Final Blog: Sam's Chile Blog
Week 17 Blog: Chile's most dangerous natural Disaster.
This week, the blog will talk
about what Chile's top two most common and destructive natural disasters are,
what my recommendations would be to help mitigate these problems, which area to
target for help first, and where I would build a house in order to be safest.
There are two disasters above
all others that Chile faces that cause more damage and death than the rest. The
two disasters I am talking about are Earthquakes and Tsunamis. They go hand in
hand, tsunamis are very commonly caused by earthquakes and when they do happen
together the damage they cause is massive. According to "Earthquakes in
Chile" Chile has an astounding "2 Million minor earthquakes every
year, about 18 major earthquakes, and 1 earthquake of a magnitude of 8 or
higher". The sheer volume of Chile’s earthquakes is unmatched, and so is their
destructive power. The most powerful earthquake in recorded history happened in
Chile. It is called the Valdivian Earthquake, it registered at a 9.5 on the
Richter scale. According to National Geographic, the earthquake was responsible
for " 2 million people
homeless, injured at least 3,000, and killed approximately 1,655. Adjusted for inflation, the economic damage totaled more than $2 billion." The
reason for all of these earthquakes is because Chile runs along a very active
fault line that is constantly shifting and releasing energy in the form of
earthquakes. The Nazca plate is the fault line that runs up the spine of Chile
and is the cause of its earthquakes and tsunamis. It is also responsible for
the beautiful Andes mountain range that runs up the country as well. There are
no real answers for earthquakes, there isn’t a way to prevent them or stop them
when they are happening, the only thing you can do is try and reduce their impact.
There are three ways in which you can do this: The first being having an up to
date, accurate, early warning system for your citizens, having a strict
building code that requires the latest earthquake-resistant technology, and
lastly, to build upon soil that is stable and is not in danger of subsiding if
a major quake does hit. The area that needs help the most and should get aid the
fastest are the cities on the coast as they are the ones subject to the most
danger. The soil in cities on the coast can be soft and dangerous because of
water seepage. Soft, loose soil can exponentially increase the damage an earthquake
causes, if there is a sound foundation, the earthquake has less of a chance of
destroying the building. The second danger of being on the coast is the threat
of tsunamis. If you live up in the mountains there is no real threat of tsunamis,
but on the coast, tsunamis can be even more devastating to the people than the
earthquake itself. In short, the cities on the coast are in need of the most help
as they are in the most danger. Tsunami walls and strong building foundations
can help prevent a lot of damage from both disasters. The last part of this
post is about how if I were a Chilean, where would I construct my housekeeping
all of this in mind. If I had to pick, It would probably be a safe distance
away from the mountains and the sea, if a strong earthquake hits, being near a
mountain can be dangerous too as it can cause massive landslides that swallow
up entire towns. An added bonus would be if you could find very stable ground
that is above sea level and close to a major city. The key is to find a safe
middle ground equal distance away from the mountain ranges and the ocean, plus
it also means I can go skiing or surfing depending on my mood. Thank you for
reading my blog, I enjoyed doing this, until next time.
My sources
Thank you for taking this class with us. I hope you enjoyed while learning about natural hazards in the world and Chile (I know I did)!
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