2010 Chile Earthquake research

The magnitude and intensity of Chile’s earthquake were severe enough to cause a catastrophe and this paper aims at dissecting into the events that transpired by outlining the causes of the earthquake, the extent of damage, the effects, the reconstruction process, and the lessons learned. Introduction An earthquake refers to the shaking of the earth violently as a result of the movements that occur within it thereby causing massive destruction. The unpredictability of earthquakes is a feature that makes very lethal because it is often difficult to tell that there is going to be an earthquake at a particular time specifically. Seismologists have over the years come up with ways to study volcanic eruptions and the movements that take place within the earth’s surface but cannot necessarily predict when exactly an earthquake can occur (Plummer, et, al.

Many earthquakes have occurred over the years but it is important to understand that a case of one particular incident can bring out a clear view of the details of all the events that take place hence a better case study to show this is the 2010 Chile earthquake. There was massive destruction of land because of the 8. 8 magnitude earthquake in Chile and this meant that a lot of people were displaced and five hundred and fifty others pronounced dead. It is vital to note that the intense shaking during the earthquake lasted for about three minutes. This can sound like a short period of time but the energy waves released when such an incident occurs are very intense and every minute that the earth shakes means more trouble (Jara-Munoz, et, al.

The diagram below indicates the spatial distribution of the 2010 Chile earthquake: (Source: Impact Forecasting) Causes of the Earthquake Chile is located between the South American continental and the oceanic Nazca plates. Electricity lines were tampered with thus leaving about a million and a half people with no connectivity to power. The same case applied to the supply of water and communication lines as they were all interfered with, in most of the parts that were affected. This earthquake affected six major regions in the country which constitute 80% of Chile’s population. Thus there is justification in the number of deaths and casualties of that were experienced. Secondary Effects The 2010 earthquake triggered the occurrence of a tsunami which further stretched the extent of damage in the country.

6 Dichato Chile 7. 6 Constitución Chile 7. 3 Carrizal Peru 5. 0 Valparaiso Chile 1. 2 Acapulco Mexico 0. Lessons Learned After the 2010 incident in Chile it was pretty obvious that action needed to be taken and, therefore, the generation of new versions of the codes for the seismically isolated structures. This was a lesson learned which will help the country moving forward in protecting structures against earthquakes. There was the creation of new decrees for the design industry so that the building of concrete structures would improve (Jünemann, et, al. This was important because constructing concrete structures that are of low quality could jeopardize the existence of such buildings whenever there is an earthquake. The country at large also learned that there has to be local knowledge among citizens on matters pertaining to earthquakes so that people can be well prepared.