143 Earthquake Essay Topics & Examples

Need a catchy title for an earthquake essay? Earthquakes can take place almost everywhere. That is why this problem is so exciting to focus on.

🏆 Best Earthquake Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

🎓 good essay topics on earthquake, 📌 catchy titles for earthquake essay, 👍 research titles about earthquake, ❓ essay questions about earthquake.

In your earthquake essay, you might want to compare and contrast various types of this natural disaster. Another option is to talk about your personal experience or discuss the causes and effects of earthquakes. In a more serious assignment like a thesis or a term paper, you can concentrate on earthquake engineering or disaster management issues. In this article, we’ve gathered best research titles about earthquake and added top earthquake essay examples for more inspiration!

  • Crisis Management: Nissan Company and the 2011 Earthquake Expand on the points made in the case to identify the potential costs and benefits of these actions. The sharing of information was quite beneficial to Nissan in its response to the disaster.
  • Natural Disasters: Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and Hurricanes Hence the loss may depend on the population of the area affected and also the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster.
  • Disaster Preparedness and Nursing: A Scenario of an Earthquake In a scenario of an earthquake, nursing staff must be aware of the stages of disaster management and disaster preparedness in particular.
  • Analysis of Damage to Apartment Buildings in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake In turn, it is a prerequisite for the cataclysms in nature, such as earthquakes and the effect of liquefaction which was particular to the Marina district in the disaster of 1989.
  • Public Awareness of Earthquake This will mean that the basement that is involved in thickening and shortening is mechanically required to produce the shape of zagros belt.
  • Mitigation of Earthquake Hazards The geologists should also inform the architects on the areas where earthquakes are likely to occur and how strong they will be able.
  • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis In addition, the paper will outline some of the similarities and differences between tsunamis and floods. Similarities between tsunamis and floods: Both tsunamis and floods are natural disasters that cause destruction of properties and human […]
  • The Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment The seismic activity and the relatively regular sequence of the earthquakes in the area of San Paul Fault generated the interest of the geologists in exploring the processes in the rupture.
  • Earthquakes in Chile and Haiti Moreover, the quake in Haiti raptured at the epicenter of the city with a high population density compared to Chile. Therefore despite a lower magnitude earthquake than Chile, Haiti suffered more damage due to the […]
  • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Floods and Volcanic Eruption This is due to the relationship between an eruption and the geology of the area. It was observed that the mountain swelled and increased in size due to the upward force of magma.
  • Earthquake in Haiti 2010: Nursing Interventions During natural disasters, such as the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010, nursing interventions aim to reduce the level of injury and provide the conditions for the fast recovery of its victims.
  • Tōhoku Earthquake of 2011 The rate at which the pacific plate undergoes displacement is at eight to nine centimeter per annum, hence the plate subduction of the plate led to a discharge of large amounts of energy leading to […]
  • School Preparedness Plan for Tornado, Earthquakes, Fire Emergency In case of an earthquake emergency, the school should be prepared to keep the students safe. In case of a tornado emergency the school should be prepared to keep the students safe.
  • Earthquakes and Their Devastating Consequences The break in the ground surface is the most common cause of horrific consequences, and people often cannot get out of the epicenter of the incident.
  • Natural vs. Moral Evil: Earthquakes vs. Murder This problem demonstrates that such justifications for the problem of evil, such as the fact that suffering exists to improve the moral qualities of a person and thus serve the greater good, are unconvincing.
  • Earthquake in South Africa: Reconstruction Process Therefore, it is vital for the government of South Africa to address the issues caused by the earthquake and reconstruct the region, focusing on several public interventions to stimulate the region’s growth in the shortest […]
  • Review of Earthquake Emergency Response The second resource is the supply of food and water that can help survivors wait for the rescue team for three days.
  • California Earthquakes of the 20th Century Ultimately, the current essay examines the most devastating earthquakes in California in the 20th century and proposes a hypothesis of when the next large earthquake might strike.
  • Human Activity and Growing Number of Earthquakes The pieces that support the opposing view claim that the data about their number may be distorted due to the lack of difference in the development mechanism of natural and artificial earthquakes.
  • Researching the Earthquake Due to human activity, artificial earthquakes occur, and their number increases every year following the strengthening of destructive human impact on the planet.
  • Earthquake Disaster Preparedness in Healthcare Therefore, an earthquake disaster infers abrupt and immense shaking of the ground for a duration and magnitude that can infringe the day-to-day activities. The last role of healthcare personnel in triage and intervention is to […]
  • Haiti Earthquake of 2010 Overview The purpose of this paper is to review the location and physical cause of the event, its human impact from it, and some of the interesting facts related to the disaster.
  • Wenchuan Earthquake: Impact on China’s Economy The earthquake made a moderate impact on the country’s economy, yet affected several industries located in the devastated areas.
  • Earthquake Prevention From Healthcare Perspective In terms of primary prevention of such a disaster, it is necessary to establish a public body or organization responsible for the creation of an extensive network of food, water, and first-aid kits to last […]
  • The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 Documentary The documentary reflects the events leading to the natural disasters and their aftermath, including an investigation into the reasons for the failure of the precautionary measures in place during the 2011 earthquake in Japan.
  • Earthquakes in California The earthquake that is the largest by magnitude is in California. It is possible to minimize the damage by an earthquake.
  • Earthquakes and Barriers to Risk Mitigation The victims of the earthquake in Haiti were hundreds of people, while the number of wounded and homeless was in the thousands. As for the latter, the worst scenario of the earthquake is created and […]
  • Role of the Nurses in the Site of the Haiti Earthquake The primary aim of the tertiary intervention conducted by the health practitioners was to reduce the effect of the diseases and injuries that occurred because of the Haiti earthquake.
  • A Geological Disaster: Nisqually Earthquake in Washington State Geology refers to the study of the processes that lead to the formation of rocks and the processes that contribute to the shape of the earth.
  • Theory of Disaster: Earthquakes and Floods as Examples of Disasters The second category is that of those people who put their focus on the effects of the social vulnerability or the disasters to the society or to the people who are likely to be the […]
  • The Huaxian Earthquake: China’s Deadliest Disaster The main reason for the terrible earthquakes consequences was in the absence of a plan for the emergency case. After visiting China later in 1556, he wrote that the given disaster was likely to be […]
  • The Sumatra Earthquake of 26 December 2004: Indonesia Tsunami As such, the earthquake resulted in the development of a large tsunami off the Sumatran Coast that led to destruction of large cities in Indonesia.
  • Earthquakes: Plate Margins and Causes of Earthquakes Therefore, the distance of the fracture will determine the intensity of the vibrations caused by the earthquake and the duration of the effect, that is, shaking the ground.
  • Review of Public Meeting Regarded Earthquakes This focused meeting held in Port Au-Prince was to formulate the best strategies to help the people of Haiti anticipate, adapt and also recover from the impacts of earthquakes.
  • Rebuilding Haiti: Post-Earthquake Recovery No doubt the tremors have taken a massive toll on the lives and resources of Haiti, but it was not only the tremors that caused the damage to such a massive extent.
  • Earthquake in Haiti and Its Ramifications The short-term effects of the earthquake include food shortage, lack of clean water; breakdown of communication, lack of sufficient medical care, closure of ports and main roads, increased mortally, injuries, fires, the spread of communicable […]
  • Sichuan Earthquake and Recovering as Community Problem We plan to give these pamphlets to businessmen in China and we have also uploaded these pamphlets on the internet for all the people around the world to see and to support this great cause.
  • Natural Hazard: Tsunami Caused by Earthquakes Other areas that are prone to the tsunamis include Midwestern and Eastern United States of America and parts of Eastern of Canada, Indian Ocean and East Africa.
  • Volcanoes: Volcanic Chains and Earthquakes The “Ring of Fire” is marked by the volcanic chains of Japan, Kamchatka, South Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, the Cascade Range of the United States and Canada, Central America, the Andes, New Zealand, Tonga, […]
  • Earthquakes: Causes and Consequences The first of these are body waves, which travel directly through rock and cause the vertical and horizontal displacement of the surface.
  • Emergency Response to Haiti Earthquake The response to the earthquake and calamities that followed was a clear demonstration that the country was ill-prepared to deal with such a disaster.
  • Haiti and Nepal Earthquakes and Health Concerns As applied to the environment in these countries, roads were disrupted and, in some parts of the area, people could not be provided with the necessary amounts of food and drinking water.
  • Hypothetical New York Earthquake Case Therefore, the following faults would be included in the report as potential causes of the earthquake: the 125th Street fault is the largest of all.
  • 1906 San Francisco Earthquake: Eyewitness Story The moon crept in and out of the room, like a late evening silhouette, but its lazy rays did little to signal us what we would expect for the rest of the day.
  • Scientists’ Guilt in L’Aquila Earthquake Deaths Additionally, there is another issue related to the development of scientific knowledge, which takes time as it is subjected to a lot of criticism before it is adopted.
  • Dangerous and Natural Energy: Earthquakes The distribution of earthquakes in the world varies according to the region. Click on one of the earthquakes on the map and make a note of its magnitude and region.
  • Earthquake Emergency Management and Health Services Fundamental principles of healthcare incident management involve the protection of people’s lives, the stabilization of the disaster spot, and the preservation of property.
  • Drilling Activities and Earthquakes in Kansas According to the report of the State Corporation Commission of the State of Kansas, the work of local drilling companies has considerably increased the number of seismic activities in the state.
  • Earthquake as a Unique Type of Natural Disaster Earthquakes are believed to be one of the most dangerous natural disasters, and they can have a lot of negative effects on both the community and the environment.
  • US Charities in Haiti After the 2010 Earthquake This paper aims to explore the overall implications of the earthquake and the response to it, as well as to provide an examination of the actions of three U.S.-based NGOs, which contributed to the restoration […]
  • Earthquakes Effect on New Zealand HR Management Similarly, the occurrence of the incident led to the loss of lives that had the potential of promoting most businesses into great heights.
  • Earthquake Statistics Understanding Tectonic earthquakes are prompted as a consequent of movement of the earth’s crust because of the strain. The USGS National Earthquake Information Center reports an increase in the number of detection and location of earthquakes […]
  • Natural Disasters: Tsunami, Hurricanes and Earthquake The response time upon the prediction of a tsunami is minimal owing to the rapid fall and rise of the sea level.
  • Geology Issues: Earthquakes The direction of the plates’ movements and the sizes of the faults are different as well as the sizes of tectonic plates.
  • 2008 and 2013 Sichuan Earthquakes in China This was the worst and the most devastating earthquake since “the Tangshan earthquake of 1976 in China”. In addition, impacts differ based on the number of fatalities and damages to property.
  • Haiti Earthquake Devastation of 2010 In addition, most of the personnel who were part and parcel of the recovery teams were lost in the disaster making it difficult to reach out for the victims.
  • Mitigation for Earthquake and Eruption Since the energy is mainly derived from the sustained stress and deformation of the underlying rocks, the precursor signals of earthquakes especially in seismic zones are majorly based on the careful study of the earth’s […]
  • Earthquakes Impact on Human Resource in Organizations The researcher seeks to determine the magnitude of this effect and its general effect on the society in general and the firms affected in specific.
  • Earthquakes in New Madrid and Fulton City, Missouri The accumulation of this stress is a clear indication of the slow but constant movement of the earth’s outermost rocky layers.
  • Earthquakes as a Cause of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Although earthquake is a major cause of the post traumatic stress disorder, there are other factors that determine the development of the same.
  • Plate Tectonics, Volcanism, Earthquakes and Rings of Fire Plate tectonics has led to the separation of the sea floor over the years and the earth is composed of seven tectonic plates according to the available geological information.
  • The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake The earthquake was accompanied by a great tsunami given the high magnitude of the earthquake that reached 9. The third disaster was the meltdown of a number of nuclear plants following the tsunami.
  • The 1979 Tangshan Earthquake The Tangshan Earthquake happened in 1976 is considered to be one of the large-scale earthquakes of the past century. The 1975 Haicheng Earthquake was the first marker of gradual and continuous intensification of tectonic activity […]
  • Earthquakes: Definition, Prevalence of Occurrence, Damage, and Possibility of Prediction An earthquake is a dangerous tremor that is caused by sudden release of energy in the crust of the earth leading to seismic waves that cause movements of the ground thus causing deaths and damages.
  • Losing the Ground: Where Do Most Earthquakes Take Place? Since, according to the above-mentioned information, natural earthquakes are most common in the places where the edges of tectonic plates meet, it is reasonable to suggest that earthquakes are most common in the countries that […]
  • The Impacts of Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami on the World Economy The future prospects in regard to the tsunami and the world economy will be presented and application of the lessons learnt during the catastrophe in future” tsunami occurrence” management.
  • Geology Issue – Nature of Earthquakes Such an earthquake is caused by a combination of tectonic plate movement and movement of magma in the earth’s crust. Continental drift is the motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates relative to each other.
  • The Great San Francisco Earthquake The length however depends on the size of the wave since the larger the wave the larger the area affected and consequently the longer the period of time taken.
  • The Impact of the California Earthquake on Real Estate Firms’ Stock Value
  • Technology Is The Best Way To Reduce The Impact of An Earthquake
  • Study on Earthquake-Prone Buildings Policy in New Zealand
  • The Devastating Effects of the Tohuku Earthquake of 2011 in Japan
  • The Disasters in Japan in 2011: The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
  • Why Was the Haiti Earthquake So Deadly
  • Taking a Closer Look at Haiti After the Earthquake
  • The Aftermath of The Earthquake of Nepal
  • The Effects of the Fourth-Largest Earthquake in Japan in Problems Persist at Fukushima, an Article by Laurie Garret
  • The Greatest Loss of The United Francisco Earthquake of 1906
  • The Impact of Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes on Named Caribbean Territories
  • The Destruction Caused by the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
  • Foreshocks and Aftershocks in Earthquake
  • The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Firestorm
  • Scientific and Philosophic Explanation of The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake
  • The Haiti Earthquake: Engineering and Human Perspectives
  • Voltaire and Rousseau: A Byproduct of The Lisbon Earthquake
  • The Great East Japan Earthquake’s Impact on the Japanese
  • Estimating the Direct Economic Damage of the Earthquake in Haiti
  • What Should People Do Before, During, and After an Earthquake
  • What to Do Before, During, and After an Earthquake
  • Valuing the Risk of Imperfect Information: Christchurch Earthquake
  • The Impact of the Earthquake on the Output Gap and Prices
  • The Devastating Earthquake of The United States
  • The Earthquake of The Sumatra Earthquake
  • The Crisis of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant After an Earthquake
  • The Impact of The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
  • The History and Effects of the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami in 2004
  • The Effects of an Earthquake Ledcs
  • The Cascadia Earthquake: A Disaster That Could Happen
  • The Economy in the Aftermath of the Earthquake
  • The Impact of Earthquake Risk on Housing Market Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake
  • Who Benefit From Cash and Food-for-Work Programs in Post-Earthquake Haiti
  • Macro Effects of Massive Earthquake Upon Economic in Japan from 2011 to 2013
  • How the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Shaped Economic Activity in the American West
  • The Cause of Earthquakes and the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
  • The Effect of the Earthquake in Haiti: Global Issues
  • Understanding How Gigantic Earthquake and Resultant Tsunami Are Being Formed
  • Why God and The Earthquake of Haiti Happened
  • The Effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Investors’ Risk and Time Preferences
  • The Great East Japan Earthquake and its Short-run Effects on Household Purchasing Behavior
  • Internal Displacement and Recovery From a Missouri Earthquake
  • Understanding the Causes and Effects of an Earthquake
  • Supply Chain Disruptions: Evidence From the Great East Japan Earthquake
  • The Earthquake That Shook The World In Pakistan
  • What Motivates Volunteer Work in an Earthquake?
  • Who Benefits From Cash and Food-For-Work Programs in Post-earthquake Haiti?
  • Why Did Haiti Suffer More Than Kobe as a Result of an Earthquake?
  • Why Did the Earthquake in Haiti Happen?
  • Why Does the Earthquake Happen in Chile?
  • Why Was the Haiti Earthquake So Deadly?
  • Was the Japan Earthquake Manmade?
  • How Did the 1964 Alaska Earthquake Enhance Our Understanding?
  • How Does the Theory of Plate Tectonics Help to Explain the World Distribution of Earthquakes and Volcanic Zones?
  • How Leaders Controlled Events in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake?
  • How Shaky Was the Regional Economy After the 1995 Kobe Earthquake?
  • How Would Society React to Modern Earthquakes, if They Only Believed in Myths?
  • How the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Shaped Economic Activity in the American West?
  • How Does the Nepal Earthquake Continue to Re-Shape People’s Lives?
  • Are People Insured Against Natural Disasters Such as Earthquakes?
  • What Is the Long-Lasting Impact of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti?
  • How Do Japanese Smes Prepare Against Natural Disasters Such as Earthquakes?
  • The Kobe Earthquake and Why Did Mrs. Endo Die?
  • What Was the Last Earthquake?
  • What Is an Earthquake, and Why Does It Happen?
  • What Are Three Earthquake Facts?
  • What Is an Earthquake in a Simple Way?
  • How Do Earthquakes Start?
  • What Are the Effects of Earthquakes?
  • How Can Earthquakes Be Prevented?
  • What Are the Five Leading Causes of the Earthquake?
  • Where Is the Safest Place to Be in an Earthquake?
  • Can Humans Cause Earthquakes?
  • What Are Five Facts about Earthquakes?
  • Does a Small Earthquake Mean That a Giant Earthquake Is Coming?
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

