Earthquakes. Written by: Lillie Hamstick

Transcription

1 Earthquakes Written by: Lillie Hamstick

2 Table of Contents Meeting an Earthquake. 1 Dangerous Destruction.. 2 Exciting Earthquakes 3 Yo, What Causes an Earthquake... 4 Where Are You Earthquake. 5 How to Survive... 7 How You Can Prepare. 8 Glossary. 9

3 Meeting an Earthquake Earthquakes are never planned. Out of nowhere the ground starts to move. Roll! Bump! It s like the ground has now become water. Rocks fall, lamps shake, tables slid, and the ground splits open. It s a scary experience nobody wants to live in. Do you know how to survive an earthquake, know where they happen, what causes them, the dangers of an earthquake, and famous earthquakes? To find out more read this book. 1

4 Dangerous Destruction Earthquakes never kill by the shaking of the ground. They cause death or injury by falling objects or collapsing buildings, bridges, or sculptures. Some people say, Earthquakes don t kill you, buildings do. Some people die even if they don t get hit. Tall buildings fall over with people in it. Falling buildings are more of a threat then the ground splitting open. San Francisco in ruins after a big earthquake and fire. Tsunamis also occur during earthquakes. Tsunamis are waves created by underwater earthquakes. Ships and swimmers drown in tsunamis. Sometimes tsunamis wash up onto land and destroys houses, buildings, or statues. When you try to escape a tsunami it pulls you back deeper into the ocean and drowns you. The more you struggle the deeper you get. Cars are crushed by a big earthquake in Japan. Dangerous Data A little girl left homeless by a powerful earthquake in Kobe, Japan. 2

5 Exciting Earthquakes Many earthquakes have happened but some are more famous than others. In 2010 Haiti had one of the biggest earthquakes in Haiti history. It struck the southern part of the country on January 12, It killed 316,000 people and it even forced millions of homes to go down. It also destroyed Port-au- Prince, the capital of Haiti along with many other cities. Japan also had a great earthquake and tsunami. On March 11, 2011 a powerful earthquake occurred in Honshu, Japans largest island. The earthquake caused a tsunami that cause growing destruction on land. More than 15,800 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. The disasters also caused emergencies at several nuclear power plants. It also carried debris out in the ocean and it is floating towards North Americas western coast. Dangerous Data In the Haiti earthquake people went missing and they were never found. 3

6 Yo, what causes an earthquake? Earthquakes are caused by plates that crash into each other. They can t take the pressure so they go on top of each other. That s what causes an earthquake. Most earthquakes happen along oceanic and continental plates. Plates are the pieces of the earth s crust. They move on top of the earths mantle like fingers on a keyboard. Plates move past each other and on top of each other. This is called subduction. Earthquakes can also occur far from the edges of plates, along faults. Faults are cracks in the earth where parts of a plate (or two plates) are moving in the opposite direction. Faults are caused by all the bumping and colliding plates do. Faults are most common near the edges of the plates. Dangerous Data The plates move about as fast as your fingernails grow This is a picture of the earth s inside. 4

7 Where are you earthquake? All around the world earthquakes happen but some countries have more earthquakes then others. In South America most earthquakes happen in Peru. In North America most happen Los Angeles and San Francisco. This is a map of where earthquakes have happened. Dangerous Data Seismologist found that earthquakes are most common in, Japan, Australia, Africa, India, Alaska, the Carrabin, Philippians, and North and South America because they live where the plates meet. Earthquakes happen every day but their so small we can t feel them. Earthquakes don t really happen in Utah. Sometimes there are earthquakes but not many. San Francisco headline; Earthquake and fire San Francisco in ruins 5

8 Scientists believe that one day Utah will have a great powerful earthquake along the Wasatch Front. Some say otherwise. This is an earthquake safety sign most schools have in them. 6

9 How to Survive! Do you know how to survive an earthquake? Well, the best thing to do is cover your head. You should get under a table, desk, or maybe even a strong chair. If you re outside during an earthquake you shouldn t run. You should find an outside chair of table. What if you can t see any chairs of tables? Cover your head with your hands and get down low. As long as you protect your head you re good. Dangerous Data In Japan on the anniversary of a big quake the whole city of Tokyo holds an enormous earthquake drill. Many schools have earthquake drills just in case of a real earthquake. The principal will tell the school, Earthquake! Earthquake! Then the kids will scurry under their desks and hold on to the legs of the desk so they don t slid away. Then the principal will tell the school it s over and say they did a good job and if their All over the world kids have earthquake drills. prepared or not. Some say it s crazy but it s just for your safety. Some families have 72-hour kits which contains food, water, a first aid kit, blankets, and a flashlight. These items last three days and there s usually enough for the whole family. 7

10 How Can You Prepare? You can prepare for an earthquake by making a 72-hour kit that contains food, water, blankets, a first aid kit, and a flashlight. You can also encourage your mom and dad to have earthquake drills at your home once in a while. Or if you don t have earthquake drills at school talk to your principal about having an earthquake drill once in a while. Some people have 72 hour kits in their car. People protect themselves in their cars. Their kits contain water and food, cash, walking shoes, comfortable clothing, jackets, hats, pencil and paper, whistle, first aid kit, a phone, emergency contacts on their phone, a radio, flashlights, blankets, special items for infants, elderly, or disabled family members, and a game. 8

11 Glossary 1. Crust A solid outer layer of the earth 2. Debris The remains of anything broken or destroyed 3. Destruction Act of destroying 4. Faults A break in the earth s crust 5. Forced Made; compelled by force 6. Mantle A layer of the earth in-between the crust and the outer core 7. Plates Pieces of the earth s crust 8. Seismologists A scientists who studies earthquakes. 9. Subduction The process of a plate sliding under another 10. Tsunamis A giant, fast moving ocean waves produced by an earthquake 9