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    The No Nonsense Guide to Earthquake Safety
    The No Nonsense Guide to Earthquake Safety
    The No Nonsense Guide to Earthquake Safety
    Ebook184 pages1 hour

    The No Nonsense Guide to Earthquake Safety

    By Jeffery Sims

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    About this ebook

    This book could save your life! The ebook edition of The No-Nonsense Guide To Earthquake Safety is the fifth in a series of crisis manuals focusing on natural (and man-made) disasters. This guide is designed to provide a comprehensive source for the latest research related to earthquake safety. Subjects covered include: providing a basic survey-level understanding of earthquakes; addressing long-held earthquake myths; how to be proactive in preparing for an earthquake; providing sound advice by government and professionals in the geological sciences on the best courses of action during an earthquake; the best shelter/courses of action during an earthquake; and how to remain safe after an earthquake has occurred. This manual also contains several useful appendices that include a listing of government and charitable resources (for those affected by earthquakes), and the latest research regarding animal behavior & earthquakes, as well as endeavors to create manners of earthquake detection.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateNov 24, 2014
    ISBN9781312701588
    The No Nonsense Guide to Earthquake Safety

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      Book preview

      The No Nonsense Guide to Earthquake Safety - Jeffery Sims

      sure)

      Table of Contents

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Earthquakes What Are They?

      How Do They Form?

      What Makes Them Dangerous?

      Where Do Earthquakes Occur?

      What to Be On the Alert for…

      --Earthquake Detection

      --Possible Signs of an Earthquake

      How to Prepare In The Event Of an Earthquake…

      --Understand Your Earthquake Risk

      --Plan Your Actions.

      --Before An Earthquake

      --During An Earthquake

      --After An Earthquake

      --What to Avoid

      Earthquake Myths

      Summary

      Notes Earthquake History

      Glossary of Earthquake-Related Terms

      Appendix A: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contact information by region

      Appendix B:  State Offices of Emergency Management

      Appendix C: State Offices and Agencies of Emergency Management U.S.

      Appendix C: Provincial Offices and Agencies of Emergency Management Canada

      Appendix D: Disaster-Relief Organizations and Charities

      Appendix E: Modern Richter Scale & Damage Description

      Appendix F: The Basics of (Earthquake-Related) Building Codes

      Appendix G: Earthquake Insurance Primer

      Appendix H: The Future of Earthquake Prediction

      Appendix I Animal Prediction & Earthquakes

      References

      Picture Credits

      Other Books in the No-Nonsense Safety Guide Series

      Endnotes

      Introduction

      Simply put, in some ways I was a normal child while in other ways, I was anything but. It is the abnormal part of my being which accounts for why you are holding this book in your hot little hands (or reading it on your tablet). While I enjoyed watching cartoons, reading comic books, and favored science-fiction (notice a pattern?), I was also fascinated—infatuated actually—with learning about strange, unusual, and otherwise unexplained uncommon events. Whether the subject was verifying the legitimacy of alleged occurrences explored in the field of parapsychology, learning about what things exist beyond the boundaries of our planet through the area of astronomy, or—of relevance to you the reader—understanding the causes of interesting weather phenomenon like tornadoes and hurricanes.

      As an adult, my love of learning had grown to encompass many other subjects, including history and politics (which I went to college to study). I had come to the awareness that I had/have an innate thirst for knowledge, about everything around me. As a result, I have more books than I will ever read, probably more than the average person. I’ve also probably had more different types of jobs than the average person. I’ve done a great deal of living. And in everything I’ve read, done, and observed, I’ve taken a great deal of awareness about life and the nature of the universe around us with me (yes, I know…a little grandiose, if not self-centered-sounding). I suppose by way of osmosis, I had also developed a love of teaching after having fallen into the vocation of substitute and adult education instructor. Because of these experiences, I have been driven to observe the world with an attempt to gain a deeper meaning of it all…and maybe bring a little bit of insight to others.

      I am also driven to write about my observations –without the latent bias of emotion, beliefs, or cultural beliefs—in order to convey a semblance of truth (the teacher in me I suppose) and maybe give others a little something to think about. This is why I started blogging and writing regularly some years ago. In an indirect way, writing is also a way for me to help others to think about and offer possible solutions to grander problems posed by counterproductive policies and our own individual thinking. But it was only recently that I was motivated to combine my proclivity for (objective) observation, thirst for learning, and ultimately my writing to create a series of books based on my own intellectual curiosities and love for seeking solutions to existing problems.