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National Academies Press: OpenBook

National Earthquake Resilience: Research, Implementation, and Outreach (2011)

Chapter: 1 introduction.

1 Introduction

When a strong earthquake hits an urban area, structures collapse, people are injured or killed, infrastructure is disrupted, and business interruption begins. The immediate impacts caused by an earthquake can be devastating to a community, challenging it to launch rescue efforts, restore essential services, and initiate the process of recovery. The ability of a community to recover from such a disaster reflects its resilience, and it is the many factors that contribute to earthquake resilience that are the focus of this report. Specifically, we provide a roadmap for building community resilience within the context of the Strategic Plan of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), a program first authorized by Congress in 1977 to coordinate the efforts of four federal agencies—National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The three most recent earthquake disasters in the United States all occurred in California—in 1994 near Los Angeles at Northridge, in 1989 near San Francisco centered on Loma Prieta, and in 1971 near Los Angeles at San Fernando. In each earthquake, large buildings and major highways were heavily damaged or collapsed and the economic activity in the afflicted area was severely disrupted. Remarkably, despite the severity of damage, deaths numbered fewer than a hundred for each event. Moreover, in a matter of days or weeks, these communities had restored many essential services or worked around major problems, completed rescue efforts, and economic activity—although impaired—had begun to recover. It could be argued that these communities were, in fact, quite resilient. But

it should be emphasized that each of these earthquakes was only moderate to strong in size, less than magnitude-7, and that the impacted areas were limited in size. How well would these communities cope with a magnitude-8 earthquake? What lessons can be drawn from the resilience demonstrated for a moderate earthquake in preparing for a great one?

Perhaps experience in dealing with hurricane disasters would be instructive in this regard. In a typical year, a few destructive hurricanes make landfall in the United States. Most of them cause moderate structural damage, some flooding, limited disruption of services—usually loss of power—and within a few days, activity returns to near normal. However, when Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans region in 2005 and caused massive flooding and long-term evacuation of much of the population, the response capabilities were stretched beyond their limits. Few observers would argue that New Orleans, at least in the short term, was a resilient community in the face of that event.

Would an earthquake on the scale of the 1906 event in northern California or the 1857 event in southern California lead to a similar catastrophe? It is likely that an earthquake on the scale of these events in California would indeed lead to a catastrophe similar to hurricane Katrina, but of a significantly different nature. Flooding, of course, would not be the main hazard, but substantial casualties, collapse of structures, fires, and economic disruption could be of great consequence. Similarly, what would happen if there were to be a repeat of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812, in view of the vulnerability of the many bridges and chemical facilities in the region and the substantial barge traffic on the Mississippi River? Or, consider the impact if an earthquake like the 1886 Charleston tremor struck in other areas in the central or eastern United States, where earthquake-prone, unreinforced masonry structures abound and earthquake preparedness is not a prime concern? The resilience of communities and regions, and the steps—or roadmap—that could be taken to ensure that areas at risk become earthquake resilient, are the subject of this report.

EARTHQUAKE RISK AND HAZARD

Earthquakes proceed as cascades, in which the primary effects of faulting and ground shaking induce secondary effects such as landslides, liquefaction, and tsunami, which in turn set off destructive processes within the built environment such as fires and dam failures (NRC, 2003). The socioeconomic effects of large earthquakes can reverberate for decades.

The seismic hazard for a specified site is a probabilistic forecast of how intense the earthquake effects will be at that site. In contrast, seismic risk is a probabilistic forecast of the damage to society that will be caused by earthquakes, usually measured in terms of casualties and economic losses in a

specified area integrated over the post-earthquake period. Risk depends on the hazard, but it is compounded by a community’s exposure —its population and the extent and density of its built environment—as well as the fragility of its built environment, population, and socioeconomic systems to seismic hazards. Exposure and fragility contribute to vulnerability . Risk is lowered by resiliency , the measure of how efficiently and how quickly a community can recover from earthquake damage.

Risk analysis seeks to quantify the risk equation in a framework that allows the impact of political policies and economic investments to be evaluated, to inform the decision-making processes that contribute to risk reduction. Risk quantification is a difficult problem, because it requires detailed knowledge of the natural and the built environments, as well as an understanding of both earthquake and human behaviors. Moreover, national risk is a dynamic concept because of the exponential rise in the urban exposure to seismic hazards (EERI, 2003b)—calculating risk involves predictions of highly uncertain demographic trends.

Estimating Losses from Earthquakes

The synoptic earthquake risk studies needed for policy formulation are the responsibility of NEHRP. These studies can take the form of deterministic or scenario studies where the effects of a single earthquake are modeled, or probabilistic studies that weight the effects from a number of different earthquake scenarios by the annual likelihood of their occurrence. The consequences are measured in terms of dollars of damage, fatalities, injuries, tons of debris generated, ecological damage, etc. The exposure period may be defined as the design lifetime of a building or some other period of interest (e.g., 50 years). Typically, seismic risk estimates are presented in terms of an exceedance probability (EP) curve (Kunreuther et al., 2004), which shows the probability that specific parameters will equal or exceed specified values ( Figure 1.1 ). On this figure, a loss estimate calculated for a specific scenario earthquake is represented by a horizontal slice through the EP curve, while estimates of annualized losses from earthquakes are portrayed by the area under the EP curve.

The 2008 Great California ShakeOut exercise in southern California is an example of a scenario study that describes what would happen during and after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake on the southernmost 300 km of the San Andreas Fault ( Figure 1.2 ), a plausible event on the fault that is most likely to produce a major earthquake. Analysis of the 2008 ShakeOut scenario, which involved more than 5,000 emergency responders and the participation of more than 5.5 million citizens, indicated that the scenario earthquake would have resulted in an estimated 1,800 fatalities, $113 billion in damages to buildings and lifelines, and nearly $70 billion in busi-

images

FIGURE 1.1 Sample mean EP curve, showing that for a specified event the probability of insured losses exceeding L i is given by p i . SOURCE: Kunreuther et al. (2004).

ness interruption (Jones et al., 2008; Rose et al., in press). The broad areal extent and long duration of water service outages was the main contributor to business interruption losses. Moreover, the scenario is essentially a compound event like Hurricane Katrina, with the projected urban fires caused by gas main breaks and other types of induced accidents projected to cause $40 billion of the property damage and more than $22 billion of the business interruption. Devastating fires occurred in the wake of the 1906 San Francisco, 1923 Tokyo, and 1995 Kobe earthquakes.

