Minimizing The Devastation Caused by Earthquakes - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal -Natural Disaster – Earth Quake Introduction -In recent years, natural disasters have taken a toll on human beings. Among natural disasters, earthquake is the frequent one which has devastated people’s habitat. In a decade, World has faced some terrible earthquakes which has made people scared of nature. Earthquakes are an unpredictable natural disaster and the havoc caused by its immeasurable. Sometimes it can be a tremor and at other times the whole city can be collapsed in seconds. Even though government takes measures to contain earthquakes, less can be done to save human life and property due to the nature of earthquake. Earthquake is a natural disaster which has raised more threats and the bad part is that its unpredictable nature gives less option for safety measures. ( Thesis). Audience – This writing is meant for common people as an education and awareness to counter earthquake. Literature review - Earthquake as a topic which needs much research and I would depend on scientific journals, books and websites articles written by experts. These journals would be containing facts, figures and statistics of earthquake. The cause of earthquake, its nature and preventive measure would be the points focused upon. Research Question -How can earthquake be made less devastating to human life and infrastructure Methodology -The research will be conducted by scrutinizing various sources like research journals, books and literary works. Many government websites and surveys will be scrutinized to understand the chronology of earthquake and its devastation around planet. Conclusion Earthquake is a dangerous natural disaster and many nations have encountered its fury. The government and people need to be alert to face it at any moment. One way to be conscious is to respect nature and save it. Earthquake Introduction Earth quake is one of the natural disaster human have come across most in the recent times. Earthquake has a history as old as earth itself. Earth quake is cause of lot of devastation for human and animal life. Interestingly, animals and birds can sense earthquake beforehand which human cannot. Earthquake is more prominent in Japan and Indonesia, however in a decade the Western world also is a victim of earthquake. Recently, the earthquake in New Zealand and tremors in other areas of West has been an indication that no one safe from earthquake. The earth is constantly undergoing turbulence and tremors of minor nature are frequent event. However, majority of earthquakes are unpredictable and cause huge damage .Earthquake is a natural disaster which has raised more threats and the bad part is that due to its unpredictable nature it gives less option for safety measures. ( Thesis) Earthquakes have put governments and international organization alert on ways to counter it. There are not many precautions one can take to face it. Earthquakes happening at night hours can take many people’s life. It not only damage life but also destroys the whole infrastructure and economy of a country depending upon the intensity. Tsunami is also another aftermath of earthquake and people hence are more scared of earthquake than any disaster. Around the world, Japan, china, Indonesia and India are more prone to earthquakes than any other part. As per (Annissimov) “ Natural disaster is an event with a natural, as opposed to human, cause that results in large-scale loss of life or damage to property. It could be related to weather, geology, biology or even factors outside the Earth. Earth quake occurs due to the movement and pressure on earth’s platonic belts and scientific world has no much ways to predict them. Cause of earthquake Earth is a planet which is in motion internally and externally. In the internal crust of earth, there is plate – tectonics- the plates at the surface of the earth due to the flow of rock within the earth. The entire surface of the earth is covered with plates. As they are in constant motion they rub against or separate from each other most of the time. When there is strain built upon the plates due to the interference of rocks then the rock breaks which shake the earth’s surface. The earthquake is due to the compression and tensional stresses on the lithographic plates’ on earth’s surface. The shallow earthquakes can merely cause a fracture in the earth’s crust. The movement of rocks which are huge in nature and their friction with each other can cause enormous vibration which pass through and around the earth. These vibrations create ripples as a pebble creates one on water surface when dropped. Shock waves from a powerful earth quake can trigger smaller earthquake in near locations with hundred miles in distance. As per (National Geography) “It really takes the movement of crustal plates to uncork a massive earthquake, such as the magnitude 9.0 quake off the coast of Japan in 2011, which was caused by the Pacific plate moving under Asia”.The sudden release of energy result in seismic waves that result in earth’s surface shaking. Earthquake, is simple terms happens when the rocks break due to pressure upon them. The spot where the rock breaks is the epicenter