Why does an earthquake in a developing nation kill 1000s of people and one in a developed country kills few? For example, the 6.8 earthquake that happened in Olympia, Washington in 2001 killed no people (maybe the one lady that got a heart attack). The 6.6 earthquake that happened in Bam, Iran in 2003 killed approximately 40,000 people. I can think of more examples, such as California earthquakes and Indonesia earthquakes, etc. Why is this? Thank you!
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earthquake in a developing
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maudina
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earthquake in a developing
Last edited by maudina on Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dion
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Re: earthquake in a developing
I can give one explanation Building regulations in developed country's are pretty tight therefore buildings are far more likely to withstand an earthquake, where as buildings in undeveloped country's are usually made with little or no concern for regulations thus the high tally of casualties.maudina wrote:Why does an earthquake in a developing nation kill 1000s of people and one in a developed country kills few?
Thats the only explanation I can give.
BTW welcome to the forums.
“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” - Nikola Tesla
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hillbilly
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Re: earthquake in a developing
I was wondering the same thing last month Maudina.
Dion's idea is the same as my first thoughts, but it goes a bit deeper.
And I did some "googling"
here is a snipet of what I found at
http://www.rrcap.unep.org/apeo/Chp1h-nathazards.html ...
"Many of the Asia and Pacific developing countries are situated in the world’s hazard belts and are subject to floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, windstorms, tidal waves and land slides, etc. The major natural disasters that occur periodically in this region are largely due to climatic and seismic factors. The region has suffered 50 per cent of the world’s major natural disasters (ESCAP, 1995a). Since the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction began in 1990, the total number of deaths due to natural disasters in the region has exceeded 200,000 and the estimated damage to property over this period has been estimated at US$ 100 billion (ESCAP, 1995a). Vulnerability to disasters has increased due to the increased aggregation of people in urban centres, environmental degradation, and a lack of planning and preparedness. "
but there's more...
" Earthquakes. The Asia-Pacific region alone has recorded 70 per cent of the world’s earthquakes measuring 7 or more on the Richter scale, at an average rate of 15 events per year (ESCAP, 1995a). The countries of the region which are badly affected by earthquakes include Japan, the Philippines, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Pacific Islands. Many of the countries in the region are located along, or adjacent to, the Pacific Ocean Seismic Zone or the Indian Ocean Seismic Zone. For example, 50–60 per cent of India is vulnerable to seismic activities of varying intensity (ESCAP, 1995a), particularly the areas in the Himalayan region and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The earthquake in Maharashtra State in Western India in September 1993 claimed over 12,000 lives (ESCAP, 1995a).
About 80 per cent of China’s territorial area, 60 per cent of its large cities and 70 per cent of its urban areas with populations over 1 million, are located in seismic zones (ESCAP, 1995a). The most devastating earthquake in the world in recent history was the Tangshan earthquake in China on 28 July 1976 which claimed over 240,000 lives (ESCAP, 1995a). Japan is located in the Pacific-Rim Seismic Zone and suffers, on average, a massive earthquake (Richter scale 8 or more) once every 10 years and a large scale earthquake (magnitude 7) once a year (ESCAP, 1995a). In January 1995, Japan suffered one of the worst earthquakes in recent years at Kobe, which claimed 5,000 lives (ESCAP, 1995a). The Philippines, which lies between two of the world’s most active tectonic plates, experiences an average of five earthquakes per day, most of which are imperceptible (ESCAP, 1995a). In New Zealand, an average of 200 perceptible earthquakes occur each year, of which at least one exceeds 6 on the Richter scale (ESCAP, 1995a). "
Hope this give you some info to help.
Dion's idea is the same as my first thoughts, but it goes a bit deeper.
And I did some "googling"
here is a snipet of what I found at
http://www.rrcap.unep.org/apeo/Chp1h-nathazards.html ...
"Many of the Asia and Pacific developing countries are situated in the world’s hazard belts and are subject to floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, windstorms, tidal waves and land slides, etc. The major natural disasters that occur periodically in this region are largely due to climatic and seismic factors. The region has suffered 50 per cent of the world’s major natural disasters (ESCAP, 1995a). Since the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction began in 1990, the total number of deaths due to natural disasters in the region has exceeded 200,000 and the estimated damage to property over this period has been estimated at US$ 100 billion (ESCAP, 1995a). Vulnerability to disasters has increased due to the increased aggregation of people in urban centres, environmental degradation, and a lack of planning and preparedness. "
but there's more...
" Earthquakes. The Asia-Pacific region alone has recorded 70 per cent of the world’s earthquakes measuring 7 or more on the Richter scale, at an average rate of 15 events per year (ESCAP, 1995a). The countries of the region which are badly affected by earthquakes include Japan, the Philippines, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Pacific Islands. Many of the countries in the region are located along, or adjacent to, the Pacific Ocean Seismic Zone or the Indian Ocean Seismic Zone. For example, 50–60 per cent of India is vulnerable to seismic activities of varying intensity (ESCAP, 1995a), particularly the areas in the Himalayan region and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The earthquake in Maharashtra State in Western India in September 1993 claimed over 12,000 lives (ESCAP, 1995a).
About 80 per cent of China’s territorial area, 60 per cent of its large cities and 70 per cent of its urban areas with populations over 1 million, are located in seismic zones (ESCAP, 1995a). The most devastating earthquake in the world in recent history was the Tangshan earthquake in China on 28 July 1976 which claimed over 240,000 lives (ESCAP, 1995a). Japan is located in the Pacific-Rim Seismic Zone and suffers, on average, a massive earthquake (Richter scale 8 or more) once every 10 years and a large scale earthquake (magnitude 7) once a year (ESCAP, 1995a). In January 1995, Japan suffered one of the worst earthquakes in recent years at Kobe, which claimed 5,000 lives (ESCAP, 1995a). The Philippines, which lies between two of the world’s most active tectonic plates, experiences an average of five earthquakes per day, most of which are imperceptible (ESCAP, 1995a). In New Zealand, an average of 200 perceptible earthquakes occur each year, of which at least one exceeds 6 on the Richter scale (ESCAP, 1995a). "
Hope this give you some info to help.