Loss estimates have been published for a range of earthquake scenarios based on historic events—e.g., the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (Kircher et al., 2006); the 1811/1812 New Madrid earthquakes (Elnashai et al., 2009); and the magnitude-9 Cascadia subduction earthquake of 1700 (CREW, 2005)—or inferred from geologic data that show the magnitudes and locations of prehistoric fault ruptures (e.g., the Puente Hills blind thrust that runs beneath central Los Angeles; Field et al., 2005). In all cases, the results from such estimates are staggering, with economic losses that run into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

FEMA’s latest estimate of Annualized Earthquake Loss (AEL) for the nation (FEMA, 2008) is an example of a probabilistic study—an estimate of national earthquake risk that used HAZUS-MH software ( Box 1.1 ) together with input from Census 2000 data and the 2002 USGS National Seismic Hazard Map. The current AEL estimate of $5.3 billion (2005$)

images

FIGURE 1.2 A “ShakeMap” representing the shaking produced by the scenario earthquake on which the Great California ShakeOut was based. The colors represent the Modified Mercalli Intensity, with warmer colors representing areas of greater damage. SOURCE: USGS. Available at earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/sc/shake/ShakeOut2_full_se/ .

reflects building-related direct economic losses including damage to buildings and their contents, commercial inventories, as well as damaged building-related income losses (e.g., wage losses, relocation costs, rental income losses, etc.), but does not include indirect economic losses or losses to lifeline systems. For comparison, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) (2003b) extrapolated the FEMA (2001) estimate of AEL ($4.4 billion) for residential and commercial building-related direct economic losses by a factor of 2.5 to include indirect economic losses, the social costs of death and injury, as well as direct and indirect losses to the

BOX 1.1 HAZUS ® —Risk Metrics for NEHRP

The ability to monitor and compare seismic risk across states and regions is critical to the management of NEHRP. At the state and local level, an understanding of seismic risk is important for planning and for evaluating costs and benefits associated with building codes, as well as a variety of other prevention measures. HAZUS is Geographic Information System (GIS) software for earthquake loss estimation that was developed by FEMA in cooperation with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). HAZUS-MH (Hazards U.S.-Multi-Hazard) was released in 2003 to include wind and flood hazards in addition to the earthquake hazards that were the subject of the 1997 and 1999 HAZUS releases. Successive HAZUS maintenance releases (MR) have been made available by FEMA since the initial HAZUS-MH MR-1 release; the latest version, HAZUS-MH MR-5, was released in December 2010.

Annualized Earthquake Loss (AEL) is the estimated long-term average of earthquake losses in any given year for a specific location. Studies by FEMA based on the 1990 and 2000 censuses provide two “snapshots” of seismic risk in the United States (FEMA, 2001, 2008). These studies, together with an earlier analysis of the 1970 census by Petak and Atkisson (1982), show that the estimated national AEL increased from $781 million (1970$) to $4.7 billion (2000$)—or by about 40 percent—over four decades ( Figure 1.3 ). All three studies used building-related direct economic losses and included structural and nonstructural replacement costs, contents damage, business inventory losses, and direct business interruption losses.

industrial, manufacturing, transportation, and utility sectors to arrive at an annual average financial loss in excess of $10 billion.

Although the need to address earthquake risk is now accepted in many communities, the ability to identify and act on specific hazard and risk issues can be improved by reducing the uncertainties in the risk equation. Large ranges in loss estimates generally stem from two types of uncertainty—the natural variability assigned to earthquake processes ( aleatory uncertainty ), as well as a lack of knowledge of the true hazards and risks involved ( epistemic uncertainty ). Uncertainties are associated with the methodologies, the assumptions, and databases used to estimate the ground motions and building inventories, the modeling of building responses, and the correlation of expected economic and social losses to the estimated physical damages.

images

FIGURE 1.3 Growth of seismic risk in the United States. Annualized Earthquake Loss (AEL) estimates are shown for the census year on which the estimate is based, in census year dollars. Estimate for 1970 census from Petak and Atkinson (1982); HAZUS-99 estimate for 1990 census from FEMA (2001); and HAZUS-MH estimate for 2000 census from FEMA (2008). Consumer Price Index (CPI) dollar adjustments based on CPI inflation calculator (see data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl ).

Comparison of published risk estimates reveals the sensitivity of such estimates to varying inputs, such as soil types and ground motion attenuation models, or building stock inventories and damage calculations. The basic earth science and geotechnical research and data that the NEHRP agencies provide to communities help to reduce these types of epistemic uncertainty, whereas an understanding of the intrinsic aleatory uncertainty is achieved through scientific research into the processes that cause earthquakes. Accurate loss estimation models increase public confidence in making seismic risk management decisions. Until the uncertainties surrounding the EP curve in Figure 1.1 are reduced, there will be either unnecessary or insufficient emergency response planning and mitigation because the experts in these areas will be unable to inform decision-makers of the probabilities and potential outcomes with an appropriate degree of

confidence (NRC, 2006a). Information about new and rehabilitated buildings and infrastructure, coupled with improved seismic hazard maps, can allow policy-makers to track incremental reductions in risk and improvements in safety through earthquake mitigation programs (NRC, 2006b).

NEHRP ACCOMPLISHMENTS—THE PAST 30 YEARS

In its 30 years of existence, NEHRP has provided a focused, coordinated effort toward developing a knowledge base for addressing the earthquake threat. The following summary of specific accomplishments from the earth sciences and engineering fields are based on the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan (NIST, 2008):

• Improved understanding of earthquake processes. Basic research and earthquake monitoring have significantly advanced the understanding of the geologic processes that cause earthquakes, the characteristics of earthquake faults, the nature of seismicity, and the propagation of seismic waves. This understanding has been incorporated into seismic hazard assessments, earthquake potential assessments, building codes and design criteria, rapid assessments of earthquake impacts, and scenarios for risk mitigation and response planning.

• Improved earthquake hazard assessment. Improvements in the National Seismic Hazard Maps have been developed through a scientifically defensible and repeatable process that involves peer input and review at regional and national levels by expert and user communities. Once based on six broad zones, they now are based on a grid of seismic hazard assessments at some 150,000 sites throughout the country. The new maps, first developed in 1996, are periodically updated and form the basis for the Design Ground Motion Maps used in the NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures, the foundation for the seismic elements of model building codes.

• Improved earthquake risk assessment. Development of earthquake hazard- and risk-assessment techniques for use throughout the United States has improved awareness of earthquake impacts on communities. NEHRP funds have supported the development and continued refinement of HAZUS-MH. The successful NEHRP-supported integration of earthquake risk-assessment and loss-estimation methodologies with earthquake hazard assessments and notifications has provided significant benefits for both emergency response and community planning. Moreover, major advances in risk assessment and hazard loss estimation beyond what could be included in a software package for general users were developed by the three NSF-supported earthquake engineering centers.

• Improved earthquake safety in design and construction. Earthquake safety in new buildings has been greatly improved through the adoption, in whole or in part, of earthquake-resistant national model building codes by state and local governments in all 50 states. Development of advanced earthquake engineering technologies for use in design and construction has greatly improved the cost-effectiveness of earthquake-resistant design and construction while giving options with predicted decision consequences. These techniques include new methods for reducing the seismic risk associated with nonstructural components, base isolation methods for dissipating seismic energy in buildings, and performance-based design approaches.

• Improved earthquake safety for existing buildings. NEHRP-led research, development of engineering guidelines, and implementation activities associated with existing buildings have led to the first generation of consensus-based national standards for evaluating and rehabilitating existing buildings. This work provided the basis for two American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) standards documents: ASCE 31 (Seismic Evaluation of Existing Buildings) and ASCE 41 (Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings).

• Development of partnerships for public awareness and earthquake mitigation. NEHRP has developed and sustained partnerships with state and local governments, professional groups, and multi-state earthquake consortia to improve public awareness of the earthquake threat and support the development of sound earthquake mitigation policies.

• Improved development and dissemination of earthquake information. There is now a greatly increased body of earthquake-related information available to public- and private-sector officials and the general public. This comes through effective documentation, earthquake response exercises, learning-from-earthquake activities, publications on earthquake safety, training, education, and information on general earthquake phenomena and means to reduce their impact. Millions of earthquake preparedness handbooks have been delivered to at-risk populations, and many of these handbooks have been translated from English into languages most easily understood by large sectors of the population. NEHRP now maintains a website 1 that provides information on the program and communicates regularly with the earthquake professional community through the monthly electronic newsletter, Seismic Waves.

• Improved notification of earthquakes. The USGS National Earthquake Information Center and regional networks, all elements of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS), now provide earthquake

_________________

1 See www.nehrp.gov .

alerts describing a magnitude and location within a few minutes after an earthquake. The USGS PAGER system 2 provides estimates of the number of people and the names of cities exposed to shaking, with corresponding levels of impact shown by the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale and estimates of the number of fatalities and economic loss, following significant earthquakes worldwide ( Figure 1.4 ). When coupled with graphic ShakeMaps 3 showing the distribution and severity of ground shaking (e.g., Chapter 3 , Figure 3.2 ), this information is essential for effective emergency response, infrastructure management, and recovery planning.

• Expanded training and education of earthquake professionals. Thousands of graduates of U.S. colleges and universities have benefited from their involvement and experiences with NEHRP-supported research projects and training activities. Those graduates now form the nucleus of America’s earthquake professional community.

• Development of advanced data collection and research facilities. NEHRP took the lead in developing ANSS and the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). Through these initiatives, NEES now forms a national infrastructure for testing geotechnical, structural, and nonstructural systems, and once completed, ANSS will provide a comprehensive, nationwide system for monitoring seismicity and collecting data on earthquake shaking on the ground and in structures. NEHRP also has participated in the development of the Global Seismographic Network to provide data on seismic events worldwide.

As well as this list of important accomplishments cited in the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan, the following range of NEHRP accomplishments in the social science arena were described in NRC (2006a):

• Development of a comparative research framework. Largely supported by NEHRP, over the past three decades social scientists increasingly have placed the study of earthquakes within a comparative framework that includes other natural, technological, and willful events. This evolving framework calls for the integration of hazards and disaster research within the social sciences and among social science, natural science, and engineering disciplines.

• Documentation of community and regional vulnerability to earthquakes and other natural hazards. Under NEHRP sponsorship, social science knowledge has expanded greatly in terms of data on community and regional exposure and vulnerability to earthquakes and other natural hazards, such that the foundation has been established for devel-

2 See earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/pager/ .

3 See earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/ .

images

FIGURE 1.4 Sample PAGER output for the strong and damaging February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. SOURCE: USGS. Available at earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/pager/events/us/b0001igm/index.html .

oping more precise loss estimation models and related decision support tools (e.g., HAZUS). The vulnerabilities are increasingly documented through state-of-the-art geospatial and temporal methods (e.g., GIS, remote sensing, and visual overlays of hazardous areas with demographic information), and the resulting data are equally relevant to pre-, trans-, and post-disaster social science investigations.

• Household and business-sector adoption of self-protective measures. A solid knowledge base has been developed under NEHRP at the household level on vulnerability assessment, risk communication, warning response (e.g., evacuation), and the adoption of other forms of protective action (e.g., emergency food and water supplies, fire extinguishers, procedures and tools to cut off utilities, hazard insurance). Adoption of these and other self-protective measures has been modeled systematically, highlighting the importance of disaster experience and perceptions of personal risk (i.e., beliefs about household vulnerability to and consequences of specific events) and, to a lesser extent, demographic variables (e.g., income, education, home ownership) and social influences (e.g., communications patterns and observations of what other people are doing). Although research on adoption of self-protective measures of businesses is much more limited, recent experience of disaster-related business or lifeline interruptions has been shown to be correlated with greater preparedness activities, at least in the short run. Such preparedness activities are more likely to occur in larger as opposed to smaller commercial enterprises.

• Public-sector adoption of disaster mitigation measures. Most NEHRP-sponsored social science research has focused on the politics of hazard mitigation as they relate to intergovernmental issues in land-use regulations. The highly politicized nature of these regulations has been well documented, particularly when multiple layers of government are involved. Governmental conflicts regarding responsibility for the land-use practices of households and businesses are compounded by the involvement of other stakeholders (e.g., bankers, developers, industry associations, professional associations, other community activists, and emergency management practitioners). The results are complex social networks of power relationships that constrain the adoption of hazard mitigation policies and practices at local and regional levels.

• Hazard insurance issues. NEHRP-sponsored social research has documented many difficulties in developing and maintaining an actuarially sound insurance program for earthquakes and floods—those who are most likely to purchase earthquake and flood insurance are, in fact, those who are most likely to file claims. This problem makes it virtually impossible to sustain an insurance market in the private sector for these hazards. Economists and psychologists have documented in laboratory studies

a number of logical deficiencies in the way people process information related to risks as it relates to insurance decision-making. Market failure in earthquake and flood insurance remains an important social science research and public policy issue.

