‘Natural Disasters’ Archives
Predicting Earthquakes
Predicting Earthquakes In spite of the fact that we know now exactly what causes earthquakes, their sudden, repetative appearance is as disturbing as the former ignorance of causes, so the quest to be able to predict their arrival has become a central interest of geologists. In fact, from earliest times, alongside the fanciful reasons for the [...]
Messina Earthquake
Messina Earthquake The most destructive earthquake in modern European history struck the port city of Messina in Sicily, Italy, at 5:25 a.m. on December 28, 1908. The earthquake was estimated to have been 7.5 on the Richter scale and came in a series of shocks ranging from 10 to 45 seconds in duration—the main shock lasting for about 30 [...]
Deep-focus Earthquake
Deep-focus Earthquake An earthquake with a depth of focus from 186–435 miles (300–700 km). Normally, the depth of earthquake foci range from zero to approximately nine miles (15 km). Below that, faults undergo ductile deformation which is aseismic. The main reason that the faults are ductile and aseismic is the increase in temperature with [...]
Teletsunami
Teletsunami In contrast to a local tsunami, a teletsunami can cross an entire ocean basin and still have enough energy to be recognized. Tsunamis are generated with a certain amount of energy. They travel at high velocity and only grow into large waves as they come into a coast. Most tsunamis attenuate so fast that they are only [...]
Lake Okeechobee Hurricane
Lake Okeechobee Hurricane (September 16, 1928) This deadly hurricane with its 150 mph winds and wall of water caused the deaths of 2,500 in Florida and overall a death toll of 4,075 The hurricane San Felipe Segundo, named after the saint’s day on which it did so much damage to Puerto Rico, but better known as the Okeechobee Hurricane, was the [...]
How Earthquakes Kill
How Earthquakes Kill The extent of destruction from an earthquake depends on several factors: Magnitude and Intensity Earthquake magnitude refers to how much energy the earthquake released. Magnitude is not always proportional to damage. Under some conditions, such as high population density in the affected area, a relatively minor [...]
Santorini
Santorini caldera, Greece Located on the island of Thira (formerly known as Thera), Santorini was the site of the catastrophic explosion that destroyed the Minoan civilization and much of the island around 1470 b.c. and is thought to have given rise to the myth of Atlantis. During some 2,000 years following that eruption, a dome complex emerged [...]
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), agency of the United States government that helps anticipate, prepare for, and respond to disasters and major civil emergencies. FEMA’s main function is to coordinate federal disaster relief activities for events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, [...]
ShakeMap
ShakeMap ShakeMap is a new tool developed for earthquake response in urban areas that is only available in California at this point. When an earthquake strikes, emergency management personnel must quickly decide where to concentrate their meager resources to best address the disaster. An overwhelming amount of information on damage is received [...]
Pompeii and Herculaneum
Pompeii and Herculaneum Two of the most famous cities in the history of volcanology, the Roman communities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius in a.d. 79. The destruction of the two cities has provided a popular theme for authors, notably Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his novel The Last Days of Pompeii. Bulwer-Lytton [...]
