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com/hummapole In this assessment I will be analyzing multiple tectonic disasters and the time, place and space in which they occur. Time: Time is a very important factor when a disaster happens. Time is not only referring to date, But also specific hours of the day. Theses little time differences can make all the difference between life and death. For example, at 5:56 AM (local) December 26, 2003 a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Bam, Iran. The death toll is estimated to be over 33,000. On 11:52 AM (local) April 9, 2013 another earthquake struck the Bushelhr region, Iran. The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.3 which killed around 37 people. The two earthquakes were close together but more people died in the first earthquake. Perhaps this is because at this time everyone was probably sleeping, so they were not at all prepared when they were shockingly awoken by the tremors of the earthquake. If an earthquake happens at night when people are sleeping, the families in their homes will not be prepared as well if the earthquake happened during the day. This is because of multiple reasons; when you are awake you are aware of your surroundings and you will know how to react on them. If an earthquake happens you can react instantly. If the earthquake happens while you are asleep, you might wake up to late and find yourself trapped under rubble, or unable to find your family members. Another possible reason Why this can be explained is if we look at the time again; specifically the time of day. When the first earthquake struck it was 5:56 AM, and it was probably still dark, but when the second earthquake hit at 11:52 AM it was light. This indicates whether its light or dark can have a large impact. This is because of people not being able to see; especially if the power lines are broken during the earthquake. If people can hardly see, how could they possibly escape rubble or run away to a safe place. Although the first earthquake was almost at sunrise, it wasnt. This earthquake only lasted for around 20 seconds so every minute counts. Place: Place is a very important factor for tectonic disasters. Basically, place is the physical location in which a disaster happens. All tectonic disasters are because of a shift in tectonic plates. Many countries in the world Are on top of, or close to a tectonic boundary. This is because of the resources or location in the world.

As you can see on the image aboveThe ring of fire is a name given to a ring of boundaries around the pacific, coco and nazca plate, which are known for lot of tectonic shift. All the areas located on the ring or near it have a larger chance of a tectonic disaster happening near them, but for some reason there are still lots of cities thriving on it. This could be explained with 2 reasons. Most cities on the ring of fire were built before scientists had sufficient knowledge, and before telecommunication between continents was created. If a 9.0 magnitude earthquake happened in japan in the 1600s people in south america would never know. Once cities are built where lots of people live in them, it is almost impossible to ask every single inhabitant to move to a different location because of the threat tectonic shift gives. Some cities or people might want to move, but their wallet says its not going to happen. If you live in poverty, or near poverty your first thought will not be earthquake prevention but feeding your loved ones or surviving the night. A lot of people simply do not have the choice to move. Another reason why cities might e located on/near the ring of fire is because of the resources located on/near it. For example, when a specific type of volcano happens, the soil around the volcano becomes very fertile. This could be helpful for farmers which want to grow lots of crops. Also, because of volcanoes, new land will be formed over

time. If you look at Hawaii, it is near California and the ring of fire there, thats why it has so many volcanoes which are very active and creating lots of tourist islands. Place can be very important when an earthquake happens. For example, When an earthquake struck Costa rica, it happened in a forest near a road. Even thought the magnitude was 7.6 It wasnt densely populated so there was just no one to kill; its just impossible. On the other hand, the earthquake in Haiti in January, 2010 killed over 160,000 people. The epicenter was only 25 Km away from the capital city. Even though the earthquake was only a magnitude 7 it killed so many people. This is largely because of other things such as space but I will go into that later, but also because of the amount of people living in the near vicinity of the epicenter. if no one lived there, no one could get hurt.

Between tectonic plates, there can also be different types of plate margins. Different types of margins can have different intensities and severities. 3 types of plate margins are; constructive, conservative, and destructive plate margins. A destructive plate margin is the most deadly out of them all. Basically what happens is that one plate gets pushed down under the other one, which creates immense amounts of friction which in turn creates magma and eventually will have to release it in the form of a volcano. Another type of plate margin is a constructive one. A constructive plate margin is often the case with most earthquakes included on my map. What happens is that the two plates slide side to side next to each other creating friction between them which can cause earthquakes and movements in the earth above. Space: Space is all about the things the country has built for its people. Basically, space is the infrastructure designed to house people, help people in need, or educate people, etc. Infrastructure plays a very large role in Earthquakes; If you have lots of tall buildings around you, when an earthquake happens they will be destroyed and will fall down on people. This is what happens in countries where they do not create laws and regulations about building to prevent this from happening. For example, in 2011, japan was struck by a huge 9.0 magnitude earthquake which killed 16,000 people. If you compare this with the earthquake in 2010 in Haiti, which killed 160,000 people even though it was only a magnitude 7 earthquake. This could be explained because of the development of the country. Japan is a very developed country which has had lots of experience with earthquakes and tsunamis. It has earthquake alert systems, and its population has been trained before. On the other hand, Haiti has not educated the people about earthquakes, and it does not have earthquake alert systems. This is for one reason only; they do not have the funds to do this. Japan has a 6 trillion dollar yearly GDP, Haiti 7.8 billion. This means that they will have more money to spend on Better infrastructure, Education and earthquake systems.

Overall, Time place and space are all very important factors in tectonic occurences. Hopefully one day all countries will be prepared and capable to prevent or limit the aftermath of a tectonic disaster.