• Public-sector adoption of disaster emergency and recovery preparedness measures. NEHRP-sponsored social science studies of emergency preparedness have addressed the extent of local support for disaster preparedness, management strategies for improving the effectiveness of community preparedness, the increasing use of computer and communications technologies in disaster planning and training, the structure of community preparedness networks, and the effects of disaster preparedness on both pre-determined (e.g., improved warning response and evacuation behavior) and improvised (e.g., effective ad hoc uses of personnel and resources) responses during actual events. Thus far there has been little social science research on the disaster recovery aspect of preparedness.

• Social impacts of disasters. A solid body of social science research supported by NEHRP has documented the destructive impacts of disasters on residential dwellings and the processes people go through in housing recovery (emergency shelter, temporary sheltering, temporary housing, and permanent housing), as well as analogous impacts on businesses. Documented specifically are the problems faced by low-income households, which tend to be headed disproportionately by females and racial or ethnic minorities. Notably, there has been little social science research under NEHRP on the impacts of disasters on other aspects of the built environment. There is a substantial research literature on the psychological, social, and economic and (to a lesser extent) political impacts of disaster, which suggests that these impacts, while not random within impacted populations, are generally modest and transitory.

• Post-disaster responses by the public and private sectors. Research before and since the establishment of NEHRP in 1977 has contradicted misconceptions that during disasters, panic will be widespread, that large percentages of those who are expected to respond will simply abandon disaster relief roles, that local institutions will break down, that crime and other forms of anti-social behavior will be rampant, and that the mental impairment of victims and first responders will be a major problem. Existing and ongoing research is documenting and modeling the mix of expected and improvised responses by emergency management personnel, the public and private organizations of which they are members, and the multi-organizational networks within which these individual and organizational responses are nested. As a result of this research, a range of decision support tools is now being developed for emergency management practitioners.

• Post-disaster reconstruction and recovery by the public and private sectors. Prior to NEHRP relatively little was known about disas-

ter recovery processes and outcomes at different levels of analysis (e.g., households, neighborhoods, firms, communities, and regions). NEHRP-funded projects have helped to refine general conceptions of disaster recovery, made important contributions in understanding the recovery of households and communities (primarily) and businesses (more recently), and contributed to the development of statistically based community and regional models of post-disaster losses and recovery processes.

• Research on resilience has been a major theme of the NSF-supported earthquake research centers. The Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) sponsored research providing operational definitions of resilience, measuring its cost and effectiveness, and designing policies to implement it at the level of the individual household, business, government, and nongovernment institution. The Mid-American Earthquake Center (MAE) sponsored research on the promotion of earthquake-resilient regions.

ROADMAP CONTEXT—THE EERI REPORT AND NEHRP STRATEGIC PLAN

The 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan calls for an accelerated effort to develop community resilience. The plan defines a vision of “a nation that is earthquake resilient in public safety, economic strength, and national security,” and articulates the NEHRP mission “to develop, disseminate, and promote knowledge, tools, and practices for earthquake risk reduction—through coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency partnerships among NEHRP agencies and their stakeholders—that improve the Nation’s earthquake resilience in public safety, economic, strength, and national security.” The plan identifies three goals with fourteen objectives (listed below), plus nine strategic priorities (presented in Appendix A ).

Goal A: Improve understanding of earthquake processes and impacts.

Objective 1: Advance understanding of earthquake phenomena and generation processes.

Objective 2: Advance understanding of earthquake effects on the built environment.

Objective 3: Advance understanding of the social, behavioral, and economic factors linked to implementing risk reduction and mitigation strategies in the public and private sectors.

Objective 4: Improve post-earthquake information acquisition and management.

Goal B: Develop cost-effective measures to reduce earthquake impacts on individuals, the built environment, and society-at-large.

Objective 5: Assess earthquake hazards for research and practical application.

Objective 6: Develop advanced loss estimation and risk assessment tools.

Objective 7: Develop tools that improve the seismic performance of buildings and other structures.

Objective 8: Develop tools that improve the seismic performance of critical infrastructure.

Goal C: Improve the earthquake resilience of communities nationwide.

Objective 9: Improve the accuracy, timeliness, and content of earthquake information products.

Objective 10: Develop comprehensive earthquake risk scenarios and risk assessments.

Objective 11: Support development of seismic standards and building codes and advocate their adoption and enforcement.

Objective 12: Promote the implementation of earthquake-resilient measures in professional practice and in private and public policies.

Objective 13: Increase public awareness of earthquake hazards and risks.

Objective 14: Develop the nation’s human resource base in earthquake safety fields.

Although the Strategic Plan does not specify the activities that would be required to reach its goals, in the initial briefing to the committee NIST, the NEHRP lead agency, described the 2003 report by the EERI, Securing Society Against Catastrophic Earthquake Losses, as at least a starting point. The EERI report lists specific activities—and estimates costs—for a range of research programs (presented in Appendix B ) that are in broad accord with the goals laid out in the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan. The committee was asked to review, update, and validate the programs and cost estimates laid out in the EERI report.

COMMITTEE CHARGE AND SCOPE OF THIS STUDY

The National Institute of Standards and Technology—the lead NEHRP agency—commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) to undertake a study to assess the activities, and their costs, that would be required for the nation to achieve earthquake resilience in 20 years ( Box 1.2 ). The charge

BOX 1.2 Statement of Task

A National Research Council committee will develop a roadmap for earthquake hazard and risk reduction in the United States. The committee will frame the road map around the goals and objectives for achieving national earthquake resilience in public safety and economic security stated in the current strategic plan of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) submitted to Congress in 2008. This roadmap will be based on an analysis of what will be required to realize the strategic plan’s major technical goals for earthquake resilience within 20 years. In particular, the committee will:

• Host a national workshop focused on assessing the basic and applied research, seismic monitoring, knowledge transfer, implementation, education, and outreach activities needed to achieve national earthquake resilience over a twenty-year period.

• Estimate program costs, on an annual basis, that will be required to implement the roadmap.

• Describe the future sustained activities, such as earthquake monitoring (both for research and for warning), education, and public outreach, which should continue following the 20-year period.

to the committee recognized that there would be a requirement for some sustained activities under the NEHRP program after this 20-year period.

To address the charge, the NRC assembled a committee of 12 experts with disciplinary expertise spanning earthquake and structural engineering; seismology, engineering geology, and earth system science; disaster and emergency management; and the social and economic components of resilience and disaster recovery. Committee biographic information is presented in Appendix C .

The committee held four meetings between May and December, 2009, convening twice in Washington, DC; and also in Irvine, CA; and Chicago, IL (see Appendix D ). The major focal point for community input to the committee was a 2-day open workshop held in August 2009, where concurrent breakout sessions interspersed with plenary addresses enabled the committee to gain a thorough understanding of community perspectives regarding program needs and priorities. Additional briefings by NEHRP agency representatives were presented during open sessions at the initial and final committee meetings.

Report Structure

Building on the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan and the EERI report, this report analyses the critical issues affecting resilience, identifies challenges and opportunities in achieving that goal, and recommends specific actions that would comprise a roadmap to community resilience. Because the concept of “resilience” is a fundamental tenet of the roadmap for realizing the major technical goals of the NEHRP Strategic Plan, Chapter 2 presents an analysis of the concept of resilience, a description of the characteristics of a resilient community, resilience metrics, and a description of the benefits to the nation of a resilience-based approach to hazard mitigation. Chapter 3 contains descriptions of the 18 broad, integrated tasks comprising the elements of a roadmap to achieve national earthquake resilience focusing on the specific outcomes that could be achieved in a 20-year timeframe, and the elements realizable within 5 years. These tasks are described in terms of the proposed activity and actions, existing knowledge and current capabilities, enabling requirements, and implementation issues. Costs to implement these 18 tasks are presented in Chapter 4 , in as much detail as possible within the constraint that some components have been the subject of specific, detailed costing exercises whereas others are necessarily broad-brush estimates at this stage. The final chapter briefly summarizes the major elements of the roadmap.

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The United States will certainly be subject to damaging earthquakes in the future. Some of these earthquakes will occur in highly populated and vulnerable areas. Coping with moderate earthquakes is not a reliable indicator of preparedness for a major earthquake in a populated area. The recent, disastrous, magnitude-9 earthquake that struck northern Japan demonstrates the threat that earthquakes pose. Moreover, the cascading nature of impacts-the earthquake causing a tsunami, cutting electrical power supplies, and stopping the pumps needed to cool nuclear reactors-demonstrates the potential complexity of an earthquake disaster. Such compound disasters can strike any earthquake-prone populated area. National Earthquake Resilience presents a roadmap for increasing our national resilience to earthquakes.

The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is the multi-agency program mandated by Congress to undertake activities to reduce the effects of future earthquakes in the United States. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-the lead NEHRP agency-commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) to develop a roadmap for earthquake hazard and risk reduction in the United States that would be based on the goals and objectives for achieving national earthquake resilience described in the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan. National Earthquake Resilience does this by assessing the activities and costs that would be required for the nation to achieve earthquake resilience in 20 years.

National Earthquake Resilience interprets resilience broadly to incorporate engineering/science (physical), social/economic (behavioral), and institutional (governing) dimensions. Resilience encompasses both pre-disaster preparedness activities and post-disaster response. In combination, these will enhance the robustness of communities in all earthquake-vulnerable regions of our nation so that they can function adequately following damaging earthquakes. While National Earthquake Resilience is written primarily for the NEHRP, it also speaks to a broader audience of policy makers, earth scientists, and emergency managers.

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  • Research article
  • Open access
  • Published: 08 May 2020

Earthquake preparedness of households and its predictors based on health belief model

  • Masoumeh Rostami-Moez 1 , 2 ,
  • Mohammad Rabiee-Yeganeh 2 ,
  • Mohammadreza Shokouhi 3 ,
  • Amin Dosti-Irani 1 , 4 &
  • Forouzan Rezapur-Shahkolai   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5049-1109 5 , 6  

BMC Public Health volume  20 , Article number:  646 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

21k Accesses

26 Citations

Metrics details

Earthquakes are one of the most destructive natural disasters in which many people are injured, disabled, or died. Iran has only 1 % of the world’s population, but the percentage of its earthquake-related deaths is absolutely higher. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the level of earthquake preparedness of households and its predictors using the Health Belief Model (HBM).

This observational descriptive and analytical study was conducted on 933 households in Hamadan province, located in the west of Iran, in 2019. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was used for selecting the participants. The inclusion criteria were being at least 18 years old and being able to answer the questions. A questionnaire was used for data collection including earthquake preparedness, awareness of earthquake response, predictors of earthquake preparedness based on the HBM, and demographic information. Analysis of variance, independent t-test, and a linear regression model was used.

The mean age of participants was 38.24 ± 12.85 years. The average score of earthquake preparedness was low (approximately 30%). There was a significant relationship between earthquake preparedness and gender ( P  < 0.001), homeownership ( P  < 0.001), marriage status ( P  < 0.001), education ( P  < 0.001), and previous earthquake experience ( P  < 0.001). Regarding the HBM constructs, perceived benefits ( P  < 0.001), cues to action ( P  < 0.001), and self-efficacy ( P  < 0.001) were significant predictors of earthquake preparedness.

Conclusions

Earthquake preparedness was insufficient. Besides, perceived benefits, cues to action, and self-efficacy were predictors of earthquake preparedness. These predictors can be taken into account, for designing and implementing related future interventions.

Peer Review reports

Earthquakes are one of the most dangerous natural hazards that occur suddenly and uncontrollably. They cause physical, psychological, and social damages in human societies [ 1 ]. Over the past two decades, 800 million people have been injured by natural disasters. Besides, natural disasters have caused 42 million deaths in the world [ 2 ]. Iran is always at risk of earthquakes due to its geographical location on the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt [ 3 , 4 ]. More than 70% of the major cities in Iran are vulnerable to substantial damages. The earthquakes of recent decades have not only caused the deaths of thousands but also have caused massive economic damage and destroyed many cities and villages in the world [ 5 , 6 ]. Iran has only 1 % of the world’s population, but the percentage of its earthquake-related deaths is absolutely higher [ 7 ]. The disaster management cycle has four phases including mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Preparedness is the most important phase in the disaster management cycle. Previous research in Iran has shown that the role of people as the most important and largest group has often been neglected in disaster preparedness program planning [ 8 ].

