Earthquake Words

Earthquake damage - San Andreas Fault or San Francisco’s fault?  To understand how humans can influence the effects of an earthquake  To be able to make a decision about the way people responded to an earthquake.  To know what causes earthquakes in San Francisco

Type of Plate Boundary? Social effects? What happens at this plate boundary? Environmental effects?Economic effects? Size?Year? Location? What have people done to influence the outcome of this earthquake? Any other useful information:

 Conservative Plate Boundary

1906 San Francisco Earthquake At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in North America struck San Francisco, California. The shaking of the earth was felt all the way from southern Oregon to Los Angeles and as far east as central Nevada. The quake formed a crack in the earth's surface around 290 miles long. The earthquake measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and the great fire that followed destroyed much of the city of San Francisco. An estimated 28,000 buildings were lost, about half the city's population was left homeless, and more than 3,000 people perished. There was not another huge earthquake in San Francisco until October 17, 1989.

List 5 things that you think should be done following an earthquake, list them in order of importance.

After the 1906 earthquake much of the rubble was bulldozed into San Francisco Bay. This reclaimed land was built upon and was extremely unstable. The 1906 quake caused engineers to learn more about making buildings "earthquake-proof."

Earthquake damage - San Andreas Fault or San Francisco’s fault?  To understand how humans can influence the outcome of an earthquake  To be able to explain why the 1906 earthquake contributed to the 1989 earthquake.  To know what causes earthquakes in San Francisco

1989 San Francisco Earthquake Shortly after 5 p.m. on October 17, 1989 an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale struck. The mighty Bay Bridge collapsed. Much of downtown San Francisco— sitting on landfill—had experienced some of the worst tremors, shaking like a bowl of Jelly. The damage was devastating: A large section of the Cypress Freeway in Oakland collapsed on itself, killing dozens of motorists. In San Francisco the upscale Marina District fared the worst as some of the ground underneath it liquefied, causing buildings to buckle and catch fire. Fires erupted because of broken gas lines. In all, 63 people died, with damage estimated at six billion to ten billion dollars (U.S.).

The quake also exposed human mistakes: Both the Marina District and the Cypress Freeway were built on shaky ground. "Every place that was damaged was on soft soil along the water edge or where old creeks had been filled in," said Robert Uhrhammer, a research seismologist at the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. "If you overlay the map of damage with a map of soft soils, it's a one-to-one match."

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Earthquake damage - San Andreas Fault or San Francisco’s fault?  To understand how humans can influence the effects of an earthquake  To be able to make a decision about the way people responded to an earthquake.  To know what causes earthquakes in San Francisco

Do you think that the people of San Francisco learnt any lessons from the 1906 earthquake? Explain your answer.

On the basis of research conducted since the 1989 earthquake, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other scientists conclude that there is a 70% probability of at least one magnitude 6.7 or greater quake, capable of causing widespread damage, striking the San Francisco Bay region before Major quakes may occur in any part of this rapidly growing region. This emphasizes the urgency for all communities in the Bay region to continue preparing for earthquakes.

What would you suggest the people of San Francisco do to prepare for the next earthquake? Design an earthquake proof building.

Year time of day Buildings Other Numbers dead Size of earthquake San Francisco Earthquake