The devastating earthquake in California - the consequences

Mankind knows little about the structure of the earth. Moreover, it is impossible to control many of its internal processes. Such phenomena include earthquakes that cover a certain section of the earth's surface and in a matter of seconds turn it into ruins.

The largest earthquake in California

One of the largest earthquakes occurred in California (USA). This has not happened for about 25 years. The territory was subject to fluctuations of 6 points. It happened on August 24, 2014 at 03:20 am local time. It was at this time that the residents of San Francisco felt the first tremors.

Despite significant destruction among buildings and communications, human casualties were avoided. Although about 80 people still suffered.

What has allowed to avoid numerous victims?

Many believe that the number of victims is relatively small due to the special security system that was created in California as an experiment. Its essence is in warning the population about a possible cataclysm. The earthquake in California (2014) showed that the system is working. She announced the impending push in 10 seconds.

A well-known edition of The Los Angeles Times wrote about this, that "for these seconds you can only not fall off the bed." In many respects they are right, however, work is being done to provide all residents of the state with such a system and to modify it so that the warning signal comes in 50 seconds before the cataclysm.

The system works with the help of seismographs, which fix jolts in the epicenter. They are the first to feel the push and send a signal to people with the speed with which it comes before the earthquake. Thus, people will be able to prepare for the elements.

The earthquake in California showed once again the fragility of human buildings. Although optimism adds a triggered warning system. Of course, 10 seconds is not enough for evacuation, but progress does not stand still. In the future, even 50 seconds can save more than one life.

The earthquake in California was not the only one in the history of this region and the US as a whole. In recent years, this staff has ceased to be the leader in the number of tremors.

Oklahoma - the new leader in the number of cataclysms in the US

Most of the inhabitants of this state until 2008 had no idea what an earthquake was in the United States. They were far from these problems. However, in recent years 240 tremors have been recorded on this territory with magnitude up to 4 points.

Most experts agree that this is due to the extraction of shale gas. The same opinion is held by the professor at Columbia University, Jeffrey Abers. He states that there are approximately 2,000 km² of Oklahoma in the risk zone. The state for a few years has turned from the most seismically dangerous place in the USA.

The main reason is the production of shale gas by the hydraulic fracturing method. It consists in the fact that a small amount of water with chemicals under high pressure is injected into the shale strata. Thus, a combustible fossil is released. As scientists at Cornell University have proved, it is these actions that can cause an earthquake in the US and other countries within a radius of 40 km from the site of mining operations.

Municipalities in many cities in America prohibit oil and gas companies from mining this method. In this country, in addition to man-made cataclysms, and so there is something to fear and what to remember.

When America shook the longest?

The earthquake in California in 2014 was not the largest in the history of the region. Much earlier, in December 1811, the movement of land began, which ceased only in March 1812. As a result of the wave of tremors, many changes in the relief occurred.

Consequences of earthquakes:

• Individual plots of land rose 6 m in height;
• The course of the Mississippi River changed;
• There were new lakes, for example Saint-Francis;
• A large number of people died.

Scientists suggest that 3 to 5 tremors were a magnitude of more than 8 points. The exact number of victims will never be known, since strict documentation has not been maintained in the settlements.

The greatest cataclysm in San Francisco

The earthquake in America in 1906 was much shorter. It happened on April 18 and lasted only 75 seconds, but brought a lot of human casualties and destruction.

Consequences of the earthquake:

1. More than 700 people are considered dead.
2. Were destroyed as new buildings, for example, the municipality, and dilapidated houses.
3. The wine company Sonoma was devastated due to the complete destruction of its wine storage.
4. As a result of the fire, about 12 km² was burnt. Many insurance companies reimbursed the victims and as a result went bankrupt.
5. The city's water reservoir and gas storage were completely destroyed.

The power of the shock is estimated at 8.3 points. This damaged the city in 500 million dollars. Hundreds of human lives carried away this earthquake.

The strongest earthquake in history

The earthquake in California could hardly be compared with what happened in August 1950 in India. It happened in the east of the country, in the state of Assam. The earth tremors were so strong that special equipment could not fix them. The sensors were not designed for such indicators.

When everything stopped, the specialists officially awarded jolts of magnitude 9 points. Cataclysm brought huge losses, destruction. There were also human victims. It lasted five days. As a result of prolonged shocks, more and more new faults were formed, people instantly lost not only their homes, but their own lives. Dense hot steam emerged from the formed slits.

The damage from the largest earthquake in the world amounted to 25 million dollars. In addition to human casualties, the most terrible was the complete destruction of infrastructure. Were destroyed dams, dams, roads. All this led to many other problems, including complicating the search and rescue of survivors.

Many residents had no choice but to save themselves in the trees. Newspapers described many such cases. Especially stood out one of them, when a woman had to give birth to a child on a tree.

Where did it really shake?

The waves of these tremors on August 15 reached America. The US equipment recorded them at home. The researchers suggested that they come from the Japanese islands. There, in turn, also recorded similar indicators and decided that the cataclysm covered the US.

None of them even thought at first that these waves are echoes of an earthquake in India. Its power spread to a large part of the Earth.

India has long had an unstable position of the earth's crust. This is why earthquakes and floods occur here. In the second half of the 19th century, similar cataclysms with a magnitude higher than 8 points already occurred in India.

Why earthquakes occur?

In order to calculate in advance the places where there will be an earthquake, and to avoid many victims, it is necessary to understand why they occur. Scientists do not fully know how and why many cataclysms occur. There are several versions concerning earthquakes.

The main causes of earthquakes:

1. Failure of the ceiling in the voids formed underground. These tremors have a small area of coverage, but cause a lot of serious damage. For such reasons, it is possible to include human activities, namely, the pumping of oil and gas from the ground.
2. Volcanic eruptions are most often accompanied by serious earthquakes. This is attributed to the sudden release of gases that accumulate in the channel of the volcano. After the eruption of lava, the above-mentioned voids can also form.

3. Tectonic earthquakes in the world are considered the most destructive. They are associated with the movement of platforms and faults in granitic strata of the earth's crust. An example is the incident in California. All of them are connected with the San Anderas fault. It is along it that seismic waves are regularly formed, which, depending on speed, bring less or more significant damage to this state.

Is it possible to predict cataclysm?

The ability to make a correct prediction of earthquakes is the main task of seismologists. Thousands of stations working all over the planet are following the inner movement of the Earth, which never ceases.

For prediction, the knowledge that the earthquake is an avalanche spread of a crack in the earth's crust is often used. They happen in places of faults. That is why observations and measurements are made at seismically hazardous areas. Termination of the internal processes of the Earth is a high probability that an earthquake will soon occur.

Scientists create special maps, which display information about foci of tremors, their intensity, periodicity. Forecasting is carried out in three stages.

Stages of creating a forecast:

1. Identification of seismically hazardous areas for 10-15 years.
2. Medium-term forecast for 1-5 years.
3. Short-term forecasting with a high probability of a cataclysm in a given locality.

What is the result of the erroneous forecast?

Having thoroughly studied the causes of earthquakes, scientists manage to make predictions - to predict them. The most impressive was the forecast in China in 1975. The city was warned by a general alarm at 14.00, and the shocks began at 19.36. Despite the complete destruction of the settlement, there were practically no victims. Magnitude reached 7 points.

However, scientists and blunders happen, which lead to serious economic losses. This is due to the fact that, in addition to the evacuation of the population, it is necessary to stop the work of industrial enterprises, to disconnect all sources of energy.

The main task of seismology in forecasting cataclysms is not solved. However, work on this problem is under way, bringing results.