The Health Belief Model (HBM) describes the decision-making process that individuals use to adopt healthy behavior. It can be an effective framework for developing health promotion strategies [ 9 ]. Theoretically, in the HBM, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy (the beliefs of individuals in their ability to prepare for disaster) predict behavior [ 1 , 9 , 10 ].

There are some studies on earthquake preparedness that have assessed the readiness of individuals based on their knowledge and skills [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Some studies have also considered structural and non-structural safety in some cities [ 16 ] and some studies have investigated students’ readiness [ 17 , 18 ]. There are a few studies that have used behavioral change models in the disaster area [ 5 ]. The Haraoka and Inal used the Health Belief Model to develop a questionnaire for earthquake preparedness [ 1 , 11 ].

Previous studies in Iran showed that most households did not have enough readiness and had a relatively high vulnerability to possible earthquake hazards [ 19 , 20 ]. Also, one study showed that improving the socio-economic status was correlated with improving the attitude of people about disaster preparedness [ 13 ]. In DeYoung et al.ʼs study, earthquake readiness was positively correlated with risk perception, self-efficacy, and trust in information about hazards through media [ 21 ].

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in Iran that examines earthquake preparedness of households, using a behavior change model. Considering the importance of earthquake preparedness of households, this study aims to asses the level of earthquake preparedness of households and its predictors based on HBM.

Study design and participants

This observational descriptive and analytical study was carried out in all counties of Hamadan province, located in the west of Iran, in 2019. These counties includes Hamadan (the capital of Hamadan province), Malayer, Tuyserkan, Nahavand, Razan, Bahar, Kabudarahang, Asadabad, and Famenin. Based on the previous study [ 19 ], the estimated sample size was 600 households. Cluster sampling was used for this study and we used the design effect of 1.5 plus 10% attrition. Subsequently, the final sample size was calculated at 1000 households. The data were collected from February to July 2019. From each county, a university graduate person was recruited and trained for data collection. The supervision and training were done by the first author. The verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants before the data gathering. The participants were first provided a description of the study and they were informed that the participation in the study was voluntary, and all study data were anonymous and confidential. Then, if they gave verbal informed consent, they would participate in the study and fill out the anonymous questionnaires. A person aged 18 or above was randomly selected from each household and answered the questions. For illiterate people, questionnaires were filled out through interviewing them. The inclusion criteria were being at least 18 years old and being able to answer the questions. The exclusion criteria were an incomplete questionnaire.

Participants have been selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling. First, stratified sampling was used for each county based on its urban and rural populations. Then, in urban and rural areas, a list of urban or rural health centers was listed and one health center was randomly selected in each county. After that, from the list of all households covered by the selected health center, one household was selected by simple random sampling and sampling started taking the clockwise direction of the selected household and continued until the required sample was collected. For selecting the sample of the urban population of Hamadan County, we selected one health center from each district by simple random sampling (in Hamadan city, there are four districts). In the next stage, from the list of covered households, one household was randomly selected and the sampling was started taking the clockwise direction until the required sample in each district was collected.

Measurements

The questionnaire used for data collection comprises four domains including 1) demographics, 2) earthquake preparedness 3) awareness on earthquake response, and 4) predictor of earthquake preparedness based on the HBM. Earthquake preparedness was response variable.

Demographics included age, sex, occupation, education, economic status, family size, number of individuals over 60 years old and under 16, earthquake experience, homeownership, marital status, and having a person with a disease that needs medication at their home.

We measured earthquake preparedness by an earthquake preparedness checklist [ 22 ]. This checklist was developed and validated by Spittal et al., in 2006. It consists of 23 questions with yes or no answers. The questions are about: having a working torch (flashlight), a first aid kit, a working battery radio, a working fire extinguisher, etc. [ 22 ]. We adapted this checklist by adding two items according to the context of the study. These two questions were: 1) do you know the necessary contact numbers such as fire station, police, and emergency so that you will be able to call them if needed?; 2) are you familiar with the phrase, “Drop, Cover, and Hold”? Also, we adapted it with some minor changes. We added “have learned first aid” to “have purchased first aid kit” statement. We added “and extra cloths and blankets” at the end of” put aside extra plastic bags and toilet paper for use as an emergency toilet” statement. We replaced “roof” with “my way” in “ensuring that the roof will probably not collapse in an earthquake. We added some examples to “take some steps at work” statement such as attending an earthquake preparedness class and having fire insurance. The content validity of the Persian checklist was tested by 10 experts. We calculated CVI and CVR equal to 0.92 and 0.95, respectively. Also, the face validity and reliability of this checklist were examined in a pilot study on 40 adults. According to their recommendations, minor revisions were made to increase the transparency and understandability of the statements. Likewise, the reliability of this checklist was measured by internal consistency (Chronbach α = 0.858). The total score of this checklist was ranging from 0 to 25 and the higher score reflects more preparedness.

The awareness on earthquake response questionnaire included seven questions with true/false answers (In an earthquake: you should get down close to the ground; you should get under a big piece of furniture such as a desk or other covers; you should hold on to a firm object until the end of the shaking; you should stand in a doorway; If you are indoors during an earthquake, you must exit the building; If you are in bed during an earthquake, you should stay there and cover your head with a pillow; next to pillars of buildings and interior wall corners are the safe areas). One point was given for each correct answer. Therefore, the total score of this domain was seven points.

The adapted questionnaire of earthquake preparedness based on the HBM was used. The original questionnaire has been established and validated by Inal et al. [ 1 ] in Turkey. The forward and backward translation method was used for translating the original questionnaire. According to the experts’ opinions, some minor changes were made to adapt the items of the questionnaire for the study population in the present study. Thereby, three questions were added to the questions of the cues to action (Radio and TV encourage me to prepare for disasters, I usually seek information about disaster preparedness from Radio and TV, and I usually obtain information about disaster preparedness from health providers). Besides, one question was added to the questions of perceived benefits (preparedness for disaster will reduce financial losses and injuries). Then, the content validity of the questionnaire was assessed by a panel of experts including 10 Health specialists in the field of health in disasters, health education, health promotion, and safety promotion (CVR = 0.92 & CVI = 0.85). Next, the face validity and reliability of the questionnaire were measured in a pilot study on 40 people over 18 years old. The reliability was calculated by using internal consistency. One question from the perceived severity (emergency and the experience of disasters does not change my life) and one question from self-efficacy (I cannot create an emergency plan with my neighbors) was excluded based on the results of Cronbach’s alpha. In Iran, neighbors don’t share their plans; therefore, it was logical to exclude these items. Finally, the questionnaire consisted of 33 questions, including perceived severity (2 questions, α = 0.709), perceived susceptibility (6 questions, α = 0.664), perceived benefits (4 questions, α = 0.758), perceived barriers (6 questions, α = 0.822), self-efficacy (7 questions, α = 0.677), cues to action (8 questions, α = 0.683), and total questions (33 questions, α = 0.809). All of the items were assessed by a 5-point Likert scale ranging from ‘completely disagree’ (one point) to ‘completely agree’ (5 points). Some items were scored reversely.

Statistical analysis

We used the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent t-test to determine the relationship between variables. Besides, the multivariate linear regression model was used to determine the predictors of household earthquake preparedness. The Stata 14.2 software was used to analyze the data.

In this study, 933 questionnaires were analyzed (response rate: 93.3%). The mean age of participants was 38.24 ± 12.85 years. Besides, 228 (24.44%) participants were male and 656 (70.31%) were female. About 80% of the participants did not have an academic education and had a diploma degree or less than a diploma degree. Also, 573 (61.41%) participants were homeowners (Table  1 ).

The earthquake preparedness of the participants was low. The household preparedness score was 7.5 out of 25. In other words, the average earthquake preparedness of households was approximately 30%. Besides, the self-efficacy score was 60.79 ± 0.55 and the score of cues to action was 66.57 ± 0.45 (Table  2 ).

The participants’ preparedness for the earthquake had a significant relationship with gender ( P  < 0.001), homeownership ( P  < 0.001), marital status ( P  < 0.001), and previous experience of a destructive earthquake ( P  < 0.001). Also, the mean score of earthquake preparedness was higher in those who reported moderate or good economic status. The mean difference was statistically significant by the Scheffe test ( P  < 0.001). Furthermore, the one-way ANOVA/Scheffe’s test showed that there was a significant difference between illiterate people and those who had either university education or diploma degree and similarly, a significant difference in earthquake preparedness was observed between primary education and those who had either academic education or diploma degree ( P  < 0.001) (Table  3 ).

The crude regression analysis showed that all constructs of the HBM except perceived severity were significant predictors of earthquake preparedness (P < 0.001) but after using stepwise regression, only perceived benefits ( P  < 0.006), cues to action ( P  < 0.001), and self-efficacy ( P  < 0.001), significantly predicted the earthquake preparedness (Table  4 ).

In this study, we determined the level of earthquake preparedness of households and its predictors based on HBM. The earthquake preparedness of the participants was low. The participants’ preparedness for the earthquake had a significant relationship with homeownership, education, and previous experience of a destructive earthquake. Also, perceived benefits, cues to action, and self-efficacy significantly predicted the earthquake preparedness.

Despite the strong emphasis on earthquake preparedness to prevent its damaging effects, the findings of this study showed that most people had low preparedness for earthquakes which is similar to the findings of previous studies [ 18 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. This can be very dangerous in areas that are vulnerable to earthquakes. Earthquake preparedness is related to the previous experience of destructive earthquakes and their damaging consequences. Households that had previously experienced destructive earthquakes were more prepared than those who had not previously experienced this event, which is similar to previous finding [ 26 , 27 ]. People who live in earthquakes zones and understand the potential losses from earthquakes are more likely to be prepared in comparison to people living in other areas [ 18 ]. This could be due to recalling previous injuries as well as the fear of recurrence of similar injuries in future earthquakes. This goes back to the culture of societies that their members don’t believe that they are at risk of the occurrence of hazards and their consequences until they experience these hazards. Regarding the high frequency of earthquakes in the Hamadan province, most of the participants in this study had previous earthquake experience but they were not prepared for earthquakes. Perhaps this is because most of the recent earthquakes in Hamadan did not result in deaths and as a result, these households do not take the risk of earthquakes seriously and do not find it essential to hold earthquake preparedness [ 28 ].

Besides, education was significantly correlated with households’ earthquake preparedness, which is similar to the results of the studies by Russell et al. and Ghadiri & Nasabi [ 29 , 30 ]. One explanation can be that people with higher education are more knowledgeable, more aware of earthquakes danger, and more inclined to acquire new skills [ 28 , 31 ].

In this study, we found that the preparedness of participants has a significant relationship with homeownership. Two previous studies showed homeowners were more prepared for earthquakes than renters [ 32 , 33 ], whereas a study in Ethiopia in 2014 showed that homeownership had no relationship with disaster preparedness [ 28 ]. One of the explanations is that owners can make the necessary changes despite preparedness costs due to place attachment, but more studies are required to confirm the role of homeownership.

We adjusted for multiple possibly confounding factors in our analysis. After adjusting the model, perceived benefit, cues to action, and self-efficacy had significant predictors of earthquake preparedness. It is more possible that people’s earthquake preparedness increases when they are aware of the benefits of earthquake preparedness. Furthermore, people with high self-efficacy feel they can prepare for earthquakes [ 34 ]. On the other hand, people may find the earthquake hazardous but if they feel enough confident to reduce damages of earthquakes, they will engage in preparedness. If people perceive the benefits of a healthy behavior higher than the barriers of it, they will engage in that healthy behavior. Therefore, people may perceive earthquakes as a high threat but it can be expected that higher perceived benefits and self-efficacy among them result in higher preparedness. One possible explanation is that the perceived benefits motivate people to perform a specific behavior and adopt an action [ 10 ]. Besides, the significant association of self-efficacy with preparedness at the household level for earthquakes could be explained by the positive and strong association of cues to actions with earthquake preparedness at the household level. Self-efficacy can be improved by observational learning, role modeling, and encouragement. Self-efficacy affects one’s efforts to change risk behavior and causes the continuation of one’s safe behavior despite obstacles that may decrease motivation [ 10 ]. Moreover, cues to action associated with earthquake preparedness [ 1 ]. Cues to action mention to influences of the social environment such as family, friends, and mass media. Mass media can play a vital role in educating the public about earthquake preparedness.

