Natural disasters are very dangerous phenomena. Natural disaster may happen separately or be the consequence of another natural disaster. In most cases they kill many people and destroy places of living. Nature is very powerful so often people can do nothing to withstand it. There are a lot of types of natural disasters. They are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunami, tornadoes, droughts and so on.
Природные катастрофы являются очень опасными явлениями. Стихийное бедствие может произойти отдельно или быть следствием другой природной катастрофы. В большинстве случаев из-за них погибают много людей и разрушаются места проживания людей. Природа могущественна, поэтому часто люди не могут ничего сделать, чтобы противостоять ей. Существует много видов стихийных бедствий. К ним относятся землетрясения, извержения вулканов, наводнения, цунами, торнадо, засухи и т.д.
Tsunami is a very powerful disaster. It is a displacement of a large volume of water. The term “tsunami” is borrowed from the Japanese language and literally means “harbour wave”. Tsunami often happen in Japan and one of the most powerful tsunami happened in Japan in 2011. Thousands of people were killed, injured or missing.
Цунами является очень мощным бедствием. Это смещение большого объема воды. Термин «цунами» заимствован из японского языка и в буквальном переводе означает «порт, волна». Цунами часто случаются в Японии, и одно из самых мощных цунами произошло в Японии в 2011 году, тогда тысячи людей погибли, были ранены или пропали без вести.
Tsunami often follows earthquakes. An earthquake is one more natural disaster. It is a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust. People know about the earthquakes by shaking or displacement of the ground. Earthquakes, just as all natural disasters, can kill a lot of people and destroy buildings and roads. For example, the Great East Japan Earthquake that caused the tsunami is one of the most powerful earthquakes ever happened in the world since 1900.
Цунами часто следует за землетрясением. Землетрясения – еще одна природная катастрофа. Это внезапное высвобождение энергии в земной коре. Люди узнают о землетрясениях из-за дрожания земли или смещения грунта. Землетрясения, как и все стихийные бедствия, могут унести жизни многих людей и разрушить здания и дороги. Например, Великое восточно-японское землетрясение, которое вызвало тогда же цунами, является одним из самых мощных землетрясений, когда-либо происходивших в мире, начиная с 1900 года.
Fortunately, people have invented many systems which warn about coming natural disasters and they keep developing these inventions and systems. Warning systems and timely evacuation help to avoid many deaths and injuries.
К счастью, люди изобрели множество систем, которые предупреждают о предстоящих стихийных бедствиях, и ученые продолжают развивать эти изобретения и системы. Системы предупреждения и своевременная эвакуация помогают предотвращать множество смертельных случаев.
Автор — Ирина Селезнева
An earthquake is one of the worst natural disasters on our earth. We think that the ground we stand on is very stable, but it isn’t. It moves quite a lot. In the last few decades scientists have been able to find out why earthquakes happen.
Earthquakes happen when there is a sudden vibration in the earth’s crust. It’s like a large lorry that travels down your street. When it passes by, you feel your house shake.
Earthquakes can be caused by a lot of things: • Volcanoes that suddenly erupt • Meteorites that hit the earth • Undergrounds explosions • Buildings that fall apart
But most earthquakes happen because the earth’s plates move.
In the middle of the 20th century scientists found out that continents do not always stay in the same place. They have been moving on plates for millions of years. The earth’s surface is made up of many such plates. Where two plates meet magma comes out of the inner part of the earth. These areas are called faults—breaks in the earth’s crust.
How plates move
When two plates move away from each other lava or magma comes out of the earth. Most of this happens at the bottom of oceans, where the earth’s crust is very thin. Lava cools down when it reaches the water and underwater mountains are formed.
When plates push towards each other—one of them slides under the other. Rocks are pushed up and new mountains are formed.
Some plates slide past each other— for example, one moves north and the other moves south. When these plates move along faults a lot of energy is released and the biggest earthquakes happen.
We only hear about earthquakes once in a while, but they really happen every day. There are more than 3 million earthquakes every year—about 8,000 every day or one every 11 seconds.
But most of them are very weak or they happen in places where nobody lives. Some of them take place on the sea floor.
Where do earthquakes happen?
Earthquakes occur all over the world but there are places where they happen more often. Big earthquakes can be found where plates meet.
80% of the world’s earthquakes happen around the Pacific Ocean—near the east coast of Asia and the west coast of America. Japan has over 2,000 earthquakes every year and California and South America are also very active earthquake zones. The edge of the Pacific Ocean is also called the “Ring of Fire” because there are also many active volcanoes in this region.