of earthquake. Most destructive earthquakes in recent times In the past decade, world has faced some frightening earthquakes which threatened people regarding the wrath of Mother Nature. People are recently more scared of earthquakes than any other natural disaster and also due to its connection to tsunamis. One of the most disastrous earthquakes faced by world was the one in Haiti in the year 2010. This earthquake had an magnitude of 7.0 with an epicenter in Leogane. Around 1, 60,000 people were killed in this earthquake and around 2, 50,000 residences and 30,000 commercial building were collapsed. Another major earthquake is the one happened in Japan in 2011. It not only caused heavy damage but also had been a reason for a massive tsunami. As per ( Kurtenbach) “The magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that slammed into northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, killed or left missing some 19,000 people, devastating much of the coast. Unfortunately, this earthquake triggered a 30 foot tsunami. This also damaged the nuclear plant on coastal shores which leaked toxins to the atmosphere which doubled the fatality. There were also 50 aftershocks to this earthquake. The town of Myagi burned with 70,000 people and country had a loss of $ 10 billion. Around 18,000 people were killed in this disaster and 3, 00,000 people lost their homes. However, a minute ago, however, a minute ago, the Japan government did warn about the upcoming earthquake. Another surprising fact is the earthquake occurred in New Zealand. This has been an alert o European nation that nature is not partial in its vengeance. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.9 and hit the Christchurch. Around 166 people were killed in this earth quake and many buildings along the church were damaged. As per (Wilkinson 2-32)“The close proximity of the epicenter to Christ church and its shallow focus resulted in structural damage, collapsed of buildings, disruptions to services and a loss to 182 lives and further 163 serious injuries”. Another major earthquake was the one in China and it happened in Lusthan with a 7.0 magnitude and killed 196 people and injured around thousand people. Another major earthquake in Philippines in 2013 was massive and 7.1 magnitude and it hit the central part of the country. According to (Mungin) “A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck the central Philippines on Tuesday, leaving at least 99 people dead and 276 more injured, and rattling many who were celebrating a religious holiday”. These disasters happened in a decade duration alert us that earthquake is a frequent disaster. The earthquake can happen any time without a least indication to the people of the region. It is a total calamity and there is only little measure which can be taken to reduce the calamities. Vulnerability of earthquake The impact of the earthquake depends on certain factors affecting human vulnerability. These are as follows. Poverty – Most of the earthquake do not cause much damage to wealthier people and reason being they located in safer zone. The poor people are accommodated in fragile houses and land sliding terrains at many occasions. Increased population density - The size of the population hit by the earthquake depends upon the density of people residing in the area. This mean more people are forced to work and live in certain areas due to its potential benefits. Rapid urbanization – This can be a reason for disaster as rapid urbanization results in disorientation of nature. Manmade disasters can also trigger earthquake. Changes in way of life - The change in way of life can affect the social coping mechanism of population. People are more prone to move to urban settings from rural areas and they might lose their power of traditional way of facing disasters. Environmental degradation - Many environment pollution and deforestation caused by human is also a reason for earthquake. Even we may think it is irrelevant any minor change in nature’s balance can bring any disaster. Low awareness – The lack of awareness of people about earthquake can make them more vulnerable to it. War and civil strife – The region hit by war and civil strife is more vulnerable to earthquake and result in more calamities. Measures for earthquake risk reduction The measures need to be taken to reduce the risk of earthquake are as follows. a) Enhanced building structure – The government can enforce law which ensure that buildings are constructed in high quality which can withstand earthquake tremors. There should be high engineering standards and training program to improve construction technique in building industry. Also the government should restrict construction in earth quake prone regions. b) Public education - Government needs to create more social awareness among public to face earthquake. They should be given measures to avoid damages during earthquake. They can be cause of earth quake and warnings, reinforce to strong houses, first aid measures and volunteer fire fighting methods. c) Community awareness and participation – Communities should be motivated to live in house safe from seismic movements. Plans for Public awareness programs, disaster assessment, energy