The Effects Of The Fort Tejon Earthquake

Register to read the introduction… Damages were not nearly as serious as it would be today, mostly because Southern California was sparsely populated. The effects of the earthquake were quite dramatic, even frightening. Were the Fort Tejon shock to happen today, the damage would easily run into billions of dollars, and the loss of life would be substantial. On March 10, 1933, a 6.4 earthquake hit the Newport-Inglewood Fault, causing serious damage in long Beach and other communities. The earthquake resulted in 120 deaths and more than $50 million in property damage. Most of the damaged buildings were of unreinforced masonry. Then on January 17, 1994, a 6.7 earthquake hit the Northridge area. This earthquake caused 87 deaths and a FEMA – estimated $40 billion in property damage. An estimated 12,000 people were injured, and 100,000 structures were damaged. More than 600,000 individuals applied for disaster …show more content…
Ground motion is when the shaking of the ground causes the passage of seismic waves, especially surface waves, near the epicenter of the earthquake. Ground motion is responsible for the most damage during an earthquake and is thus a primary effect of an earthquake. Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes that occur after a main earthquake, and in most causes there are many of these. Fire is a hazard of earthquakes, because power lines may be knocked down and natural gas lines may rupture due to an earthquake. Fires are often started closely following an earthquake. Tsunami is another hazard of earthquakes. They are giant ocean waves that can rapidly travel across oceans. Earthquakes that occur beneath sea level and along coastal areas can generate tsunami, which can cause thousands of miles away on the other side of the world. Flooding is a hazard that may occur due to rupture of human made dams and levees, due to tsunami, and as a result of ground subsidence after an