Natural Disasters Around the World
Anna s,Amanda h,Gen h, Grace p.
Introduction
In this article lots of things will be discussed. We will explain how and why an earthquake takes place and what happens to the earth when this processes takes place. We will learn the different plate boundaries and what sorts of things take place with certain boundaries. We will see the horrific result of these natural disasters and just what people are put through during these hard times in history. We will also discuss volcanic eruptions and why and how they take place. We will see the devastation caused by these things. Also we will see just what scientists do to prepare for these events and the tools that are being used.
Alaska by Gen H.
The reason people decide to live there is because of the beautiful landscape. There is so much to see and do. There are a lot of forests and mountains. Another reason people might live there is because of the weather. The climate is very good for being in alaska. during the summer the temperature is very mild and in the winter it is moderate. Another reason is it is a very small place so people in that community are very close and have a bond.
Why earthquakes and volcanoes happen in Alaska are because of The Pacific Plate and The North American Plate. They are both convergent boundaries and they cause earthquakes and volcanoes by pressure, friction, plate metal melting in the mantle. In a subduction zone the subducting plate which is usually the oceanic plate moves against the other plate causing a collision.
Why It’s dangerous to live there is because it is prone to lots of rain which can led to lots of floods. It is also one huge spot for volcanoes to take place and erupt. It has lots of earthquakes and is very active over there. It is home to two of the most common tectonic plates. One of the largest earthquakes took place in 1964 and caused over 139 deaths. The damage was estimated to have cost $311 million. It suffered severe tsunamis causing 74 houses to come down. The magnitude ranged at about 9.2. The largest volcanic eruption was in 1912 and ranged at a 6.2 on the VEI Scale. The eruption itself lasted a total of 60 hours and expelled about 13 to 15 Kilometers.
Mexico city By Amanda H.
Welcoming Mexico City
There are many different reasons as to why people live in Mexico City. It’s also a great place to go on vacation. Here's why, there are plenty of landmarks, monuments, and cool buildings to see. You won’t ever have nothing to do. Having many restaurants in Mexico City, you could go out to eat at a different place every night. This makes it more interesting because you get to know your way around the area better, and you are able to try new foods. One last good reason to go to Mexico City for vacation or to live there is, the weather. The weather is beautiful year round. During the winter it will be 70 degrees. Whereas in other states it will be in the negatives. So in the winter you would be able to go to an outdoor pool and not freeze to death. That sounds wonderful.
Disasters of Mexico City
Mexico City sits on two tectonic plates, the North American Plate, and the Cocos Plate. The two plates are moving closer to each other. When they crash into each other it creates a subduction zone. A subduction zone is called a convergent boundary. Convergent boundaries are the most dangerous out of the three types of boundaries. A convergent boundary is when two plates push into each other. Subduction zones can occur during a convergent boundary as well. Once a subduction zone occurs one plate overlaps the other one making the ground shake, and rocks break. The breaking of the rocks is what causing the earthquake to happen. Also when the two tectonic plates push together, it can create mountains ranges and hills. Which is how we have our mountains and hills today. Volcanoes can also be caused by a subduction zone too. Lava comes up out of the ground. After cooling down it hardens. If more lava were to flow up to the surface it would go over the lump of already hardened lava. Pretty soon the lava will build up until you have a giant hill. Which is called a volcano. Mount Mecca is one of the highest peaks in Mexico City. It was made by two tectonic plates pushing against each other. As the plates pushed against each other the rocks could no longer stand the stress put on them. The rocks have broken, which is causing them to build up. The pile keeps growing and growing until you have a mountain.
Unstable Mexico City
Chile By Anna S.
Charming Chile
Chile a beautiful and wonderful place not only to visit, but also to live in. It borders the Pacific Ocean for all those beach lovers and also has the Andes Mountain Range for all the hikers. The Chilean people are very friendly, peaceful, and always willing to help. The health insurance is very low priced but is just as good, if not better, than the health insurance in many other countries. Work here is thriving, for example, Chile leads the world in mining copper. The culture here is so lively, especially in the cities. Entertainment here isn’t hard to find. It isn’t just a wonderful place because of the cultural thing it has to offer, Chile also has a very good education system.