Earthquake waves
When there is a sudden movement in the earth’s crust, energy moves in the form of waves. It’s like dropping something into water.
Body waves move through the inner part of the earth and surface waves travel over the earth’s surface.
Body waves can travel very fast—up to 8km a second. They travel through rock, water and gas. When they reach other places on the earth’s surface they can be registered there. They are usually the first waves to get to the surface.
Surface waves cause the most damage, but they move very slowly. These waves come at the end of an earthquake.
Man-made earthquakes
Sometimes people can make earthquakes happen. They can fill man-made lakes with water after building a dam—or they test atomic bombs underground. Some of these tests can help scientists find out how quakes happen.
How earthquakes are measured
With a machine called a seismograph scientists can tell where an earthquake happened and how strong it was.
The place in the earth where the movement takes place is called the focus or hypocentre. From here, waves start to spread out in all directions. This focus can be very near to the surface or it can be hundreds of km below it. The area on the surface exactly above the focus is called the epicentre. This is the place where the waves hit first and where the most damage is done.
Whenever an earthquake hits us you hear how powerful it is. The Richter Scale is used to rate the magnitude of earthquakes. Small quakes have a rating of under 4. You won’t see a lot of damage here. Medium-sized earthquakes reach between 5 and 7 on the scale, and the really big ones are above 7. The largest earthquake that has ever been registered was at 9.5 on the Richter scale.
There are more than 100 seismograph stations all over the world. When the earth shakes seismologists compare the information they get and then they can tell where the earthquake really happened.
Effects of earthquakes
Earthquakes make the ground move. Buildings shake and many of them collapse. Landslides also happen when rocks get loose.
Another danger is fire. In 1906 San Francisco was hit by a big earthquake and many houses burned down because they were made of wood.
When an earthquake occurs on the sea floor, big waves – called tsunamis – hit the coast. They often come without any warning and they kill many people and destroy buildings and streets near the coast.
Earthquakes also can lead to diseases, especially in developing countries. When water supplies are destroyed people don’t have safe water to drink. Sometimes earthquakes also hit hospitals where injured people are treated.
Dealing with earthquakes
We understand earthquakes a lot better today than we did 50 years ago, but we still can’t do very much about them. They are so powerful, that we cannot control them.
Scientists can tell us in which regions earthquakes will probably happen, but they can’t tell us exactly where.
So what can we do about earthquakes? We can make our houses we live in and buildings we work in safer. Today architects use materials that won’t collapse when an earthquake hits—like steel and concrete.
The biggest earthquakes in history
856
200,000 people are killed in one of the deadliest earthquakes in history in Damghan, Iran. 1138
An earthquake in Aleppo, Syria kills 230,000 1556
The deadliest earthquake in history hits Shensi province in China. Almost 1 million people are killed. 1755
The most serious earthquake in Europe hits Lisbon, Portugal. The whole city is destroyed. About 70,000 people get killed. 1906
The city of San Francisco is hit by a large earthquake. A big fire destroys most of the city. About 500 people die. 1908
Messina, Sicily is totally destroyed by a large earthquake. About 70,000 people are killed. 1923
Tokyo, Japan is destroyed by an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.3. 150,000 people are killed. 1960
The strongest earthquake ever recorded hits Chile. It reaches 9.5 on the Richter scale. 20,000 people die. 1964
The strongest earthquake in North America hits Anchorage Alaska. Ocean waves reach a height of 20 metres. 200 people are killed. 1976
The biggest earthquake ever recorded in China leaves 242,000 people dead.