shelters, water supply, first aid and voluntary organization assistance. Immediate precautions The people in the event of earthquake need to fall down on knees to protect them from falling and allow minor movements. In case of shaking, hold on to shelter. It is better to get shelter under furniture to avoid falling object injuring them. If possible move out of the building and stand under sky. The main point is not to move once people sense earthquake. At outdoors, the people should move away from electrical facilities and buildings. The forecasting of earthquake is not much possible hence precaution is not very effective in case of earthquake. According to (Jordan 316-91) “Earthquake forecasting and prediction is a highly technical field with a rich literature and vigorous research activities in many countries”. A spiritual dimension to earthquake Many would find it illogical for earthquake being connected to spiritual understanding. However, if one looks at spiritual side of universal working and human spirits, natural disasters has some reasons. Many only look at natural disasters from a scientific dimension but nature is more about human spirit and intentions. Universe can detect the human destructive mentality and ways to unleash karmic effects of sin. Nature has its own way of communicating and disasters are a form of vengeance. Nature has cosmic consciousness and whether its earthquake, tsunami, tornado or volcano it is nature’s fury. Earthquake is the most dangerous natural disaster and humans do not get much time to save themselves .Spiritually talking, these happen due to the environmental pollution and atrocities people do to the animals and other human beings. Thousands of people die in earthquakes and it is collective killing by nature when it gets hurt or exploited. Many would not think it is a valid reasoning but when thought in right direction, one can understand the logic behind it. Since few decades, the natural harmony is in danger and the imbalance of nature can be seen with the persistent occurrence of earthquakes around world. As per ( Hardman)“Hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters are expressions of Divine purpose, as the forces of nature are always in alignment with God’s will, unlike humans who have free will to align with Divine purpose or not." A modern world which is constantly being told that it is destroying the planet with its carbon emissions and selfish behavior will, by definition, come to believe that it holds all the answers Conclusion Man has been facing natural disasters since time immemorial. Earthquake is one of the natural disasters which have been mentioned in many scriptures. The earthquake has been recently increasing which has no much scientific reasoning from experts. Earthquakes are disastrous and can take toll on all things on earth. Earth quake even has the capacity to change the topography of earth. The unpredictable nature of earth quake and its catastrophic effect on a region there is less human can do to contain them. The government can take measure to reduce the damage caused rather than preventions. Earthquake also leads to outbreak of many diseases which are contagious thorough water, air and food. Such diseases and situations need to be managed along with the death toll and injuries happened to victims. This assumption is based on the fact that it will take time to rebuild the houses destroyed in the earthquake and therefore people would be very interested to receive help for this task. According to (Linell 1-18)“Because few victims develop major psychological problems from disaster impacts, most benefit more from a crisis counseling orientation than from a mental health treatment orientation, especially if their normal social support networks of friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers remain largely intact”. The scientific world has not advanced so much to avoid the occurence of earthquake and further research need in this area to understand the working of nature. Work Cited Annissimov, Michael. "What is a Natural Disaster?." http://www.wisegeek.org. Wise Geek, 20144. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. . Hardman, Robert. "What fools we are to think we can tame the wrath of nature." http://www.dailymail.co.uk. Mail Online, 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. . Jordan, Thomas H. "OPERATIONAL EARTHQUAKE FORECASTING." Anals of Geophysics 54.4 (2011): 316-91. Print Kurtenbach, Elaine. "Japan Earthquake - Strong Temblor strikes NorthEastern Coast." http://www.huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post, 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. . Lindell, Michael K. "Disaster Studies." Sage 2.4 (2011): 1-18. Print. Mungin, Lateef. "Dozens dead as magnitude-7.1 earthquake hits the Philippines." http://edition.cnn.c om. CNN, 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. . National Geography, . "What Causes an Earthquake? Faults Explained." http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news. National Geography society, 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. . Wilkinson, Sean. "Observation and Implication of Damage From Newzealand earthquake." Springer 10.2 (2011): 2-32. Print. Read More