Tectonic Plates
This South American country may be beautiful but, it has lots of tectonic activity.Chile is located on the Nazca Plate which happens to be a subductions zone or convergent. When plates are Convergent that means that they push against each other. As they push against each other the smaller or weaker plate usually slips under the bigger and stronger plate, so that they are overlapping. Although, it usually takes many years before they are overlapping because they push against each other very slowly. The way that this plate causes earthquakes and volcanoes is when the Nazca plate pushes against South America is causes earthquakes and volcanoes. When the plates are pushing and squeezing against each other, it causes the center of the rock to become stressed, which then causes the rock to break apart. This force can also make rocks push together or make the edges of each plate colliding to rise. An example of this would be the Andes Mountains, they were caused due to compression.
Beautiful Disasters
All of the tectonic plate activity makes Chile a very dangerous place. Earthquakes occur almost weekly here, the largest magnitude earthquake to ever occur here was rated a 9.5 on the richter scale. This enormous earthquake killed 5,000 people and injured many. Besides that large earthquake Chile has had many more major earthquakes. These include 7.6, 8.5, 8.8, 9.2, and the most recent one was in September and had a richter rating of 8.3. Volcanic eruptions here usually happen every few years, which is a pretty active volcano. The largest volcanic eruption had a VEI rating of 3 and killed around 100 people.Chile is at a very high risk of Tsunamis because they border the Pacific Ocean and they have an elevation of 13,000 feet. Just in September they had an 8.3 magnitude earthquake that caused a Tsunami to occur. Another Tsunami was triggered in 1960 after many large magnitude earthquakes. All this evidence goes to show just how dangerous Chile really is, you would be putting yourself in a lot of danger if you went to live there.
Conclusion
These countries all have one thing in common, they are beautifully dangerous. In this article we have learned how often volcanoes, earthquakes, and Tsunamis happen in these countries. The strongest earthquakes and volcanoes ever to occur. How at risk they are of Tsunamis because of their elevation and how close there are to the ocean. Finally, how and why these disasters happen due to the tectonic placement and whether or not they are a hotspot. All this has come to show just how dangerous it is to live in these counties.
Work Cited
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"Mexico - Earthquakes." Mexico - Earthquakes. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.
"Mexico City - Lonely Planet." Lonely Planet. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.
"Mexico City Tourism: Best of Mexico City, Mexico - TripAdvisor." Mexico City Tourism: Best of Mexico City, Mexico - TripAdvisor. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.
"Today in Earthquake History: Mexico City 1985." Seismo Blog. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.
"The Unusual Case of the Mexican Subduction Zone." The Unusual Case of the Mexican Subduction Zone. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.
"Which Tectonic Plates Affect Mexico?" GeoMexico the Geography of Mexico. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.
The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
"1960 Chilean Tsunami." 1960 Chilean Tsunami. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
"Chile Earthquake: 8.3-magnitude Quake Strikes off Coast - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Video, Telegraph. "Drone Captures Aftermath of Tsunami in Chile." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
"From Greenville to Santiago: Why I Left the United States for Chile." The Stateless Man. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.
Japan Grace p.
Japan, Why do people live there if they're in danger? Well the manga and anime stores are lovely and wide, any anime they need one or more store(s) in Japan is bound to have it. Another reason is at night from a tall building they can see the city bright magnificent lights shine bright like the stars. And the third reason is the japanese culture, the food is really great and unusual, the language is beautiful, it’s a nice place in general.
As everyone can see, Japan is relatively close to China,N.Korea,S.Korea, and Russia but it is it’s own island, so it is in danger of tsunamis,earthquakes, and tidal waves. Here are its tectonic plates. As everyone can see it is connected to the Amurian and the Okhotsk plates. These plates cause the earthquakes and tsunamis. The Okhotsk plate subducts under the Amurian plate thus causing the earthquake.The plates constrict each other and move the earth.
Japan receives about 1000 earthquakes in a year people are use to it by now and half the time they aren't that bad. there little vibrations in the ground that no one notices anymore. There are 127.3 million people living in Japan. If the earthquake gets bad (Rarely happens) they know what to do.Every schoolchild in Japan will be familiar with earthquake drills in which alarms sound and children retreat under their desks to shelter from falling debris. The drills take place every month, with the children being taught to go head-first under the desk and cling to table legs until the quake is over. Japan has only Inactive volcanoes.