2018-08-23
Help save the world from all mankind. I, Bandzhov Nazarali Holnazarovich live for the sake of Nature and the preservation of Nature and the world. I was convinced that the real defenders of Nature are very few in the whole world. The overwhelming majority of people pollute the Earth, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, mountains, forests, steppes and so on, became scary for the future of the whole world. Protect world stop mining coal, oil, gas and so on: Mining companies and mining industry have turned the whole world into a huge quarry and an underground void, this is a real hell for the whole world. Environment problems in Europe, USA, Russia, Asia, Africa, Middle East and around the world situation catastrophic: Air, water and soil it around the world is poisoned. Pollution surrounding wednesdays from mankind, around the world all diseases from oil, gas, coal, iron ore, sewage, garbage, cities, industry and transport. Global change climate around the world: Drought, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, a tsunami – all this occurs around the world. Save the planet, to admire the beauty of nature and save the world from ecological disaster. All of the causes of environmental catastrophe happens all over the world from mining oil, coal, gas, iron ore, salt, diamonds, gold, sand, soil and so on. Environmental pollution around the world poses a serious threat to all worldwide. Live Earth be in great danger. There are many things that negatively affect the Earth: mining coal, oil, gas and so on, emissions from factories and exhaust gases, deforestation, poisoning of air and water pollution, depletion of the ozone layer and catastrophically global changes of climate all over the world. Environmental pollution is one of the most acute problems of the world. monstrous the behavior of humanity is a catastrophe in the world. Tragic events around the world led to environmental disasters. World Save Nature Planet, please save Earth. Earthquakes, causes extraction of oil, gas, coal, iron ore, salt and so on. Conservationists held a series of protest actions against the extraction of oil, gas, coal and more. Residents from different parts of the world I urge all people to forever stop the extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal . ore, oil, gas, and so on: let’s save the World from global environmental disaster. In the world of all diseases and cancer in particular related to from oil, gas, coal, landfill, sewage network and the whole industrialization and urbanization: It carries all the poisoning and destruction of the habitat of all living things in the world. Many countries in the world for the first time in many years, was severely damaged by hurricanes. Environmental disaster from urbanization and industrialization: global climate change around the world increases the risk of environmental disasters. Droughts, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis – all becomes more and more intense. The protection of nature in Russia, USA and all over the world: this is something that should engage everyone. People from international environmental organizations gathered for a rally in protest against mining coal, ore, oil, gas, soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt and so on. It is not too late for all of us and for all the world to recover to stop production of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal. ore, oil, gas and more. Mining salt, coal, oil and gas brings us poverty, disease and death. Tears and pain nivchem innocent — all living things in the world, it is impossible to live on, otherwise all life will perish from human activities. Mother — Earth, where the world we live in. Oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, springs, forests, meadows, flora and fauna adorn the Planet. World to save natur: Help save mother Earth. The effects of extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal, ore, oil, gas and so on. On the face: the climate changed for the worse, shallowed and dried up rivers and lakes in different parts of the world, the melting of icebergs and the Arctic ocean, earthquakes, hurricanes, acid rain, and snow disfigured and poisoned the land, air and water, various diseases. All living things in the world breathe polluted air, drink the same poisoned water. We are all sick suffer and die painfully slow. Rid of all misery and destruction, for this we need the entire world once and for all to stop the extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal, ore, oil, gas and so on. Life in the world is one, it is mother Earth that created us and other animals and plants. And we all the world should live according to the laws of mother nature, so we can get rid of all disease, suffering, and destruction. From mining salt, coal, ore, oil gas and so on: the Glaciers are melting and climate is changing at a rapid pace. We must preserve from environmental disasters. Environmental pollution and the worst environmental disasters in the world are caused by man. We are a child of Nature and we depend on mother Earth, it is better to start taking care of mother Nature. I think you, like me, you live for the sake of peace and for the salvation of mother Earth. I ask you, spread, please, my appeal, which is expressed with a heavy heart and with tears in eyes, because through the fault of mankind crumbling Earth and all living things die around the world. I appeal to all mankind, to the whole world to stop and imagine the scene that floods or drought. Then all will end, so it is urgent to stop the extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal. ore, oil, gas, and more. Man destroys all living things in the world: Urbanization and industrialization are dangerous to all living things in the world. Chemical hazardous substances deadly to all living things in the world. World production of oil, gas, coal, salt and so on are dangerous for the environment. There are serious problems of environmental pollution in all countries of the world, this occurs when cities, factories, transportation, sanitation, landfill and so on, pollute the air, water and land. Harmful substances are mixed, and the mixture is distributed worldwide in the wind and fall back to earth. Coal, oil and gas brings us poverty, disease and death. Global industrialization and urbanization has led to global climate change for the worst in the world. To recover and permanently terminate mining of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal. ore, oil, gas and more. So we can prevent global environmental catastrophe. Between us and other animals plants, there is no difference — we are all children of the Earth and we are all one family. We all the world should live according to the laws of mother Nature and save mother Earth from ecological disaster. Pollution (Land, Air and Water Pollution) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v…_-pu8&sns=tw. Exxon Valdez oil spill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d…vSh8o&sns=tw. Nature can to get rid of all ills, misfortune and razrusheny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G…9YOC0&sns=tw. Profit Pollution and Deception BP and the Oil Spill BBC Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8…MMO9w&sns=tw. Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs & Pepper Spray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k…zEo4k&sns=tw. Environmental problems of the Earth! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1…6J-uE&sns=fb. Tar Sands Oil Extraction — The Dirty Truth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y…vP17A&sns=tw
На английском языке. Earthquakes
From ancient times people were afraid of natural disasters. These unpredictable disasters killed thousands of people and destroy dozens of cities. It was called “the punishment of the gods”. All of these is about the earthquakes.
