Have you ever witnessed an Earthquake? What do you imagine? Many people have survived earthquakes, even the most devastating ones, like the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
There was an earthquake in 2010, near Port-au Prince, Haiti. Haiti is one of the poorest countries, and the death toll reached 250,000. The magnitude of the earthquake was a horrifying 7.0. One of the survivors, Emmannuel Buso, who was 21 at the time, had been trapped inside his house during the quake. He recalls that “I felt the house dancing around me, I did not know if I was up or down.” He had passed out in the rubble during the quake. So you can see how this might be frightening and overwhelming. He also stated that “I am here today because God wants it.”
The worst earthquake to ever be recorded occurred on May 22, 1960, near Valdivia, in Southern Chile, it is known as the “Great Chilean Earthquake,’ according to Ian Deterline. Paulina Fernandez from Santiago, Chile states her account of this huge earthquake, in an interview she stated that, “If you have never witnessed an earthquake, as we had not, they are terrifying. Negotiating a staircase like a gangplank on a lurching ship, to a cacophony of falling objects and shattering glass. Going out into a garden is like walking on a waterbed. Rumbling, cracking, everything swaying. Petrified neighbors. Then silence. Nothing moving. Yet nothing really brings it home like seeing the pictures on television. Then there’s the clearing up; picking over debris, trying not to be upset over smashed treasures. After all, they are only things.” You can tell by the way Paulina accounts of this tragedy, how scary it was.
127 our experts are availableright now
Earthquakes power is based on their magnitude, ranging from 2.5 or less to 8.0 or higher. The strongest one ever recorded was a 9.5 and seismologists believe there are no faults long enough to cause an earthquake with a magnitude of 10.
Many things happen during an Earthquake, but what does it feel like? Smell, sound? What does it look like even? To fully explain this, I need to explain what an earthquake is precisely. An earthquake is a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, and it often can cause mass destruction and death. It is the result of movement in Earthś crust, and some volcanic action can also cause it.
When an earthquake happens what do you imagine? If you are caught in an earthquake, you should understand what it is going to feel like. There are a few different types, there´s the sudden jolting kind that makes you think that maybe something hit your house there´s the rocking kind that makes you think the whole Earth is moving and there is the type when youŕe on a cruise and the water is choppy, it stops and then starts again and again, repeatedly. When an earthquake happens, the scent of smoke might be evident, the dusty air? These are all things that you would smell.
When there is a violent earthquake, you will often see buildings caved in, houses and their structures collapsed with wood has broken shooting up around it, and even cars that have either been abandoned or crashed. It will be mayhem. The more gentle ones may cause your car to slow down or maybe things will slide off of counters and shelves. Your furniture might even fall over but chances are the whole house will not go down completely. What does it sound like though? If you are inside a house, you will probably hear shattering, car alarms outside. If you go outside you will hear car alarms that are more evident, you will hear sirens, screaming, if people are running around outside.
How can you prepare for an earthquake? Keep a sturdy pair of shoes canned foods and bottled waters will be helpful. A bag with some necessities like this and extra clothing will help you survive significantly. I recommend you keep this is an amount significant enough to keep you alive for at least two weeks. You do not know when they will hit and how extreme they may be. You also do not know how long power, water, and telephones will be out. You need to prepare for any unexpected earthquake that might happen, especially if you live near a very active and strong fault, like the San Andreas Fault. If you do not live anywhere close to where a fault would be, then you might not have to worry, but it is much better to be safe rather than being sorry. Preparation might be the thing that keeps you alive.
