The story of the massive earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 has been all over the news. But what makes this earthquake more significant than other earthquakes that have occured recently? Well, there are three good reasons:
- The earthquake occured extremely close to Haiti's capital city, Port au Prince.
- It occured only 10 or 15 meters below the Earth's crust, which is very shallow, and makes the earthquake notably powerful.
- Haiti is a poor counrty, and many people can't afford to build a strong building. As a result, many buildings were destroyed.
These factors coming into play made this earthquake a "worst case scenario," as Jian Lin, a senior scientist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) said. The Haitian earthquake was caused by "a highly complex tangle of tectonic faults" underneath where the North American tectonic plate meets the Carribean tectonic plate. The strike-slip fault didn't cause a tsunami or any other type of dangerous or disconcerting wave because it was underneath land, as opposed to sea. Aftershocks are expected from any amount of time from days to decades. Unfortunately, about 50,000 people were killed. All of the other Carribean nations are advised to take note and stay alert- this could be their fate as well.
While I extend my deepest sympathy to Haitians affected by this massive tremor, I am glad that it didn't claim more than the 50,000 lives that have already been lost because of it. I can't imagine something this devastating taking place in my hometown, and I'd prefer not to. The terrible fact that this devastation took place anywhere in the world is upsetting. I anticipate and hope that Haiti will be able to rebuild, just as New Orleans, Louisiana did after Hurricane Katrina wiped out homes and buildings in August 2005.
Source: ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114143321.htm
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