Today we can explain what the earthquake is, why it occurs and even define the earthquake-prone areas. So, why do earthquakes happen? Scientists say that the reason is the movement of tectonic plates of the Earth, taking place because of the volcanic eruptions or underground explosions.
Over the past decade we have seen a number of seismic disasters in Japan, China, Chile, Thailand, Mexico and in other countries all over the world. In other words, the strongest earthquakes with the disastrous consequences cannot be controlled by a man, but they can be highly predicted.
Nowadays there are many ways to reduce the damage to a minimum. We use special materials while constructing buildings or applying special architectural solutions as well as long-term or short-term forecasting of probable earthquakes.
To conclude, today the earthquakes are much less threatening than fifty years ago. They are no longer considered as the punishment of the heaven, just like a natural phenomenon like rain or fog. Перевод на русский язык. Землетрясения
C древних времен люди больше всего боялись стихийных бедствий. Эти непредсказуемые явления, унесшие жизнь тысяч людей и уничтожившие десятки городов, называли «наказанием богов». Землетрясение – одно из них.
Сегодня мы можем объяснить, что такое землетрясения, почему они происходят и даже предсказать места, для которых наиболее характерно их появление. Итак, почему же происходят землетрясения? Ученые объясняют эти природные явления движением тектонических плит, а также ввиду извержения вулканов или подземных взрывов.
За последнее десятилетие наблюдается целый ряд катастроф сейсмического характера: в Японии, на побережье Китая, в Чили, Таиланде и других странах по всему миру. Другими словами, сильнейшие землетрясения, повлекшие за собой катастрофические последствия, неподвласны человеку, но они могут быть предсказаны заранее.
В настоящее время существует множество способов свести ущерб от землетрясений к минимуму – использование особых материалов при строительстве зданий, специальные архитектурные решения, долгосрочные или краткосрочное прогнозирование очагов вероятных бедствий.
Таким образом, землетрясения сегодня представляют собой гораздо меньшую угрозу, чем 50 лет назад. Они больше не являются для людей необъяснимым наказанием небес – всего лишь природное явление, как дождь или туман.
What is an earthquake?
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip [сдвиг] past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault [разлом] or fault plane [плоскость разлома]. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter [гипоцентр], and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks [предвестник землетрясения]. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always have aftershocks [толчок после основного землетрясения] that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock! What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?
The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle [(земная) мантия] and crust [земная кора]. The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece – it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults. Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of the faults and there is an earthquake. Why does the earth shake when there is an earthquake?
While the edges of faults are stuck together, and the rest of the block is moving, the energy that would normally cause the blocks to slide past one another is being stored up. When the force of the moving blocks finally overcomes the friction of the jagged [зазубренный; неровно оторванный] edges of the fault and it unsticks, all that stored up energy is released. The energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions in the form of seismic waves like ripples on a pond. The seismic waves shake the earth as they move through it, and when the waves reach the earth’s surface, they shake the ground and anything on it, like our houses and us! How are earthquakes recorded?
Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make is called a seismogram. The seismograph has a base that sets firmly in the ground, and a heavy weight that hangs free. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead the spring or string that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded. How do scientists measure the size of earthquakes?
The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of slip on the fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a measuring tape since faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s surface. So how do they measure an earthquake? They use the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the surface of the earth to determine how large the earthquake was. A short wiggly line that doesn’t wiggle [move from side to side] very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line that wiggles a lot means a large earthquake. The length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and the size of the wiggle depends on the amount of slip.
The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There is one magnitude for each earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an earthquake, and this varies depending on where you are during the earthquake. Can scientists predict earthquakes?
No, and it is unlikely they will ever be able to predict them. Scientists have tried many different ways of predicting earthquakes, but none have been successful. On any particular fault, scientists know there will be another earthquake sometime in the future, but they have no way of telling when it will happen. Is there such a thing as earthquake weather? Can some animals or people tell when an earthquake is about to hit?
These are two questions that do not yet have definite answers. If weather does affect earthquake occurrence, or if some animals or people can tell when an earthquake is coming, we do not yet understand how it works.