This study has several limitations. Firstly, using a self-reporting approach for data gathering, and secondly, due to the low number of relevant studies on earthquake preparedness based on behavioral change models, it was less possible to compare different studies with the findings of this study. Third, it should be noted that the results of this study can be generalized in the study population and setting, but for other settings it should be done with caution. Despite these limitations, this study had some strengths, we use a theoretical framework for identifying factors that influence earthquake preparedness with a large sample size. Also, the findings of this study are useful for emergency service providers, health authorities, and policymakers in designing and implementing earthquake preparedness programs. This research is also useful for researchers as it can be used as a basis for future researches. It is recommended to design and implement interventions to improve household preparedness for an earthquake based on self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and cues to action.

Households’ earthquake preparedness was insufficient and low. Controlling the damaging consequences of earthquakes is related to the preparedness for earthquakes and can prevent its devastating effects. Perceived benefits, cues to action, and self-efficacy had a significant relationship with earthquake preparedness. The possibility of people being more prepared is increased when they are aware of and understand properly the benefits of being prepared for earthquakes and other disasters. People with high self-efficacy also feel more empowered for taking better care of themselves and their families during disasters. Cues to action would also encourage earthquake preparedness. Since health centers and TV and radio programs were the primary sources of learning about earthquakes for the people, it is recommended that broadcasting provides related programs and educates people about earthquake preparedness. The predictors that were assessed in this study can be taken into account for designing and implementing proper interventions in this field.

Availability of data and materials

The analyzed datasets during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Health Belief Model

Confidence Interval

Analysis of Variance

Content Validity Ratio

Content Validity Index

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank all of the participants in this study.

This study was approved and financially supported by the Deputy of Research and Technology of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (number: 9707174168). The funder of this study had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing the manuscript.

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Masoumeh Rostami-Moez & Mohammad Rabiee-Yeganeh

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Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

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Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Fahmideh Ave, Hamadan, Iran

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Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

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MRM has made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the study, took responsibility for and coordinated the acquisition of data and contributed actively in the analysis of the data and the writing of the manuscript. FRS has made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the study, interpretation of the data, and writing up the manuscript. MS contributed to the design of the study and preparation of the manuscript. MRY was involved in the design of the study and the data gathering process. ADI contributed to the study design, data analysis, and interpretation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Rostami-Moez, M., Rabiee-Yeganeh, M., Shokouhi, M. et al. Earthquake preparedness of households and its predictors based on health belief model. BMC Public Health 20 , 646 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08814-2

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Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (2013, January 2013). Disaster Data: A Balanced Perspective. Issue No. 30. Retrieved from http://cred01.epid.ucl.ac.be/f/CredCrunch30.pdf

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2012). World Disasters Report. Retrieved from  http://www.ifrcmedia.org/assets/pages/wdr2012/resources/1216800-WDR-2012-EN-FULL.pdf 

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"Global Volcanism Program | Volcanic Activity Reports | Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report | ." Smithsonian Institution - Global Volcanism Program: Worldwide Holocene Volcano and Eruption Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. .

"The Virtual Times: The New Madrid Earthquake." THE VIRTUAL TIMES . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. .

riverbed., seismically-induced ground motions deforming the. "Historic Earthquakes." U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. .

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UCSD pplication s a resident of Taiwan, I know all too well how devastating an earthquake can be. Japan and Taiwan both experienced earthquakes in March, 2011. The lives lost and physical damage sustained remind us of nature's power. Japan's earthquake continues to be major news because of the nuclear accident that resulted, the worst since Chernobyl. Taiwan's recent earthquake was, fortunately, far less dramatic, with damage to buildings and roads but no loss of life. Taiwan is frequently rattled by earthquakes, although they are usually minor. More than a decade ago, however, our island was rocked by a strong earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people. We wait and wonder if it will happen again. s terrible as Japan's recent earthquake was, the outcome could have been even more disastrous. s scientists have increasingly come to understand when, where and how earthquakes occur, governments have been better able to help their….

As a resident of Taiwan, I know all too well how devastating an earthquake can be. Japan and Taiwan both experienced earthquakes in March, 2011. The lives lost and physical damage sustained remind us of nature's power. Japan's earthquake continues to be major news because of the nuclear accident that resulted, the worst since Chernobyl. Taiwan's recent earthquake was, fortunately, far less dramatic, with damage to buildings and roads but no loss of life. Taiwan is frequently rattled by earthquakes, although they are usually minor. More than a decade ago, however, our island was rocked by a strong earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people. We wait and wonder if it will happen again.

As terrible as Japan's recent earthquake was, the outcome could have been even more disastrous. As scientists have increasingly come to understand when, where and how earthquakes occur, governments have been better able to help their countries prepare. In the Far East, where the risk of earthquakes is high, there is a high level of preparedness, with infrastructure in place to help minimize the physical damage and assist people with basic needs in the aftermath of disaster. There is still much more to be done, however. I would very much like to attend the summer program "Earthquakes in Action" at the University of California at San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering. I hope to learn more about earthquakes and explore various academic and career options in which they are a focus.

I have a strong background in mathematics and I believe that prepares me for the rigors of the summer course. I am particularly interested in the ways that bridges and buildings respond to earthquakes and I look forward to the opportunity to use computer-generated models to study the methods of design and construction that are meant to address these problems. I would appreciate the opportunity to study with experts in seismology and structural engineering and learn as much as I can. The summer program sounds like a great cooperative learning experience. I am really looking forward to the possibility of working with professionals and other students in this endeavor.

How Technology Shapes Disasters

ole of Technology in educing and Exacerbating Disaster isk: A Case Study of -- Haiti Examine how technology(s) exacerbates. Examine how technology(s) reduces the vulnerability of different people facing the same risk. Make policy recommendations that would reduce the risk for the most vulnerable. How to involve communities in technology development. Total words (without references) 1360 words, less 140 words from the total (1500) words As the result of the pillagrisum is 0 well done for that, from the extra words can you show a percentage of 3-5%. You haven't highlighted the aim of this paper Words highlighted in (red) needs to be replaced. Long data with no reference. Choney S.(2010) is not active cite. AL WAYS HIGHLIGHT THE CHANGES IN CODED COLOU NOTE ( HIGHLIGHT THE NEW ALTEATION IN THE SAME PAPE) Abstract The technological inventions and life often go hand in hand and the disasters have often been exacerbated or controlled by technology. This paper investigates in details the Haitian experience during….

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Rocks That Exhibit Ductile Strain Were Probably

Rocks That Exhibit Ductile Strain Were Probably Deformed Choose one answer. at the surface of the earth. when they were cold. when the stress was applied very rapidly. at a depth within Earth at elevated temperatures. Incorrect If rocks exhibit ductile behavior when exposed to compressive stress, they generally will form Choose one answer. normal faults. folds. reverse faults. joints. Incorrect Which of the following types of strain does not result in permanent deformation? Choose one answer. tension elastic strain plastic strain brittle strain Incorrect Faults are geologic structures that result from which type of strain? Choose one answer. a. brittle strain b. ductile strain c. elastic strain plastic strain Incorrect Question 5 In the Lesson 4 Topic 2 video, "Measuring Earthquake Intensity and Magnitude," you were able to see that the rupture from the 1906 earthquake traveled from mile marker 80 to mile marker 100 in 10 seconds. At what speed did the 296 miles of San Andreas Fault rupture during the 1906 earthquake? Choose one answer. a. 2 miles per second b. 200 miles per second c. 2 miles per hour d.….

Pictures Can Speak Louder Than Words and

pictures can speak louder than words, and this is clear in the photo entitled "U.S. Navy: An aerial view of damage to akuya, Japan after a 9 magnitude tsunami." The photo initially looks like picture of a tiny child's toy boat, which is floating in a muddy sea of debris. The boat looks brave and cheery, as it floats amidst the muck, garbage, and flotsam and jetsam of people's belongings. However, the first, deceptive glance of the photograph quickly ebbs away as the viewer becomes aware that he or she is bearing of witness to one of the greatest human tragedies to strike a nation, as a result of a natural disaster, in the 21st century. The photograph highlights the smallness and vulnerability of the human condition in the face of epic destruction beyond human control. Japan's long national nightmare began when an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, the "fifth-largest recorded since 1900"….

Harlan, Chico. "One year later, Japan still in crisis." The Washington Post. 12 Mar 2012.

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Hagia Sophia the Triumph of

But restoration efforts are hampered by the political and religious struggles that still define the area. The building is deeply symbolic for Christians, Muslims, secular Turks, and historical conservationists. Architectural historian obert Ousterhout points out that "each group looks at Hagia Sophia and sees a totally different building" (qtd. In Bordewich 5-6). In his article, Bordewich examines the multiple agendas and suspicions of the groups seeking to control the restoration of the building, bemoaning the fact that the building is currently stuck in an "ideological no-man's land" (6). In the meantime, one of the premier examples of extreme architecture, Eastern oman power, Christian iconography, and Muslim decorative arts falls prey daily to the natural forces of decay, and runs the risk of being destroyed utterly by an earthquake or even by religious extremists. Even the grand ambitions of Justinian and the architectural genius of Anthemios cannot stem those forces. Instead,….

Bordewich, Fergus M. "Fading Glory." Smithsonian 39.9 (2008): 54-64. History Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

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image

0. In the United States, California receives the most attention for earthquakes, but Alaska actually has had eight of the largest ten earthquakes in this country. The largest was a…

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A) Write a summary of an article on the environment that was published in The New York Times between 1/22 and 1/28. This assignment is for 150 words. ANCHORAGE —…

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Book Review

This happens as the magma chamber empties and a ring fracture occurs. This collapse often blocks the flow of magma but the heated interior still produces gasses and…

History - Asian

Session Long Project involve developing a disaster management program a specific country include hazard analysis, prevention, preparedness, response, recovery plans. Epidemiology Disasters espond: 1. In 2011, Japan was shook by…

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UCSD pplication s a resident of Taiwan, I know all too well how devastating an earthquake can be. Japan and Taiwan both experienced earthquakes in March, 2011. The lives lost…

Literature - Latin-American

ole of Technology in educing and Exacerbating Disaster isk: A Case Study of -- Haiti Examine how technology(s) exacerbates. Examine how technology(s) reduces the vulnerability of different people facing the same…

Hypothesis Chapter

Rocks That Exhibit Ductile Strain Were Probably Deformed Choose one answer. at the surface of the earth. when they were cold. when the stress was applied very rapidly. at a depth within Earth at…

Research Paper

pictures can speak louder than words, and this is clear in the photo entitled "U.S. Navy: An aerial view of damage to akuya, Japan after a 9 magnitude…

Mythology - Religion

But restoration efforts are hampered by the political and religious struggles that still define the area. The building is deeply symbolic for Christians, Muslims, secular Turks, and historical…

Earthquake effects on civil engineering structures and perspective mitigation solutions: a review

  • Review Paper
  • Published: 08 July 2021
  • Volume 14 , article number  1350 , ( 2021 )

Cite this article

  • Mohsin Abbas 1 ,
  • Khalid Elbaz 2 , 3 ,
  • Shui-Long Shen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-7988 2 , 3 &
  • Jun Chen 4  

1946 Accesses

11 Citations

Explore all metrics

Earthquakes are natural phenomena which cannot be controlled, but their effects can be minimised. This study proposes a state-of-the-art review of the main effects of earthquakes on civil engineering structures and provides possible mitigation solutions to reduce seismic vulnerability. The main aspects reviewed include the liquefaction in dams and tunnels, the cracking and tilting of roads and buildings, and the live-load and scour-depth effects on bridges. The main causes of earthquakes and their problems on civil engineering structures through observations in recent great earthquakes are discussed. Results show that a large damage contrast has been observed between developed and undeveloped/underdeveloped countries credited to the incredible financial, social, and cultural contrasts between third-world and world-leading nations. A lesson learned is also introduced for the design of structures with the consideration of permanent ground deformation to mitigate the damage caused by earthquakes incorporating the effect of permanent deformation on structures.

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The research work was funded by “The Pearl River Talent Recruitment Program” in 2019 (Grant No. 2019CX01G338), Guangdong Province and the Research Funding of Shantou University for New Faculty Member (Grant No. NTF19024-2019).

