Essay/Term paper: Earthquakes

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Humanities

Earthquake San Francisco- 1906 On the morning 12 past

5:00 San Francisco suffered a major earthquake that killed

3000 people, the earthquake lasted for about 40 seconds

and was recorded at 8.3 on the Richter Scale. People ran

from there houses and some stayed inside the buildings and

were crushed. The people who ran in the streets were killed

by toppled buildings falling from above. There fire

department was efficient but the water pipes that go down

the San Andreas Fault were severed. The fire could not be

stopped because there were now water until the next couple

of days. Gas mains blew and caused massive fires all around

the city. The city was in the middle of a great economic

boom and almost all was lost on that day. The old buildings

were never made to withstand earthquakes and easily

crumbled and fell crushed people. Some sailers on the coast

tried to leave but the waves flew the boats around like toys.

The buildings were made out of unreined forced brick or

wood which couldn't withstand a earthquake of that

magnitude. After the earthquake, they noticed that the San

Andreas Fault shifted a 250-mile long section witch tore

roads and fences. Rivers, roads and power lines were

severed and not aligned with its surroundings. A road across

the fault ended up 21 feet north of the road to the east same

with the rivers and creeks. The earthquake's most damage

were in Los Bonas 30km east of the fault yet there was little

damage along towns to the east side of San Francisco Bay

such as Berkely, 25km east of the fault. And the capital of

California Sacramento that was 120km east of the rupture

showed no damage. Scientists found out that the earthquake

originated north of Oregon and south to Los Angeles a total

of 1170 Km. Knowing now that buildings could not

withstand a earthquake with unreiforced brick, the new San

Francisco would have buildings that can handle major

earthquakes by constructing them so that they sway back

and fourth rather than just simply crumbling to the ground

killing people. The San Andreas fault is formed by the

Pacific plate sliding north and the North American plate

running South. The two slide together caused the

earthquake. The most recent earthquake in that area today,

was in 1990 in San Francisco which measured around 8.3

on the richter scale but it wasn't a bad as the one in 1906.