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Why was the death toll so high in the Haitian 2010 earthquake?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Haiti's a very congested country, there are small buildings and houses as far as the eye can see. A 7.0 earthquake would crush any small structures in it's vicinity. Plus there were at least 52 aftershocks ranging from 4.5 up.
The earthquake was so destructive for a number of reasons:
- The earthquake occurred at shallow depth - this means that the seismic waves have to travel a smaller distance through the earth to reach the surface so maintain more of their energy.
- The earthquake occurred in close proximity to a populated area. This again means that there is very little attenuation of the seismic waves (i.e they still have most of their energy and so are more destructive when they arrive).
- The buildings in Port-Au-Prince and other areas of Haiti were in very poor condition in general and were not designed or constructed to be earthquake resistant.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
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Is 8.8 high on the Ritcher earthquake scale?
Yes magnitude 8.8 is a large earthquake. The Chile earthquake of February 27th, 2010 is the 5th largest ever recorded. In terms of energy it is 500 times more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 of January 12th, 2010 Haitian earthquake. Haiti was equivalent to a 32 megaton nuclear bomb (2,000 times the atom bomb on Hiroshima), where as the Chilean earthquake was equivalent to a 15.8 gigaton bomb (a million Hiroshima Bombs). There have been much larger earthquakes. The Indian Ocean earthquake of December 26th, 2010 was magnitude 9.1. It had the equivalent energy of a 67 gigaton bomb (4 million Hiroshima bombs), over 4 times as large as Chile 2010. The largest earthquake on record occurred in 1960 about 100 miles south of the Chile 2010 earthquake. It measured mag 9.5. It the equivalent energy of 178 gigatons of TNT or 11 million Hiroshima bombs. It is believed that the asteroid that struck the earth 65.5 million years ago causing the extinction of all non avian dinosaurs caused an earthquake 13.0 on the Richter Scale. This would have had the energy of 10,000 teratons of TNT or 6.6 billion Hiroshima Bombs. ( This is purely the earthquake and does not include energy calculations from other phenomena such as heat wave etc)
How many people died in the earthquake in Chile?
In the earthquake that occurred on the 27th of February 2010, official figures released on the 15th of May 2010 state that there were 521 confirmed fatalities with 56 missing. In the earthquake that occurred on the 22nd of May 1960, estimates range from 2231, 3000, or 5700 fatalities with estimates from other sources as high as 6000 dead. Please see the related links.
Is Manitoba a high risk of a major earthquake?
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Chile earthquake May 22 1960?
This earthquake had a magnitude of 9.5 and caused tsnami's 10 meter's high! i
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it was few weeks back in July 2010 in Washington D.C.,although it wasn`t very high on the Richtor scale it was only a point 3, there was no damage.
Why was the death toll so high in the sichuan earthquake?
cose it wouldnt to be
Did the HAARP weapon cause Haiti's earthquake?
No. There is no such thing as a "HAARP weapon". The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program or HAARP is a US military research project into the Ionosphere with the aim of improving communications capability. It has no connection to seismicity. For the cause of the Haitian earthquake that occurred in January 2010, please see the related question. For information on the HARRP project, please see the related link.
What are the ten leading causes of death in the Philippines as of 2010?
High Blood
Did the Japan Earthquake affect any of the volcanoes?
yes yellow stone is in high alert of eruption witch can lead to our death...
Is 8.8 high on the Ritcher earthquake scale?
Yes magnitude 8.8 is a large earthquake. The Chile earthquake of February 27th, 2010 is the 5th largest ever recorded. In terms of energy it is 500 times more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 of January 12th, 2010 Haitian earthquake. Haiti was equivalent to a 32 megaton nuclear bomb (2,000 times the atom bomb on Hiroshima), where as the Chilean earthquake was equivalent to a 15.8 gigaton bomb (a million Hiroshima Bombs). There have been much larger earthquakes. The Indian Ocean earthquake of December 26th, 2010 was magnitude 9.1. It had the equivalent energy of a 67 gigaton bomb (4 million Hiroshima bombs), over 4 times as large as Chile 2010. The largest earthquake on record occurred in 1960 about 100 miles south of the Chile 2010 earthquake. It measured mag 9.5. It the equivalent energy of 178 gigatons of TNT or 11 million Hiroshima bombs. It is believed that the asteroid that struck the earth 65.5 million years ago causing the extinction of all non avian dinosaurs caused an earthquake 13.0 on the Richter Scale. This would have had the energy of 10,000 teratons of TNT or 6.6 billion Hiroshima Bombs. ( This is purely the earthquake and does not include energy calculations from other phenomena such as heat wave etc)
What can be done to prevent such a high death toll next time there is an earthquake in japan?
Better warning systems and improved construction techniques .
Causes of Haitian revolution?
The Haitian people wanted to be free and to stop being slaves
How many people died in the earthquake in Chile?
In the earthquake that occurred on the 27th of February 2010, official figures released on the 15th of May 2010 state that there were 521 confirmed fatalities with 56 missing. In the earthquake that occurred on the 22nd of May 1960, estimates range from 2231, 3000, or 5700 fatalities with estimates from other sources as high as 6000 dead. Please see the related links.
Why is a 8.0 magnitude earthquake considered a low intensity earthquake?
It isn't. A magnitude 8.0 is a very high intensity earthquake.
When did Toussaint lead the Haitian revolution?
she finished high school in 1994 and m oved on to modeling :)
How deep was the earthquake in Haiti?
The Earthquake in haiti was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, following some very severe aftershocks including a magnitude 6.1 aftershock. This was the largest earthquake ever revocorded and had the largest aftershock also recorded
How bad would a 5 magnitude earthquake be?
Well, consider this; Haiti was devastated by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake. A magnitude 5 could either be worse, or better than that. It depends where the earthquake hits. If it strikes a overpopulated city, then the death toll and destruction would be high. If it hits a remote area, the quake could go unnoticed and unharmful.