      This resulting compendium of interests and ideas has the (intended) benefit of imparting in those who chose to purchase and read it a level of awareness and knowledge about the an aspect of the dangers –those presented by the earth we live on—inherent in the world around us. And although there are no certain safe places to hide from real-life dangers, there are places as well as courses of actions that one can take to limit exposure to these dangers. I acknowledge this fact throughout the book(s) by using terms like relatively, comparatively, or variations of such words to convey that the suggestions offered are in, all likelihood based on research and other findings, the best options given the dangers and circumstances.

      It is my hope that the information in this book (or as I call it, safety manual) will save a life, or at least prevent serious injury to those who would might be affected by a related dangerous experience.

      So without further ado, I present to you, the No-Nonsense Guide to Earthquake Safety…

      Earthquakes

      What Are They?

      Earthquakes are perhaps the most largely misunderstood —and arguably—the most frightening of all natural disasters. This is no doubt due to the fact that the ground itself is considered to be the most stable of all things, and to have it become so unstable at times flies in the face of reason. And despite modern science’s ever-growing ability to explain the somewhat complex causes and frightening effects of quakes, they remain completely unpredictable—adding an even more terrifying aspect to this threat.

      Simply put, earthquakes are the result of geological shifts among intersecting masses of large sections of earth that occurs deep within the planet. This shifting creates ripples or seismic waves (heavy vibrations that move through the earth) that radiate upward and outward, resulting in a violent shaking of the ground which can cause poorly-constructed houses to crumble, entire buildings to collapse, roads and bridges to cracks, and people to be crushed under tons of resulting rubble.

      Additionally, earthquakes can directly trigger—or be triggered by—other (related) and equally destructive events. And the accompanying destructive effects (or causes) of earthquakes can increase the potential for death and destruction far beyond that of the quake itself. To be sure, whenever the very ground starts to shake, it’s almost assured that panic will ensue. But as with any natural disaster, understanding the how’s and why’s of the circumstances gives one an edge in being able to face, with an increased sense of confidence, most dangers presented by these particular disasters.

      Damage from the May 12th, 2008 earthquake in the Sichuan province of China. The earthquake resulted in an estimate 70,000 deaths, with many more made homeless by the damage it caused.

      And although there are no guarantees of survival with any such event, earthquakes are among the most survivable of natural disasters—especially if time is taken to understand this phenomenon.

      How Do They Form?

      To understand how and why earthquakes create the amount (and particular level) of damage that they do, its first necessary to understand how and why they occur. To begin, know that the earth is a sphere (ball) comprised of 4 distinct physical layers. The first of these layers—beginning from the innermost part of the planet—is the inner core located at the molten center[1] of the earth. The core is composed of molten iron ore and rock. The second layer of earth surrounds the molten core; this layer is called the outer core. The outer core, like the inner core is likewise heated but, only semi-molten. This is to say that this layer is heated, but not to the extent of the inner core. Closer to the surface, but still deep underground (from 5 to 20 miles, or 8 to 32 kilometers below the surface) is the mantle. The mantle is the largest layer of the interior of the earth, measuring some 1,800 miles (2896 km) thick. This layer of rock is semi-fluidic, and has the consistency of asphalt under the heavy weight of the earth. The semi-fluidic nature of the mantle is due to great temperature differences from the heat of the lower layers of the inner earth to that of the relative cooler temperatures found at the earth’s surface. The last, outermost layer of earth, which sets atop of the mantle is what’s known as the earth’s crust.[2] The earth’s crust is located just beneath where the surface land of the earth lies. Taken together, the land, the crust, and the very outer mantle make up the surface of our planet. However, the surface—especially the layer of the outer mantle—is not made up of a single piece of contiguous planetary material. Instead, this thickened layer of the earth’s surface is made up huge interconnected segments of earthen tectonic plates. Similar to the pieces of a puzzle, tectonic plates make up the shape of the various continents and cover the surface of the entire earth. The points where these plates’ edges intersect are called plate boundaries. These plate boundaries are where earthquake faults are located. Earthquake faults are the points within the earth where displacement of the earth along tectonic plates occurs (on the surface of the earth proper, earthquake faults may show up as a fault line, which is the surface trace of the earthquake fault underneath the earth).

      Cutaway view of the earth, illustrating the manner in which the tectonic plates that make up the geological boundaries of the continental land masses of the earth. Along the boundaries of these land mass plates are where earthquakes tend to occur, due to the settling of the plate masses at these points.

      Hypocenters vs. Epicenters

      The hypocenter of an earthquake, located within the depths of the earth, is the point of focus at which the slip of an earthquake begins.  The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface directly above the hypocenter.

      The non-contiguous nature of the Earth’s surface, combined with the semi-fluidic nature of the lower mantle causes tectonic plates to occasionally move around, sliding past and bumping into each other along their edges (or fault lines). Since the edges of the plates are rough, they tend to become lodged alongside each other while the rest of the plate continually moves. Finally when

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