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Earthquakes |
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An earthquake is
the result from the sudden release of stored energy |
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in the Earth's crust that
creates seismic waves. At the Earth's surface, |
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earthquakes may manifest themselves by a shaking or
displacement |
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of the ground and sometimes cause tsunamis, which may lead |
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to loss of life and destruction of property. An earthquake
is caused |
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by tectonic plates getting stuck and putting a strain on the
ground. |
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caused The strain becomes so great that rocks give way by |
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breaking and sliding along fault planes. |
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Earthquakes may
occur naturally or as a result of human
activities.
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Smaller earthquakes
can also be caused by volcanic activity, |
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landslides, mine
blasts, and nuclear tests. In its most generic |
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sense, the word
earthquake is used to describe any seismic |
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event (whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused) |
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by humans that generates seismic waves. |
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An earthquake's point of initial ground rupture is called
its focus |
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or hypocenter. The term epicenter means the point at ground |
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level directly above this. |
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On the contrary to mitigation activities which are aimed at
preventing |
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a disaster from occurring, personal preparedness are
targeted on |
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preparing activities to be taken when a disaster
occurs, |
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i.e. planning. Preparedness measures can take many forms. |
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Examples include the construction of shelters, warning
devices, |
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back-up life-line services (e.g. power, water, sewage), |
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and rehearsing an evacuation plan. Two simple measures |
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prepare you for either sitting out the event or evacuating. |
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For evacuation, a
disaster supplies kit should be prepared |
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and for sheltering purposes a stockpile of supplies. |
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Two Person Deluxe Survival Kit
One Person Deluxe Survival Kit
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