Источник: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/eqscience.php
Natural Disasters
Природные катастрофы
Natural disasters are very dangerous phenomena. Natural disaster may happen separately or be the consequence of another natural disaster. In most cases they kill many people and destroy places of living. Nature is very powerful so often people can do nothing to withstand it. There are a lot of types of natural disasters. They are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunami, tornadoes, droughts and so on.
Природные катастрофы являются очень опасными явлениями. Стихийное бедствие может произойти отдельно или быть следствием другой природной катастрофы. В большинстве случаев из-за них погибают много людей и разрушаются места проживания людей. Природа могущественна, поэтому часто люди не могут ничего сделать, чтобы противостоять ей. Существует много видов стихийных бедствий. К ним относятся землетрясения, извержения вулканов, наводнения, цунами, торнадо, засухи и т.д.
Tsunami is a very powerful disaster. It is a displacement of a large volume of water. The term “tsunami” is borrowed from the Japanese language and literally means “harbour wave”. Tsunami often happen in Japan and one of the most powerful tsunami happened in Japan in 2011. Thousands of people were killed, injured or missing.
Цунами является очень мощным бедствием. Это смещение большого объема воды. Термин «цунами» заимствован из японского языка и в буквальном переводе означает «порт, волна». Цунами часто случаются в Японии, и одно из самых мощных цунами произошло в Японии в 2011 году, тогда тысячи людей погибли, были ранены или пропали без вести.
Tsunami often follows earthquakes. An earthquake is one more natural disaster. It is a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust. People know about the earthquakes by shaking or displacement of the ground. Earthquakes, just as all natural disasters, can kill a lot of people and destroy buildings and roads. For example, the Great East Japan Earthquake that caused the tsunami is one of the most powerful earthquakes ever happened in the world since 1900.
Цунами часто следует за землетрясением. Землетрясения – еще одна природная катастрофа. Это внезапное высвобождение энергии в земной коре. Люди узнают о землетрясениях из-за дрожания земли или смещения грунта. Землетрясения, как и все стихийные бедствия, могут унести жизни многих людей и разрушить здания и дороги. Например, Великое восточно-японское землетрясение, которое вызвало тогда же цунами, является одним из самых мощных землетрясений, когда-либо происходивших в мире, начиная с 1900 года.
Fortunately, people have invented many systems which warn about coming natural disasters and they keep developing these inventions and systems. Warning systems and timely evacuation help to avoid many deaths and injuries.
К счастью, люди изобрели множество систем, которые предупреждают о предстоящих стихийных бедствиях, и ученые продолжают развивать эти изобретения и системы. Системы предупреждения и своевременная эвакуация помогают предотвращать множество смертельных случаев.
Автор — Ирина Селезнева
An earthquake is one of the worst natural disasters on our earth. We think that the ground we stand on is very stable, but it isn’t. It moves quite a lot. In the last few decades scientists have been able to find out why earthquakes happen.
Earthquakes happen when there is a sudden vibration in the earth’s crust. It’s like a large lorry that travels down your street. When it passes by, you feel your house shake.
Earthquakes can be caused by a lot of things:
• Volcanoes that suddenly erupt
• Meteorites that hit the earth
• Undergrounds explosions
• Buildings that fall apart
But most earthquakes happen because the earth’s plates move.
In the middle of the 20th century scientists found out that continents do not always stay in the same place. They have been moving on plates for millions of years. The earth’s surface is made up of many such plates. Where two plates meet magma comes out of the inner part of the earth. These areas are called faults—breaks in the earth’s crust.
How plates move
When two plates move away from each other lava or magma comes out of the earth. Most of this happens at the bottom of oceans, where the earth’s crust is very thin. Lava cools down when it reaches the water and underwater mountains are formed.
When plates push towards each other—one of them slides under the other. Rocks are pushed up and new mountains are formed.
Some plates slide past each other— for example, one moves north and the other moves south. When these plates move along faults a lot of energy is released and the biggest earthquakes happen.
We only hear about earthquakes once in a while, but they really happen every day. There are more than 3 million earthquakes every year—about 8,000 every day or one every 11 seconds.
But most of them are very weak or they happen in places where nobody lives. Some of them take place on the sea floor.
Where do earthquakes happen?
Earthquakes occur all over the world but there are places where they happen more often. Big earthquakes can be found where plates meet.
80% of the world’s earthquakes happen around the Pacific Ocean—near the east coast of Asia and the west coast of America. Japan has over 2,000 earthquakes every year and California and South America are also very active earthquake zones. The edge of the Pacific Ocean is also called the “Ring of Fire” because there are also many active volcanoes in this region.
