Week Three: Earhtquakes.

The country I am researching is El Salvador. My country does not lay on one specific tectonic plate but it does have a complex system of plates overriding that are the main cause for it being close to one of the most seismic zones in the world (Article1). This is the reason that this country experiences so many earthquakes. The map below illustrates the impact that the seismic activity has on this country.





  As noted above the fact that the Caribbean plate is overriding the Coco's which both create subduction zones that produce numerous Earthquakes. The Caribbean plate creates Shallow intraplate earthquakes in the earth’s crust, when it is overriding the Cocos plate. On the other hand the Cocos plate produces intraplate earthquakes but at a deeper level in the earth when the plates is sub ducting under the Caribbean plate (Article2).  The largest earthquake in the country’s history sequence actually occurred in 2001 which was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Since then the country has recognized that they are in a vulnerable area and are susceptible to natural hazards and earthquakes. They have actually taken measures to make sure that the safety of their people are a top priority. For example, the implementation of disaster risk management development plan to make sure that they have the necessary funds available to render aid to the people effected. Another example is the implementation of public risk and mitigation to teach the people about safety against natural disasters (Article3). Furthermore, the increase in seismic, hydrological meteorological monitoring stations from 95 to 267. Ultimately, this will help them curve future human casualties and infrastructure loss as well as make them stronger as a whole.

Works Cited:

1.       http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Earthquake2001ElSalvador.html

2.      http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/2001/2001_02_13.php

3.      http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2015/09/22/better-disaster-risk-management-for-el-salvador.print

Earth and plate tectonics.

Week Two: Earth and Plate Tectonics.

     In this week’s reading we learned how the minerals in the earth’s crust effect different tectonic plates that are ultimately responsible for some of the most devastating natural hazards. The country that I am researching is El Salvador. This week I was able to learn that it inside the Carribean Plate but it is actually closer to the Coco’s plate. El Salvador is in a transform boundary and that means that the plates move side by side and past each other (pg. 32 Keller). This does not destroy or create the earth’s crust but is the major reason for all of their earthquakes (pg.36 Keller). Furthermore, the fact that they are located in the ring of fire is also a main contributor to their natural hazards.

Works Cited: Keller, A. Edwards, Blodgett, H. Robert. Earths Process as Hazards, and Catastrophes. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson, 2012. Print.

First Feed.

After reading the summary about natural hazards, disasters and catastrophes . I was able to understand that a natural hazard is cause by internal events in the earths core and that produce a life threatening situation for human life. Some examples of this are volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The major difference between a hazard and disaster or catastrophe, is the difference in the casualty ratio per event. This means that if there are no deaths a hazardous event can occur multiple times and stay as  just an event that could have been dangerous. A disaster is labeled as such when it: causes ten or more deaths, is a threat to 100 or more people or is declared a state of emergency. The final example is a catastrophe which is categorized as a massive disaster that requires large amounts of financial assistant to recover and spans over a length of multiple years. The country I chose is not very big but it has experienced multiple natural hazards. For example, they experienced a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in 2001 that killed 315 people and at least 3,399 other people were injured. Furthermore, the damage on the homes were reported to be about 45,000 in total.