Earthquakes
WITNESS TO DISASTER
“It is amazing how the Earth tells us that it is alive, that it moves and changes like any living organism.”
Dr. Alberto M. Lopez-Venegas, United States Geological Survey
Earthquakes
WITNESS TO DISASTER
JUDITH BLOOM FRADIN & DENNIS BRINDELL FRADIN
Text copyright © 2008 Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin
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Fradin, Judith Bloom.
Earthquakes: witness to disaster / by Judy and Dennis Fradin.
p. cm.—(Witness to disaster)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Earthquakes—Alaska—Anchorage region. I. Fradin, Judith Bloom. II. Fradin, Dennis B. III. Title.
QE535.2.U6F68 2008
551.22—dc22
2007044164
ISBN: 978-1-4263-0979-3
National Geographic Society
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Photo Credits
cover, Reza / NG Image Collection; back, Emory Kristof / NG Image Collection; spine, Bill Roth/ Anchorage Daily News/ Associated Press; 2-3, James Balog/Getty Images; 5, Koji Sasahara/ Associated Press; 6, Ward W. Wells/ Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center; 9, Pratt Museum; 10, Stan Wayman/Life Magazine, Copyright Time Inc./ Time Life Pictures/Getty Images; 11, Central Press/Getty Images; 12, Chiaki Tsukumo/ Associated Press; 13, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reproduced with permission. c2000 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All Rights Reserved; 15, NG Image Collection; 16 up left, Susan Sanford/ NG Image Collection; 16 up right, Susan Sanford / NG Image Collection; 16 lo left, Susan Sanford / NG Image Collection; 16 lo right, Susan Sanford / NG Image Collection; 18, Ann Johansson/ Associated Press; 19, Kashuhiro Nogi/ AFP/ Getty Images; 21, J.R. Stacy/ USGS; 22, Library of Congress; 23, National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering, EERC, University of California, Berkeley; 25, USGS; 26, Newspaperarchive.com; 27, Library of Congress; 28, J. B. Macelwane Archives, Saint Louis University; 29, USGS; 31, T. Kuribayashi, National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering, EERC, University of California, Berkeley; 32, Chris Sattlberger/ Photo Researchers, Inc.; 33, Banaras Khan/ AFP/ Getty Images; 35, Mike Poland/ USGS; 37, Commander Emily B. Christman/ NOAA; 38, Chuck Nacke//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images; 39, C.E. Meyer/ USGS; 40-41, Farzaneh Khademian/Corbis; 42, Jim Holmes/ Axiom/ Getty Images; 43, Reza / NG Image Collection; 44, Keystone/ Getty Images;
Version: 2017-07-06
CONTENTS
Introduction: Japan Earthquake
Chapter 1: “The Ground Would Not Stop Shaking”: Alaska, 1964
Chapter 2: “As If a Giant Foot Had Stepped On It”: Why Does the Earth Quake?
Chapter 3: “The Heart of This Old Earth Was Broken”: Famous Earthquakes
Chapter 4: “Only a Matter of Time”: Predicting and Preparing for Earthquakes
Glossary
Bibliography
Further Reading and Research
Interviews by the Authors
Acknowledgments
Index
Introduction: Japan Earthquake
As one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, Japan is well prepared for such disasters. Buildings on the island nation are designed to withstand large earthquakes. Schoolchildren are taught how to protect themselves when they occur. Drills are held regularly to make sure citizens react safely when the ground shakes.
But nothing could prepare the Japanese people for what occurred on March 11, 2011. At 2:46 on that Friday afternoon, giant slabs of the Earth’s crust nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) long and 100 miles (160 kilometers) wide fractured and were thrust beneath Japan’s northeast coast. The result was the fourth biggest earthquake to strike our planet over the past century. It was so powerful that it pushed northeastern Japan 13 feet (4 meters) to the east and dropped the island’s coastline two feet. Buildings toppled as if they were children’s toys, and people were buried beneath the rubble.
But the quake wasn’t done with Japan. The upheaval lifted the sea floor and sloshed the ocean water, spawning giant waves known as a tsunami. Walls of water moving as fast as a jet plane struck the Japanese coast and pounded it with waves as tall as a three-story building.
The earthquake and the tsunami waves it created killed an estimated 25,000 people. In addition, the disaster damaged a cluster of nuclear reactors, leaving survivors without electricity. Leaking radioactive fumes from the reactors forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate the area. Many fear that radioactive contamination from