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Abbas, M., Elbaz, K., Shen, SL. et al. Earthquake effects on civil engineering structures and perspective mitigation solutions: a review. Arab J Geosci 14 , 1350 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07664-5

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Earthquake Essay for Students and Children

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500+ Words Essay on Earthquake

Simply speaking, Earthquake means the shaking of the Earth’s surface. It is a sudden trembling of the surface of the Earth. Earthquakes certainly are a terrible natural disaster. Furthermore, Earthquakes can cause huge damage to life and property. Some Earthquakes are weak in nature and probably go unnoticed. In contrast, some Earthquakes are major and violent. The major Earthquakes are almost always devastating in nature. Most noteworthy, the occurrence of an Earthquake is quite unpredictable. This is what makes them so dangerous.

thesis paper on earthquake

Types of Earthquake

Tectonic Earthquake: The Earth’s crust comprises of the slab of rocks of uneven shapes. These slab of rocks are tectonic plates. Furthermore, there is energy stored here. This energy causes tectonic plates to push away from each other or towards each other. As time passes, the energy and movement build up pressure between two plates.

Therefore, this enormous pressure causes the fault line to form. Also, the center point of this disturbance is the focus of the Earthquake. Consequently, waves of energy travel from focus to the surface. This results in shaking of the surface.

Volcanic Earthquake: This Earthquake is related to volcanic activity. Above all, the magnitude of such Earthquakes is weak. These Earthquakes are of two types. The first type is Volcano-tectonic earthquake. Here tremors occur due to injection or withdrawal of Magma. In contrast, the second type is Long-period earthquake. Here Earthquake occurs due to the pressure changes among the Earth’s layers.

Collapse Earthquake: These Earthquakes occur in the caverns and mines. Furthermore, these Earthquakes are of weak magnitude. Undergrounds blasts are probably the cause of collapsing of mines. Above all, this collapsing of mines causes seismic waves. Consequently, these seismic waves cause an Earthquake.

Explosive Earthquake: These Earthquakes almost always occur due to the testing of nuclear weapons. When a nuclear weapon detonates, a big blast occurs. This results in the release of a huge amount of energy. This probably results in Earthquakes.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Effects of Earthquakes

First of all, the shaking of the ground is the most notable effect of the Earthquake. Furthermore, ground rupture also occurs along with shaking. This results in severe damage to infrastructure facilities. The severity of the Earthquake depends upon the magnitude and distance from the epicenter. Also, the local geographical conditions play a role in determining the severity. Ground rupture refers to the visible breaking of the Earth’s surface.

Another significant effect of Earthquake is landslides. Landslides occur due to slope instability. This slope instability happens because of Earthquake.

Earthquakes can cause soil liquefaction. This happens when water-saturated granular material loses its strength. Therefore, it transforms from solid to a liquid. Consequently, rigid structures sink into the liquefied deposits.

Earthquakes can result in fires. This happens because Earthquake damages the electric power and gas lines. Above all, it becomes extremely difficult to stop a fire once it begins.

Earthquakes can also create the infamous Tsunamis. Tsunamis are long-wavelength sea waves. These sea waves are caused by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water. This is because of an Earthquake in the ocean. Above all, Tsunamis can travel at a speed of 600-800 kilometers per hour. These tsunamis can cause massive destruction when they hit the sea coast.

In conclusion, an Earthquake is a great and terrifying phenomenon of Earth. It shows the frailty of humans against nature. It is a tremendous occurrence that certainly shocks everyone. Above all, Earthquake lasts only for a few seconds but can cause unimaginable damage.

FAQs on Earthquake

Q1 Why does an explosive Earthquake occurs?

A1 An explosive Earthquake occurs due to the testing of nuclear weapons.

Q2 Why do landslides occur because of Earthquake?

A2 Landslides happen due to slope instability. Most noteworthy, this slope instability is caused by an Earthquake.

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Earthquake Detection and Alerting System

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This paper offers a brief summary of my group's Earthquake Detection and Alerting System project. As Earthquakes pose a serious threat to human life.They are caused by seismic waves, which are caused by a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust. Earthquakes can be so powerful that they can throw people around and kill whole cities. Earthquakes, as we all know, are a natural occurrence that cannot be prevented.However, if we do not take appropriate action to tackle it, it can be extremely dangerous. Furthermore, seismometers can be used to track earthquakes, but they are very expensive. As a result, there should be a mechanism in place that can detect an earthquake without the use of a seismometer and warn the DMT and residents.

thesis paper on earthquake

Internets of Things-enabled Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are gaining significant attention in academic literature and industry, and are seen as an answer to enhancing road safety in smart cities. Due to the ever increasing number of vehicles, a big rise within the number of road accidents has been observed. Vehicles embedded with a plethora of sensors enable us to not only monitor the present situation of the vehicle and its surroundings but also facilitates the detection of incidents. Significant research, for instance, has been conducted on accident rescue, particularly on the utilization of data and Communication Technologies (ICT) for efficient and prompt rescue operations. The majority of such works provide sophisticated solutions that specialise in reducing response times. However, such solutions are often expensive and aren't available altogether sorts of vehicles. Given this, we present a completely unique Internet of Things-based accident detection and reporting system for a sensible city environment. The proposed approach aims to require advantage of advanced specifications of smartphones to style and develop a low-cost solution for enhanced transportation systems that's deployable in legacy vehicles. In this context, a customized Android application is developed to collect information regarding speed, gravity, pressure, sound, and site. The speed is a factor that is used to help improve the identification of accidents. It arises due to clear differences in environmental conditions (e.g., noise, deceleration rate) that arise in low speed collisions, versus higher speed collisions).The information acquired is further processed to detect road incidents. Furthermore, a navigation system is additionally developed to report the incident to the closest hospital. The proposed approach is validated through simulations and comparison with a true data set of road accidents acquired from Road Safety Open Repository, and shows promising leads to terms of accuracy.

Natural disasters such as earth quake and flood etc have very harmful effects lively hood and even loss of life. There are lot of incident took place in past decades one of such incident which as took place in recent time in India Up flood due over flow of Ganga river which has effected severely and many people lost their life the incident of Jharkhand earth quake also took place in recent times so to avoid such situation we implemented a system where the location is displayed on Google map and data is recorded in blynk app and alerting is done through buzzer here we can see demonstration of both earth quake and flood when the sensor observes or senses the vibrations the earth quake is detected notification is sent to blynk app and water level rises from the dam the sensor senses up to the level the water level has been increased which is recorded in graph form in blynk app which we can demonstrate using glass by pouring water level at different level hence the alerting is done prior to the event so there is less chances of risk to the life and whole system works on Wi-Fi model. The proposed system which we have implemented in this course of time consist of the two sensors MEMS and ultrasonic sensors most commonly called as flood sensors, GPS, Wi-Fi module, LCD display and Arduino

One of the prime reasons for vehicular accidents is due to undetected potholes and road humps. Well maintained roads contribute a major portion to the country's economy. The importance of road infrastructure society could be compared with importance of blood vessels for humans. To ensure road surface quality it should be monitored continuously and repaired as necessary In this paper ultrasonic sensor are used to identify potholes and humps to measure their depth and height respectively. This provides a prototype of an IoT based potholes and hump detection system that can be integrated with the vehicle and provide timely information to maintenance authorities so that necessary steps can be taken for safety of drivers.

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is assuming an imperative part in our day by day lives all together to accomplish assignments by in corporating the utilization of sensor networks including our current circumstance. The frameworks created to notice the actual inclination that makes information furthermore, the made information is put away in the cloud. The put away data is then used for planning applications for controlling important activities. This paper describes the application and experimentation of a framework made out of sensors for checking temperature and stickiness of the zone encompassing. This noticed data is used to perform transient activities, for example, controlling the electronic contraptions for warming or cooling that takes additional time. The recorded information is stacked to cloud for capacity and further accessed through an Android application and showcases the results to the versatile clients. The system introduced in this paper utilized Arduino UNO board, DHT11 sensor, soil moisture sensor, ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, which makes data to open IoT based API organization Thing Speak through which it is examined and kept aside. An Android application is made which gets to the cloud also, shows results for end-customers through REST API Web organization. The exploratory outcomes shown demonstrate the adequacy of the framework.

The loss of properties and living population is getting enhanced by every year due to the dynamic alterations in weather conditions which results in heavy floods. Therefore, implementation of an intelligent analysis of flood risk is necessitated for the field of research in Disaster management. This project implements an intelligent IoT-based flood monitoring and alerting system using Raspberry Pi model, where water sensors and rain sensors are utilized to alert the authorities regarding the heaviness of rain and monitoring of water level in a lake or river. This system alerts the people in nearby villages since it utilizes IoT system for notifying the village people.

Healthcare is given the major importance now a-days in all the countries with the advent of the chronic diseases. This work provides better solution for remote health monitoring with affordable cost using latest technologies. IoT is the fast-growing technology in every sector. With the integration of IoT and sensors healthcare monitoring can be brought to such a pace. Sensor readout are carried out using LabVIEW; a virtual instrumentation software. The results will be copied in the IoT server and then it will be analyzed. If it is in normal condition the report will be forwarded to the patient or if it is critical the results will be sent to the healthcare immediately, also ambulance can be called automatically without human intervention, if necessary. This ensures that proper treatment is provided to the patient at the early stage. The health will be monitored continuously and properly diagnosed of the state of patient health. It reduces the complexity, the cost, the waiting time and the death rates. These devices can be installed at any remote location, even at work environment, and can be operated without the help of medical personal. This work focuses on fast-track generation of report and reaching the doctor even before the patient arrive.

There are a couple of spots that are more disposed to flooding than various spots; the execution of flood-prepared systems near any critical water an area or stream gives fundamental data that can ensure property and save lives. Clearly, the best flood alerted techniques are extreme and need high help, and require incredibly qualified delegates to work it. These days, there is no thought regarding when floods will happen, so there is a need to caution individuals who are close to the overwhelmed region. Hence, we are arranging this system to enlighten people about the approaching flood through notice and prepared messages. Sending real time data to the users who have installed the app and also providing a direction details to the users within the app. For that reason, we will utilize a few sensors that will assist with giving data about the flood. This framework gives genuine execution to affiliations, associations, and people excited about creating and working flood seeing and cautioning structures. This undertaking likewise incorporates a Sensor-Based Water Quality Monitoring System, which is used for assessing physical and substance boundaries of the water. The boundaries, for instance, Temperature, pH, flex sensor and water level, and nature of the water, can be assessed. This sensor data is essential for quality monitoring of the flood alerting system

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Should college essays touch on race? Some feel affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

A group of teenagers of color sit together on a floor

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When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education , it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. For many students of color, instantly more was riding on the already high-stakes writing assignment. Some say they felt pressure to exploit their hardships as they competed for a spot on campus.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 29: Kashish Bastola, a rising sophomore at Harvard University, hugs Nahla Owens, also a Harvard University student, outside of the Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday, June 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. In a 6-3 vote, Supreme Court Justices ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional, setting precedent for affirmative action in other universities and colleges. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Supreme Court strikes down race-based affirmative action in college admissions

In another major reversal, the Supreme Court forbids the use of race as an admissions factor at colleges and universities.

June 29, 2023

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life’s hardest moments to show how far she’d come. But she and some classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action. The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds.

EL SEGUNDO, CA - OCTOBER 27, 2023: High school senior Sam Srikanth, 17, has applied to elite east coast schools like Cornell and Duke but feels anxious since the competition to be accepted at these elite colleges has intensified in the aftermath of affirmative action on October 27, 2023 in El Segundo, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Post-affirmative action, Asian American families are more stressed than ever about college admissions

Parents who didn’t grow up in the American system, and who may have moved to the U.S. in large part for their children’s education, feel desperate and in-the-dark. Some shell out tens of thousands of dollars for consultants as early as junior high.

Nov. 26, 2023

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, his first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child. Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “I wrestled with that a lot.”

Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and being made fun of for listening to “white people music.”

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Ore., had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

Los Angeles, CA - February 08: Scenes around the leafy campus of Occidental College Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

‘We’re really worried’: What do colleges do now after affirmative action ruling?

The Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action has triggered angst on campuses about how to promote diversity without considering race in admissions decisions.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word Is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word Is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” wrote Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane in New Orleans because of the region’s diversity.

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court’s ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

LOS ANGELES-CA-MARCH 11, 2020: Classes have moved to online only at UCLA on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

A lot of what you’ve heard about affirmative action is wrong

Debate leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision has stirred up plenty of misconceptions. We break down the myths and explain the reality.

