At about 3.10pm on 16 Oct 92, an eathquake with a magnitude of mb=5.9 and ms = 5.2 ripped through the busy city of Cairo, causing great pandemonium and damage. The 20 second earthquake claimed more than 370 lives and injured at least 300,000 people. It has also sent at least 116 buildings crashing to the ground.
The streets of Cairo was filled with many people who were either dazed or weeping. Upon knowing about the state Cairo is in, the government sent out rescue teams to dig out survivors who were buried beneath the buildings.
This is similar to the 1847 earthquake in Cairo and the rest of Egypt as the shock originated from the same location,the cause of which is deep-seated, down to 25 km below the surface. The fracture along, which the initial movement occured was a major one that cuts across the huge thickness of sendiments and basement rocks. Cairo is located at the southern boundary of the ancestral delta of the Nile which is a potential earthquake region as it is a weak zone which underground plate movements occur easily.
It is heartening to note that plate tectonics study is underway to gather information to more accurately predict siesmic activities so that proactive measures are possible. It is also observed that buildings in Egypt are made of Adobe and other stone masonry materials. The design of the builldings can be greatly improved think that the structure of the buildings in Cairo can be improved by building stronger buildings by using reinforcement bars. That way, the buildings can at least withstand low grade earthquakes, and will not topple so easily. If that is done, there will be less casualties and damage when an earthquake strikes the country. Also, technology nowadays has advanced alot, and people have come up with an earthquake warning system to notify the people of a substantial earthquake. That way, emergency evacuation plans can then be planned and carried out and the damage cause can then again be very much minimized.
Biblography:
http://www.nytimes.com/
Ronld Arvidsson and Ota Kulhanek, http://resources.metapress.com, extracted 18-02-10
The streets of Cairo was filled with many people who were either dazed or weeping. Upon knowing about the state Cairo is in, the government sent out rescue teams to dig out survivors who were buried beneath the buildings.
This is similar to the 1847 earthquake in Cairo and the rest of Egypt as the shock originated from the same location,the cause of which is deep-seated, down to 25 km below the surface. The fracture along, which the initial movement occured was a major one that cuts across the huge thickness of sendiments and basement rocks. Cairo is located at the southern boundary of the ancestral delta of the Nile which is a potential earthquake region as it is a weak zone which underground plate movements occur easily.
It is heartening to note that plate tectonics study is underway to gather information to more accurately predict siesmic activities so that proactive measures are possible. It is also observed that buildings in Egypt are made of Adobe and other stone masonry materials. The design of the builldings can be greatly improved think that the structure of the buildings in Cairo can be improved by building stronger buildings by using reinforcement bars. That way, the buildings can at least withstand low grade earthquakes, and will not topple so easily. If that is done, there will be less casualties and damage when an earthquake strikes the country. Also, technology nowadays has advanced alot, and people have come up with an earthquake warning system to notify the people of a substantial earthquake. That way, emergency evacuation plans can then be planned and carried out and the damage cause can then again be very much minimized.
Biblography:
http://www.nytimes.com/
Ronld Arvidsson and Ota Kulhanek, http://resources.metapress.com, extracted 18-02-10
No comments:
Post a Comment