natural disasters Essay

Earthquakes create a very traumatic disaster not only for the area affected but also for other surrounding areas. On a regular basis, earthquakes tend to occur by the thousands on an everyday basis! Most earthquakes occur where tectonic plates collide into each other. As the collisions take place underground, it creates a lot of stress. Once that stress is released, it sends a load of vibrations underground, called seismic waves. When rating earthquakes scientists use the strength and duration of the seismic wave and rate it on a scale 1-8. If the wave is 2.5 or less, the earthquake is rarely felt and is barely noticed. If the rate is between 2.5-5.4 then the earthquake is often felt but has little to no damage. A slight damage to both buildings and structures is the usual result of a 5.5-6.0 earthquake. Major damages are occurred in earthquakes that are rated 6.0-6.9 and major earthquakes with severe damage are the result of a 7.0-7.9 rated earthquake. If the ratings for an earthquake reach or exceed 8.0 it is a severe earthquake and most likely result in communities being completely destroyed or wiped out. Regardless of the ratings, Earthquakes are a natural disaster that can take and ruin many people’s lives.

Marion (2013) states “Three years after the devastating Haitian earthquake of January 12, 2010, hundreds of thousands of people continue to suffer from its effects, while foreign donors worry that aid has been insufficient to pacify the population.” (para. 1). According to a trauma psychology specialist, ten to fifteen percent of all the people involved in the incident will continue to have psychological problems throughout their life. Generous unanimous donors have helped a lot but the concern for the Haitians are at a standstill. The US government pledged 3.85 billion dollars to Haiti but 1.2 billion remains not available for spending. If that wasn’t enough, “In addition, $500 million of the funds credited to the relief effort by the US were actually spent on its

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