By April Mendez
If an earthquake happened in your neighborhood, would you get out of bed at 3:00 a.m? Would you go under the tables or head for the door? Would you hear the sounds of your household items shaking and falling?
On Tuesday, February 6th, a 2.6 earthquake struck the towns of Yosemite Lakes and Brawley in California. Scientists are expecting a huge earthquake any time soon. This earthquake is often referred to as “The Big One,” and scientists are expecting it to happen at anytime. There have been many reports of earthquakes happening in California recently. There are ways that you can prepare for an earthquake. Preparation is important for you and your family.
Earthquakes happen more frequently when there are faults nearby. Fault lines are lines on a rock surface that causes shifting underneath the ground when energy needs to be released. For example, the fault closest to San Jose is the San Andreas fault. It is 750 miles to 800 miles long. The fault line starts out a farther. For example, San Jose to Palm Springs where the fault almost finishes at, is about 445 miles long.
Earthquakes occur when energy is built up in the earth. An enormous amount of energy is released when earthquakes strike. Smaller earthquakes are less dangerous because they release less energy. In Japan, the earthquakes are never small, they are always large. Japan is located on the Pacific “Ring Of Fire’, which is the most active earthquake belt in the world.
California has been experiencing lots of earthquakes recently. Reports show that California has at least 2 earthquakes a day and 10,000 earthquakes a year, according to earthquake.usgs.gov. They are often so small that we don’t even feel them. In San Diego, a recent earthquake from July 29, 2008 was only a 5.4 in magnitude. A 5.4 is often felt, but usually causes only minor damage.
San Francisco and Los Angeles probably get the most earthquakes. More earthquakes happen in this region because of its population. Back then, only about 260,000 people lived in the Bay Area, which has increased to 7.2 million. A lot of people live by the Hayward fault and of course the San Andreas fault, that’s one of the reasons a lot of people are affected. San Francisco and Los Angeles could probably kill thousands of people because of the population in both cities.
Scientists say that the Bay Area is overdue for a huge earthquake called the “Big One”. The magnitude can range anywhere from a 6.0 to a 8.2. The Bay Area can struck San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose at any time.
The last big earthquake in California was in San Francisco was in 1989. With a magnitude of 6.9 and death count of 63, the earthquake lasted 15 seconds and happened during the World Series. It was named the Loma Prieta earthquake and caused enormous damage throughout and beyond Bay Area cities.
There are ways to prepare for an earthquake. Having earthquake kits around your house are one of the ways to go. Earthquake kits in every room could be very important. They include prepared meals, water, and a safety guide. Preparation is important because you never know when anything can happen. Try keeping you and your family safe. Even though it is difficult to prepare for an earthquake because they can occur when you least expect it, you can still try.
On Tuesday, February 6th, a 2.6 earthquake struck the towns of Yosemite Lakes and Brawley in California. Scientists are expecting a huge earthquake any time soon. This earthquake is often referred to as “The Big One,” and scientists are expecting it to happen at anytime. There have been many reports of earthquakes happening in California recently. There are ways that you can prepare for an earthquake. Preparation is important for you and your family.
Earthquakes happen more frequently when there are faults nearby. Fault lines are lines on a rock surface that causes shifting underneath the ground when energy needs to be released. For example, the fault closest to San Jose is the San Andreas fault. It is 750 miles to 800 miles long. The fault line starts out a farther. For example, San Jose to Palm Springs where the fault almost finishes at, is about 445 miles long.
Earthquakes occur when energy is built up in the earth. An enormous amount of energy is released when earthquakes strike. Smaller earthquakes are less dangerous because they release less energy. In Japan, the earthquakes are never small, they are always large. Japan is located on the Pacific “Ring Of Fire’, which is the most active earthquake belt in the world.
California has been experiencing lots of earthquakes recently. Reports show that California has at least 2 earthquakes a day and 10,000 earthquakes a year, according to earthquake.usgs.gov. They are often so small that we don’t even feel them. In San Diego, a recent earthquake from July 29, 2008 was only a 5.4 in magnitude. A 5.4 is often felt, but usually causes only minor damage.
San Francisco and Los Angeles probably get the most earthquakes. More earthquakes happen in this region because of its population. Back then, only about 260,000 people lived in the Bay Area, which has increased to 7.2 million. A lot of people live by the Hayward fault and of course the San Andreas fault, that’s one of the reasons a lot of people are affected. San Francisco and Los Angeles could probably kill thousands of people because of the population in both cities.
Scientists say that the Bay Area is overdue for a huge earthquake called the “Big One”. The magnitude can range anywhere from a 6.0 to a 8.2. The Bay Area can struck San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose at any time.
The last big earthquake in California was in San Francisco was in 1989. With a magnitude of 6.9 and death count of 63, the earthquake lasted 15 seconds and happened during the World Series. It was named the Loma Prieta earthquake and caused enormous damage throughout and beyond Bay Area cities.
There are ways to prepare for an earthquake. Having earthquake kits around your house are one of the ways to go. Earthquake kits in every room could be very important. They include prepared meals, water, and a safety guide. Preparation is important because you never know when anything can happen. Try keeping you and your family safe. Even though it is difficult to prepare for an earthquake because they can occur when you least expect it, you can still try.