It’s been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

The first drafts of her essay didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay describes how she came to embrace her natural hair. She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“Criticism will persist,” she wrote “but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!”

Collin Binkley, Annie Ma and Noreen Nasir write for the Associated Press. Binkley and Nasir reported from Chicago and Ma from Portland, Ore.

More to Read

CLAREMONT, CA - APRIL 12: A campus tour takes place at Claremont McKenna College on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Claremont, CA. The school has reopened in-person tours after shutting them down last year amid the pandemic. The college tour is a key aid in helping students make their big decisions. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Editorial: Early decision admissions for college unfairly favor wealthy students

Jan. 4, 2024

LYNWOOD, CA-SEPTEMBER 7, 2023: Ozze Mathis, 17, a senior at Lynwood High School, is photographed on campus. College presidents and admission experts are expecting a big boost at historically Black colleges and universities as application portals begin to open up for enrollment next year. It would be the first application cycle since the conservative-majority Supreme Court outlawed racism-based affirmative action admission policies. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

HBCUs brace for flood of applications after Supreme Court affirmative action decision

Sept. 22, 2023

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 17: Royce Hall on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as UCLA lecturers and students celebrate after a strike was averted Wednesday morning. Lecturers across the UC system were planning to strike Wednesday and Thursday over unfair labor practices. UCLA on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times).

Opinion: In a post-affirmative action world, employers should learn from California’s experience

Sept. 16, 2023

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Tom Stritikus has been named Occidental College's 17th president.

New Occidental College president bullish on liberal arts, champion of equity and inclusion

March 26, 2024

FILE - Members of the 101st Airborne Division take up positions outside Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., Sept. 26, 1957. The troops were on duty to enforce integration at the school. On Monday, March 25, 2024, a teacher and two students from the school sued Arkansas over the state's ban on critical race theory and “indoctrination” in public schools, asking a federal judge to strike down the restrictions as unconstitutional. (AP Photo/File)

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Los Angeles, CA - May 17: Signage and people along Bruin Walk East, on the UCLA Campus in Los Angeles, CA, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

California extends deadline for students seeking state financial aid amid FAFSA turmoil

March 25, 2024

President Folt provides remarks and presents University Medallion.

In a time of rising campus antisemitism, USC gives highest honor to Holocaust survivors

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A Total Solar Eclipse Is Coming. Here’s What You Need to Know.

These are answers to common questions about the April 8 eclipse, and we’re offering you a place to pose more of them.

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The sun flares at the edge of the moon during a total eclipse.

By Katrina Miller

On April 8, North America will experience its second total solar eclipse in seven years. The moon will glide over the surface of our sun, casting a shadow over a swath of Earth below. Along this path, the world will turn dark as night.

Skywatchers in Mexico will be the first to see the eclipse on the mainland. From there, the show will slide north, entering the United States through Texas, then proceeding northeast before concluding for most people off the coast of Canada.

Why eclipses happen is simple: the moon comes between us and the sun. But they are also complicated. So if you’ve forgotten all of your eclipse facts, tips and how-to’s since 2017, we’re here to explain it for you.

But before we dive in, there is one thing to know that is more important than anything else: It is never safe to look directly at the sun during an eclipse (except for the few moments when the moon has fully obscured its surface). At all other times, watch the event through protective eye equipment . Read on to learn about how to watch an eclipse safely.

What is a total solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon orients itself between Earth and the sun, shielding the solar surface from our view.

In cosmic terms, it is unusual that this happens: the moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun, but it is about 400 times closer to us. That means that when these two celestial bodies are aligned, they appear to be the same size in the sky.

What other types of eclipses are there?

Annular solar eclipses occur when the moon is farther from Earth and appears too small to completely shield the sun’s surface. Instead, the outer part of the solar disk remains uncovered — a “ring of fire” in the sky.

Partial solar eclipses happen when Earth, the moon and the sun are imperfectly aligned. The moon only obscures a chunk of the sun. There will be two in 2025.

Earth can also get between the moon and the sun, creating a lunar eclipse. This can be observed once or twice a year .

How dark will it be during the eclipse?

In any given place along the eclipse path , the event will last around two hours or more.

The event will commence with a partial solar eclipse, as the moon takes a small bite out of the sun’s edge, then consumes more and more of its surface. According to NASA , this can last anywhere from 70 to 80 minutes.

The phase of the eclipse where the moon has completely blocked the sun’s surface is called totality. This is the only time the event can be viewed with the naked eye.

The length of totality varies by location. In April, some places will experience this phase for more than four minutes; others, for only one to two minutes.

During totality, the sky will get dark as night and the temperature will drop. Wispy white strings of light from the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, will suddenly be visible. Lucky viewers may even spot a thin, reddish-pink circle around the edge of the moon. That’s the chromosphere, an atmospheric layer below the sun’s corona. Its color comes from the presence of hydrogen throughout the layer.

After totality, the sun will slowly peek out from behind the moon again — another partial eclipse that will last the same amount of time as the first one. The moon will recede until the sun is back to normal brightness in our sky.

How can I watch the solar eclipse safely?

In general, avoid looking directly at the sun without special equipment to protect your eyes. Inexpensive options for watching the eclipse include paper solar viewers and glasses. If you are using equipment purchased for a past solar eclipse, make sure to inspect it. Toss anything with scratches or other signs of damage.

According to NASA , it is not safe to look at the sun through any optical device while using paper glasses or viewers. To watch the eclipse through cameras, binoculars or telescopes, buy a special solar filter.

The only time you can view a solar eclipse with the naked eye is during the moments of totality. Once the moon begins to reveal the surface of the sun again, return to watching the event through protective equipment to avoid injury.

What happens if I look at the eclipse without protection?

In general, staring directly at the sun, even for a few seconds, can cause permanent damage to your eyes . This can range from blurry or distorted vision to something even more serious, like blind spots. Because there are no pain receptors in the retina, you won’t feel it while it’s happening.

The same is true during an eclipse — except during the brief moments of totality, when the moon has hidden the face of the sun. At all other times, use protective eye equipment to view the event.

What do I do if I can’t find eclipse glasses?

If it’s too late to get glasses or viewers, there’s always a do-it-yourself option: a pinhole camera to indirectly experience the eclipse. You can create one using cardstock , a cardboard box , a kitchen strainer or even your fingers . These designs project an image of the eclipse onto the ground or some other surface that is safe to look at.

Where are the best places to watch the eclipse?

The total eclipse will sweep across large portions of Mexico, the United States and eastern Canada. For the most dramatic show, it’s best to experience the eclipse along the path of totality , which is where the moon will completely blot out the sun.

The Path of the Eclipse

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will cross North America from Mazatlán, Mexico, to the Newfoundland coast near Gander, Canada. Viewers outside the path of the total eclipse will see a partial eclipse, if the sky is clear .

thesis paper on earthquake

Percentage of

the sun obscured

during the eclipse

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Little Rock

San Antonio

thesis paper on earthquake

Viewers near Mazatlán, a beach town on the Pacific shoreline of Mexico, will be the first place to experience totality on North America’s mainland. Various sites in Mexico along the eclipse’s path will experience the longest duration of totality — as long as four minutes and 29 seconds.

Cities across the United States, including Dallas, Indianapolis and Cleveland, will most likely be hot spots for the upcoming eclipse. Other notable locations include Carbondale, Ill., which also saw totality during the solar eclipse in 2017; small towns west of Austin, Texas, which are projected to have some of the best weather in the country along the eclipse path; and Niagara Falls, if the skies are clear. Six provinces of Canada are in the path of totality, but many of them have a very cloudy outlook.

When does the eclipse begin and end?

The show begins at dawn, thousands of miles southwest of the Pacific shore of Mexico. The moon starts to conceal the sun near Mazatlán at 9:51 a.m. local time. Viewers near Mazatlán will experience totality at 11:07 a.m. for four minutes and 20 seconds.

Then the moon’s shadow will swoop through Mexico, crossing over the Texas border at 1:10 p.m. Eastern time. Totality in the United States will start at 2:27 p.m. and end at 3:33 p.m. Eastern time.

Canadians will experience the solar eclipse in the afternoon for nearly three hours. The eclipse concludes beyond Canada’s boundaries when the sun sets over the Atlantic Ocean.

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How long will the eclipse last?

The duration of totality depends on how far a given location on Earth is from the moon. Places with the longest totality are closest to the moon and farther from the sun. The speed of the lunar shadow is slowest over spots with the longest totality.

In April, the longest period of totality will occur over Durango, a state in Mexico, for a total of four minutes and 29 seconds. Along the centerline, the location of shortest totality on land is on the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, for about two minutes and 54 seconds. But totality is even shorter along the edges of the total eclipse path; in some places, it lasts less than a minute.

How fast does the eclipse move?

Solar eclipses may seem to happen slowly, but the moon’s shadow is racing across the surface of Earth. Exact speeds vary by location. Eclipse calculators estimate the shadow will move between about 1,560 m.p.h. and 1,600 m.p.h. through Mexico, and more than 3,000 m.p.h. by the time it exits the United States. The eclipse will reach speeds exceeding 6,000 m.p.h. over the Atlantic Ocean.

When was the last total solar eclipse in the United States?

According to the American Astronomical Society , total solar eclipses happen once every year or so, but they can only be viewed along a narrow path on Earth’s surface. Many occur over water or other places that can be difficult to reach. A given location will experience totality once in about 400 years.

But some places get lucky: Carbondale, a college town in southern Illinois, saw the total solar eclipse in the United States on Aug. 21, 2017, and will experience another one this April. San Antonio experienced an annular eclipse last October, and is also in the path of totality for this year’s eclipse.

Do other planets experience solar eclipses?

Yes, any planet in our solar system with a moon can experience a solar eclipse. In February, a Martian rover captured Phobos , one of the red planet’s moons, transiting the sun.

The moons on other planets, though, appear either smaller or larger than the sun in the sky . Only Earth has a moon just the right size and at just the right distance to produce the unique effects of totality.

How will things on Earth change during the eclipse?

As the eclipse approaches its maximum phase, the air will get cooler, the sky will grow dimmer, shadows will sharpen and you might notice images of crescents — tiny projections of the eclipse — within them. Along the path of totality, the world will go dark while the moon inches toward perfect alignment with Earth and the sun.

Animals will also react to the solar eclipse. Bees stop buzzing , birds stop whistling and crickets begin chirping. Some pets may express confusion . Even plants are affected, scientists found after the solar eclipse in 2017 . They have diminished rates of photosynthesis and water loss similar to, though not as extreme as, what happens at night.

What if I can’t get to the path of totality?

Viewers in locations away from the eclipse path will see the moon partially blot out the sun, though how perceptible the effects are depends on the site’s distance from the centerline. (The closer you are, the more remarkable it will be.) Still, it won’t be quite like experiencing the eclipse during totality.

Remember that you should always wear protective eye equipment while watching a partial eclipse.

If you can’t make it to the path of totality but still want to experience it, many organizations are providing live video streams of the eclipse, including NASA and Time and Date . The Exploratorium, a museum in San Francisco, will also offer a sonification of the eclipse and a broadcast in Spanish.

What have we learned from solar eclipses?

In the 1800s, a French astronomer discovered the element helium by studying the spectrum of sunlight emitted during an eclipse. These events also allowed the first scientific observations of coronal mass ejections — violent expulsions of plasma from the sun’s corona — which can cause power outages and communication disruptions on Earth. Scientists also confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which says that massive objects bend the fabric of space-time, during a solar eclipse in 1919.

And there is more to discover. This April, NASA plans to fly instruments on planes to capture images of the solar corona, and launch rockets to study how the drop in sunlight during an eclipse affects Earth’s atmosphere. A radio telescope in California will try to use the moon as a shield to measure emissions from individual sunspots .

The public is joining the fun, too. During the eclipse, a team of ham radio operators will beam signals across the country to study how solar disturbances can affect communications. Some people along the path of totality will record sounds from wildlife . Others will use their phones to snap pictures of the eclipse to help sketch out the shape of the solar disk .

An earlier version of this article referred imprecisely to eclipse on other worlds. Some appear larger than the sun in sky, they are not all partial eclipses.

How we handle corrections

Katrina Miller is a science reporting fellow for The Times. She recently earned her Ph.D. in particle physics from the University of Chicago. More about Katrina Miller

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