Earthquake waves
When there is a sudden movement in the earth’s crust, energy moves in the form of waves. It’s like dropping something into water.
Body waves move through the inner part of the earth and surface waves travel over the earth’s surface.
Body waves can travel very fast—up to 8km a second. They travel through rock, water and gas. When they reach other places on the earth’s surface they can be registered there. They are usually the first waves to get to the surface.
Surface waves cause the most damage, but they move very slowly. These waves come at the end of an earthquake.
Man-made earthquakes
Sometimes people can make earthquakes happen. They can fill man-made lakes with water after building a dam—or they test atomic bombs underground. Some of these tests can help scientists find out how quakes happen.
How earthquakes are measured
With a machine called a seismograph scientists can tell where an earthquake happened and how strong it was.
The place in the earth where the movement takes place is called the focus or hypocentre. From here, waves start to spread out in all directions. This focus can be very near to the surface or it can be hundreds of km below it. The area on the surface exactly above the focus is called the epicentre. This is the place where the waves hit first and where the most damage is done.
Whenever an earthquake hits us you hear how powerful it is. The Richter Scale is used to rate the magnitude of earthquakes. Small quakes have a rating of under 4. You won’t see a lot of damage here. Medium-sized earthquakes reach between 5 and 7 on the scale, and the really big ones are above 7. The largest earthquake that has ever been registered was at 9.5 on the Richter scale.
There are more than 100 seismograph stations all over the world. When the earth shakes seismologists compare the information they get and then they can tell where the earthquake really happened.
Effects of earthquakes
Earthquakes make the ground move. Buildings shake and many of them collapse. Landslides also happen when rocks get loose.
Another danger is fire. In 1906 San Francisco was hit by a big earthquake and many houses burned down because they were made of wood.
When an earthquake occurs on the sea floor, big waves – called tsunamis – hit the coast. They often come without any warning and they kill many people and destroy buildings and streets near the coast.
Earthquakes also can lead to diseases, especially in developing countries. When water supplies are destroyed people don’t have safe water to drink. Sometimes earthquakes also hit hospitals where injured people are treated.
Dealing with earthquakes
We understand earthquakes a lot better today than we did 50 years ago, but we still can’t do very much about them. They are so powerful, that we cannot control them.
Scientists can tell us in which regions earthquakes will probably happen, but they can’t tell us exactly where.
So what can we do about earthquakes? We can make our houses we live in and buildings we work in safer. Today architects use materials that won’t collapse when an earthquake hits—like steel and concrete.
The biggest earthquakes in history
856
200,000 people are killed in one of the deadliest earthquakes in history in Damghan, Iran.
1138
An earthquake in Aleppo, Syria kills 230,000
1556
The deadliest earthquake in history hits Shensi province in China. Almost 1 million people are killed.
1755
The most serious earthquake in Europe hits Lisbon, Portugal. The whole city is destroyed. About 70,000 people get killed.
1906
The city of San Francisco is hit by a large earthquake. A big fire destroys most of the city. About 500 people die.
1908
Messina, Sicily is totally destroyed by a large earthquake. About 70,000 people are killed.
1923
Tokyo, Japan is destroyed by an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.3. 150,000 people are killed.
1960
The strongest earthquake ever recorded hits Chile. It reaches 9.5 on the Richter scale. 20,000 people die.
1964
The strongest earthquake in North America hits Anchorage Alaska. Ocean waves reach a height of 20 metres. 200 people are killed.
1976
The biggest earthquake ever recorded in China leaves 242,000 people dead.
