Effects of earthquakes on a typical fishing village

Essay by kerise May 2006

download word file, 2 pages 3.0

Downloaded 16 times

Plates are a massive, irregularly shaped slabs of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Earthquakes occur when convection currents in the mantle causes plates to move. When the plates converge/diverge/slide past each other, their movement is not smooth. This causes stress to build up in the rocks, and when the stress is suddenly released when the rocks snap or are displaced along a fault, there will be tremors or vibrations in the Earth's crust (an earthquake). These earthquakes can occur both on land and in the ocean. The extent of damage caused by an earthquake depends on various factors. If the place where an earthquake occurs is not densely populated, the residents know what to do in the event of an earthquake, and if earthquake has been predicted in advance so the residents have evacuated the area, then the damage caused will be minimized.

A typical Indonesian fishing village is located in a coastal area.

The houses are mainly made of wood and there is very simple technology. Wires might be exposed and buildings constructed out of flimsy material. Most people would leave early in the morning and return late at night, as they would be out fishing in the sea. The population would be small but dense because the residents would probably tend to live in close proximity. There will not be much contact with the outside world and the boats there offer crude and limited transport. There will not be much safety measures in place in the event of an earthquake. The population will not be highly educated so they might not know what to do when there is an earthquake.

When an earthquake occurs in a fishing village, the primary effect of the earthquake will be the displacement of land. The population...