Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Geography- 2007 Peru Earthquake


The Peru earthquake that hit the central coast of Peru, South America, occurred on Wednesday, 15 August 2007, at 11.40 pm (6.40 pm local time)
As there was a break in between the two plates, with the South American Plate moving up and over the Nazca Plate, the earthquake of magnitude 8.0, took place.
As a result of the earthquake, there were 519 deaths and 1366 people injured. The earthquake damaged some downtown sectors of many cities, such as Ica, Pisco and Chincha Alta and more than 58000 homes were destroyed. The whole place was in chaos. Many people were traumatised by the earthquake and were desperate to find their families that were trapped under the rubble.
When the earthquake happened, the government immediately sent out information to concerned national agencies and the general public. The Central Emergency Response Fund donated approximately $9.5m to assist in the aftermath of the earthquake. Besides funds, volunteers from International military and first aid group also came to lend a helping hand.
In order to meet the needs of the victims, the government sent out forces to search for survivors trapped under the rubbles. Shelter was provided to victims that had their homes destroyed due to the earthquake. Toilets, food, treated water and medical treatments were also provided. Education and counselling were also provided for traumatised children.
To minimize the damage from such earthquakes, the country should build earthquake proof buildings. They should avoid using heavy building materials so as to minimize loss of lives. They should avoid putting anything on high places like shelves in homes, offices and schools. Lastly, earthquake drills and education should be conducted to create awareness and the necessary steps to be taken during such disasters.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Peru_earthquake

Pictures
http://sg.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fsg.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3D2007%2BPeru%2Bearthquake%26ei%3DUTF-8%26rd%3Dr1%26fr%3Dyfp-t-712&w=670&h=460&imgurl=img.timeinc.net%2Ftime%2Fdaily%2F2007%2F0708%2Fperu_earthquake_0816.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.time.com%2Ftime%2Fworld%2Farticle%2F0%2C8599%2C1653614%2C00.html%3Fxid%3Dfeed-cnn-topics&size=121k

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