2018-08-23
Help save the world from all mankind. I, Bandzhov Nazarali Holnazarovich live for the sake of Nature and the preservation of Nature and the world. I was convinced that the real defenders of Nature are very few in the whole world. The overwhelming majority of people pollute the Earth, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, mountains, forests, steppes and so on, became scary for the future of the whole world. Protect world stop mining coal, oil, gas and so on: Mining companies and mining industry have turned the whole world into a huge quarry and an underground void, this is a real hell for the whole world. Environment problems in Europe, USA, Russia, Asia, Africa, Middle East and around the world situation catastrophic: Air, water and soil it around the world is poisoned. Pollution surrounding wednesdays from mankind, around the world all diseases from oil, gas, coal, iron ore, sewage, garbage, cities, industry and transport. Global change climate around the world: Drought, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, a tsunami – all this occurs around the world. Save the planet, to admire the beauty of nature and save the world from ecological disaster. All of the causes of environmental catastrophe happens all over the world from mining oil, coal, gas, iron ore, salt, diamonds, gold, sand, soil and so on. Environmental pollution around the world poses a serious threat to all worldwide. Live Earth be in great danger. There are many things that negatively affect the Earth: mining coal, oil, gas and so on, emissions from factories and exhaust gases, deforestation, poisoning of air and water pollution, depletion of the ozone layer and catastrophically global changes of climate all over the world. Environmental pollution is one of the most acute problems of the world. monstrous the behavior of humanity is a catastrophe in the world. Tragic events around the world led to environmental disasters. World Save Nature Planet, please save Earth. Earthquakes, causes extraction of oil, gas, coal, iron ore, salt and so on. Conservationists held a series of protest actions against the extraction of oil, gas, coal and more. Residents from different parts of the world I urge all people to forever stop the extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal . ore, oil, gas, and so on: let’s save the World from global environmental disaster. In the world of all diseases and cancer in particular related to from oil, gas, coal, landfill, sewage network and the whole industrialization and urbanization: It carries all the poisoning and destruction of the habitat of all living things in the world. Many countries in the world for the first time in many years, was severely damaged by hurricanes. Environmental disaster from urbanization and industrialization: global climate change around the world increases the risk of environmental disasters. Droughts, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis – all becomes more and more intense. The protection of nature in Russia, USA and all over the world: this is something that should engage everyone. People from international environmental organizations gathered for a rally in protest against mining coal, ore, oil, gas, soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt and so on. It is not too late for all of us and for all the world to recover to stop production of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal. ore, oil, gas and more. Mining salt, coal, oil and gas brings us poverty, disease and death. Tears and pain nivchem innocent — all living things in the world, it is impossible to live on, otherwise all life will perish from human activities. Mother — Earth, where the world we live in. Oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, springs, forests, meadows, flora and fauna adorn the Planet. World to save natur: Help save mother Earth. The effects of extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal, ore, oil, gas and so on. On the face: the climate changed for the worse, shallowed and dried up rivers and lakes in different parts of the world, the melting of icebergs and the Arctic ocean, earthquakes, hurricanes, acid rain, and snow disfigured and poisoned the land, air and water, various diseases. All living things in the world breathe polluted air, drink the same poisoned water. We are all sick suffer and die painfully slow. Rid of all misery and destruction, for this we need the entire world once and for all to stop the extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal, ore, oil, gas and so on. Life in the world is one, it is mother Earth that created us and other animals and plants. And we all the world should live according to the laws of mother nature, so we can get rid of all disease, suffering, and destruction. From mining salt, coal, ore, oil gas and so on: the Glaciers are melting and climate is changing at a rapid pace. We must preserve from environmental disasters. Environmental pollution and the worst environmental disasters in the world are caused by man. We are a child of Nature and we depend on mother Earth, it is better to start taking care of mother Nature. I think you, like me, you live for the sake of peace and for the salvation of mother Earth. I ask you, spread, please, my appeal, which is expressed with a heavy heart and with tears in eyes, because through the fault of mankind crumbling Earth and all living things die around the world. I appeal to all mankind, to the whole world to stop and imagine the scene that floods or drought. Then all will end, so it is urgent to stop the extraction of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal. ore, oil, gas, and more. Man destroys all living things in the world: Urbanization and industrialization are dangerous to all living things in the world. Chemical hazardous substances deadly to all living things in the world. World production of oil, gas, coal, salt and so on are dangerous for the environment. There are serious problems of environmental pollution in all countries of the world, this occurs when cities, factories, transportation, sanitation, landfill and so on, pollute the air, water and land. Harmful substances are mixed, and the mixture is distributed worldwide in the wind and fall back to earth. Coal, oil and gas brings us poverty, disease and death. Global industrialization and urbanization has led to global climate change for the worst in the world. To recover and permanently terminate mining of soil, gravel, sand, stone, salt, coal. ore, oil, gas and more. So we can prevent global environmental catastrophe. Between us and other animals plants, there is no difference — we are all children of the Earth and we are all one family. We all the world should live according to the laws of mother Nature and save mother Earth from ecological disaster. Pollution (Land, Air and Water Pollution) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v…_-pu8&sns=tw. Exxon Valdez oil spill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d…vSh8o&sns=tw. Nature can to get rid of all ills, misfortune and razrusheny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G…9YOC0&sns=tw. Profit Pollution and Deception BP and the Oil Spill BBC Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8…MMO9w&sns=tw. Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs & Pepper Spray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k…zEo4k&sns=tw. Environmental problems of the Earth! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1…6J-uE&sns=fb. Tar Sands Oil Extraction — The Dirty Truth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y…vP17A&sns=tw
На английском языке. Earthquakes
From ancient times people were afraid of natural disasters. These unpredictable disasters killed thousands of people and destroy dozens of cities. It was called “the punishment of the gods”. All of these is about the earthquakes.
