18cm horizontally and 12cm vertically.

Question 7

What was the population of Kobe before the earthquake?

Answer 7

1.5 million

Question 8

What were the short term effects of the Kobe Earthquakeb

Answer 8

• Around 6,434 people died.
• 40,000 people were injured.
• 200,000 buildings were destroyed.
• 2 million homes were destroyed.
• 1 million people were without food and water for 7 days.
• $220BN damage including the temporary closure of Panasonic.
• Elevated roads collapsed, damaging water pipes and mains electricity.
• 120/130 quays were destroyed.
• Fire engulfed parts of the city.

Question 9

What were the long term effects of the Kobe earthquake?

Answer 9

• Hospitals struggled to cope.
• Railways took 1 month to become 80% operational.
• Road networks took over 6 months to be restored.
• The economy suffered significantly.
• the Hangshin express railway began running in September 1996.
• Panasonic closed temporarily.

Question 10

What responses were made towards the Kobe earthquake?

Answer 10

• Major retailers such as the 7/11 helped provide essentials.
• Motorola maintained telephone connection free of charge.
• New buildings were built further apart to prevent the domino effect in the future.
• Rubber blocks were used in bridges to absorb shocks.

Question 11

When did the Haiti earthquake happen? What did it measure on the Richter scale?

Answer 11

10th January, 2010 at 16:53am and it measured 7 on the Richter scale.

Question 12

What was the focus and epicentre of the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 12

The focus was 13km below ground and the epicentre was 25km away from the capital, Port au Prince.

Question 13

What made the Haiti earthquake so disastrous?

Answer 13

In addition to the earthquake being 7 on the Richter scale, there were many after shocks which went up to 6 on the Richter scale.

Question 14

Which boundary did the Haiti earthquake occur?

Answer 14

It happened as a result of a conservative boundary between the North American and Caribbean plate. The plates moved 2cm a year, causing a build up of friction.

Question 15

What were the primary effects of the Haiti Earhtquake?

Answer 15

• 220,000 people died.
• 300,000 people were injured.
• 1.3 million people were displaced.
• 8 hospitals were badly damaged/ collapsed.
• 200,000 homes were damaged in Port au Prince.
• The main shipping port was damaged.
• 180,000 homes were destroyed.
• 2M people were affected.
• Main shipping port was damaged.
• Roads were blocked.
• Government buildings were damaged.
• 5,500 schools were damaged.

Question 16

What were the secondary effects of the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 16

• Over 2M people were left without food and water.
• The Haitian tourist industry collapsed as no tourists visited.
• There were frequent power cuts.
• The airports were damaged which prevented aid from coming into the country.
• The dead bodies in the street posed a potential hazard in the heat and many had to be buried in mass graves.
• Looting was a serious problem.
• The police force collapsed.
• Government Buildings collapsed hindering the control of the nation.
• By November 2010, there were outbreaks of cholera.
• $11.5 bn of damage will take 5-10 years to restore.

Question 17

What were short responses to the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 17

• Search and rescue.
• Sniffer dogs.
• Heat sensitive equipment
• Aid (food, water, medicine etc)
• Disasters Emergency Committee raised £100m.

Question 18

What were the long term responses to the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 18

• 75% of buildings were repaired.
• 200,000 people received cash and food for cleaning up the rubble.
• 1,000s moved away and even emigrated.
• The world bank pledged 100M to support reconstruction.
• World bank pledged 100M

Question 19

Why did Haiti suffer so much from the earthquake?

Answer 19

• It is an LEDC, therefore it doesn’t have the right resources to predict earthquakes or deal with the damages from it.
• It has too little doctors, hospitals and medical supplies to deal with injuries, meaning that people died of them.
• 80% of the people in Haiti earned less than a pound a day and therefore couldn’t afford to live in properly built houses.(which also means they simply fell and trapped people under them)

Question 20

Why were so many people killed in the Haiti Earthquake?

Answer 20

• The epicentre was only 25km away from the capital, which is very busy as many people are there fore jobs.
• The focus was not that deep, so not a lot of the vibrations were absorbed.

Question 21

What are Earthquakes?

Answer 21

Earthquakes are vibrations in the Earth’s crust caused by movements at plate boundaries and major fault lines.