Factors affecting the impact of an earthquake. YEAR 8 TECTONIC HAZARDS Distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes. The Earth's crust is broken up into pieces called plates. Heat rising and falling inside the mantle creates convection currents. The convection currents move the plates. The movement of the plates, and the activity inside the Earth, is called plate tectonics. Plate tectonics cause earthquakes and volcanoes. The point where two plates meet is called a plate boundary. Earthquakes and volcanoes are most likely to occur either on or near plate boundaries. Factors affecting the impact of an earthquake. Factor Impact Distance from the epicentre The effects will be more nearer to the epicentre Level of development HIC’s are more likely to have the resources and technology to monitor. Population density More people in an area, more likely to have deaths and injuries.

Comparing the impact of a earthquake in a HIC and LIC A HIC is a more economically developed country; therefore it can afford to spend money on Improving the countries stability and help decrease the damage from an earthquake They can afford to spend money on prediction methods, such as GPS satellite. A LIC country is a lower income country and so: Communication systems may be underdeveloped. This means the population may not be well educated about what to do in the event of an earthquake. Construction standards tend to be poor in LICs. Homes and other buildings suffer serious direct damage when the disaster occurs. Buildings collapsing result in high death tolls. Evacuation and other emergency plans is also difficult to put into action due to limited funds and not enough resources. Clearing up can be difficult. There may not be enough money to rebuild homes quickly and safely which lead to many people forced to live in emergency housing or refugee camps.  What can be done to reduce the impacts of Earthquakes? Earthquake Resistant Buildings - These are built with deep foundations with rubber shock absorbers and concrete reinforced with steel. They are designed to twist and sway, have sprinkler systems and gas cut off valves. Emergency Plans - These are drawn up, and supplies such as bottled water, medicines, tinned food are collected by individuals or the local area. Earthquake Drills - These are held to practise what to do in the event of an earthquake taking place such as the one held in Japan on Sept 1st every year. Tsunami Warnings - As Tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean there are data collecting devices to give warnings of such an event. They are also being built in the Indian Ocean.