Today we can explain what the earthquake is, why it occurs and even define the earthquake-prone areas. So, why do earthquakes happen? Scientists say that the reason is the movement of tectonic plates of the Earth, taking place because of the volcanic eruptions or underground explosions.
Over the past decade we have seen a number of seismic disasters in Japan, China, Chile, Thailand, Mexico and in other countries all over the world. In other words, the strongest earthquakes with the disastrous consequences cannot be controlled by a man, but they can be highly predicted.
Nowadays there are many ways to reduce the damage to a minimum. We use special materials while constructing buildings or applying special architectural solutions as well as long-term or short-term forecasting of probable earthquakes.
To conclude, today the earthquakes are much less threatening than fifty years ago. They are no longer considered as the punishment of the heaven, just like a natural phenomenon like rain or fog.
Перевод на русский язык. Землетрясения
C древних времен люди больше всего боялись стихийных бедствий. Эти непредсказуемые явления, унесшие жизнь тысяч людей и уничтожившие десятки городов, называли «наказанием богов». Землетрясение – одно из них.
Сегодня мы можем объяснить, что такое землетрясения, почему они происходят и даже предсказать места, для которых наиболее характерно их появление. Итак, почему же происходят землетрясения? Ученые объясняют эти природные явления движением тектонических плит, а также ввиду извержения вулканов или подземных взрывов.
За последнее десятилетие наблюдается целый ряд катастроф сейсмического характера: в Японии, на побережье Китая, в Чили, Таиланде и других странах по всему миру. Другими словами, сильнейшие землетрясения, повлекшие за собой катастрофические последствия, неподвласны человеку, но они могут быть предсказаны заранее.
В настоящее время существует множество способов свести ущерб от землетрясений к минимуму – использование особых материалов при строительстве зданий, специальные архитектурные решения, долгосрочные или краткосрочное прогнозирование очагов вероятных бедствий.
Таким образом, землетрясения сегодня представляют собой гораздо меньшую угрозу, чем 50 лет назад. Они больше не являются для людей необъяснимым наказанием небес – всего лишь природное явление, как дождь или туман.
What is an earthquake?
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip [сдвиг] past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault [разлом] or fault plane [плоскость разлома]. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter [гипоцентр], and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks [предвестник землетрясения]. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always have aftershocks [толчок после основного землетрясения] that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock!
What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?
The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle [(земная) мантия] and crust [земная кора]. The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece – it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults. Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of the faults and there is an earthquake.
Why does the earth shake when there is an earthquake?
While the edges of faults are stuck together, and the rest of the block is moving, the energy that would normally cause the blocks to slide past one another is being stored up. When the force of the moving blocks finally overcomes the friction of the jagged [зазубренный; неровно оторванный] edges of the fault and it unsticks, all that stored up energy is released. The energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions in the form of seismic waves like ripples on a pond. The seismic waves shake the earth as they move through it, and when the waves reach the earth’s surface, they shake the ground and anything on it, like our houses and us!
How are earthquakes recorded?
Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make is called a seismogram. The seismograph has a base that sets firmly in the ground, and a heavy weight that hangs free. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead the spring or string that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded.
How do scientists measure the size of earthquakes?
The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of slip on the fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a measuring tape since faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s surface. So how do they measure an earthquake? They use the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the surface of the earth to determine how large the earthquake was. A short wiggly line that doesn’t wiggle [move from side to side] very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line that wiggles a lot means a large earthquake. The length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and the size of the wiggle depends on the amount of slip.
The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There is one magnitude for each earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an earthquake, and this varies depending on where you are during the earthquake.
Can scientists predict earthquakes?
No, and it is unlikely they will ever be able to predict them. Scientists have tried many different ways of predicting earthquakes, but none have been successful. On any particular fault, scientists know there will be another earthquake sometime in the future, but they have no way of telling when it will happen.
Is there such a thing as earthquake weather? Can some animals or people tell when an earthquake is about to hit?
These are two questions that do not yet have definite answers. If weather does affect earthquake occurrence, or if some animals or people can tell when an earthquake is coming, we do not yet understand how it works.
Источник: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/eqscience.php