Seven Interesting Articles about Earthquakes

A couple of interesting articles about Earthquake History, Science, and Economic Costs.

So much to read online these days its hard to imagine finding all of the time. Information about earthquakes though can be challenging to find. This blog – QuakeCov, which is dedicated to independent earthquake insurance issuance – also covers other aspects of earthquakes. The history of earthquakes, how earthquakes are made, quake safety measures, etc. We stumble on lots of interesting information.

To that end, here are seven interesting earthquake insurance articles.

1. Caltech Explains it…Simply:

Caltech, the College, has a very interesting article with incredible graphics that attempts to answer the all important question of: What Happens During an Earthquake? I can’t do their site justice on the graphics, so please check it out. Thye do a solid, and not overly complicated review of the three types of quakes that can be observed: Strike Slip, Reverse Fault, and Normal Fault. Simple enough. The graphics are second to none and a minor amount of animation is employed for the quakes.

The article also does a solid job of reviewing the earths composition. The “Earth is made up of a solid inner core, a molten outer core, the thick and mostly solid mantle, which occupies approximately 84 percent of the earth’s total volume [and] he comparatively thin crust, which varies between 5 to 50 km in thickness.” It also notes that “Earth’s outer skin is not a continuous surface. Instead, it is composed of massive segments called tectonic plates.”

2. The Journal of Geophysical Research Explains it…. Not as Simply:

If you have ever wanted to feel, not so intelligent, it can help to pull up an academic article on a given subject.

The Analysis: Comprehensive analysis of earthquake source spectra in southern California, is one such article. The piece from 2006 might just blow your mind. “We compute and analyze P wave spectra from earthquakes in southern California between 1989 and 2001 using a method that isolates source-, receiver-, and path-dependent terms.most complex articles about earthquakes.”

This site will not spoil the ending, But you will quickly see why there a clear cut difference between consumer articles about Earthquake Science and Academic articles about them. “The Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) has several hundred stations and records about 12,000 to 35,000 earthquakes each year. Recently, we began storing seismograms from all archived events in an online RAID system that provides rapid and random access to the data.” The amount of data, science, and other information involved in the science of earth movement is just mind boggling.

3. A Famous Eyewitness of the Great SF Quake:

Any list of earthquake articles that did not include at least one referance point to the great San Francisco Quake of 1906 would not be complete. What better way to read about it – but from Jack London. The Story Of An Eyewitness, who was a Collier’s special Correspondent, is a particular interesting tale. The story is from May 5, 1906. The article is worth a view, if for no other reason to see a somewhat first hand account and for the photos invovled of the devastation of San Francisco. “The earthquake shook down in San Francisco hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of walls and chimneys. But the conflagration that followed burned up hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of property.”

Additional interesting quotes: “Remarkable as it may seem, Wednesday night while the whole city crashed and roared into ruin, was a quiet night.”

“They held on longest to their trunks, and over these trunks many a strong man broke his heart that night. The hills of San Francisco are steep, and up these hills, mile after mile, were the trunks dragged. Everywhere were trunks with across them lying their exhausted owners, men and women….The exhausted creatures, stirred on by the menace of bayonets, would arise and struggle up the steep pavements, pausing from weakness every five or ten feet. Often, after surmounting a heart-breaking hill. they would find another wall of flame advancing upon them at right angles and be compelled to change anew… In the end, completely played out, after toiling for a dozen hours like giants, thousands of them were compelled to abandon their trunks.”

“Kearny Street was deserted. Half a dozen blocks away it was burning on both sides. The street was a wall of flame. And against this wall of flame, silhouetted sharply, were two United States cavalrymen sitting their horses, calming watching. That was all. ” There is so much more to this article, read it, please.

4. The Red Cross Brings the Hope:

In 2018 the Red Cross posted an interesting article about six survivors of a Sept 2017 quake struck Mexico. Fascinating stories, all of them. “These stories bring hope and strength to a country that has suffered such tremendous loss. The six earthquake survivors below inspire me and I hope they inspire you, too.” Celebrating Heros: Meet 6 Inspring Earthquake Survivors.

It is always nice to see articles about people and not just physical property and various science. The Red Cross is good that way. The blog also states that “There have been three large earthquakes in Mexico in the past six months.” Which as an American I find most surprising. Quakes hit in “ September 8, 2017” and “September 19, 2017” and then “February 16, 2018.”

5. Scientific American Says No to Quake Prediction, at Least for Now:

Scientific American, an American science magazine, wrote an interesting short article in January of 2020 titled: Can We Predict Earthquakes At All? This article deserves, and almost commands our atention here in California. The article starts off with an almost obbvious first question: If we can predict hurricanes, floods, and tornados to differing degrees of reliability, why don’t we know when the next big earthquake will come? Read the article, I truly suggest it. Although the summation is not great: “Constructing these models is incredibly challenging due in no small part to the difficulty in studying how rocks and minerals behave at the increased temperatures and pressures toward the Earth’s core.”

Perhaps one day earthquake predictive tehnology will be as good as Hurricane warning systems.

6. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas Makes an Earthquake Statement:

The Fed trys to answer something you might wonder why they are even calculating it for. How Much Economic Damage do Large Earthquakes Cause? Note this might be one of favorite articles on here. Complex, but not too complicated. This in depth article does a solid job of attempting to answer this very question. “This edition of The Oklahoma Economist looks at the economic damage caused in recent decades by large earthquakes in developed countries. “

The article concludes by stating “Large, damaging earthquakes (magnitude 5.5 or greater) are relatively rare in developed countries, averaging fewer than seven events per year…. Many occur in sparsely populated areas…. However, a few large earthquakes have occurred in highly populated areas, with some producing significant damage and others less. The range of economic damages has varied greatly due to a variety of factors including magnitude, population density, construction practices and location of the epicenter.” You can read the Fed article here.

7. and the Biggest Earthquake on Record, According to NPR:

The article When the biggest Earthquake Ever Recorded Hit Chile, it Rocked the World. The medium length article from 2016 tells the story of a powerful earthquake that most Americans have ever heard of. One can also listed o the story at the site as well. The so called Valdivia Earthquake was a magnitude 9.5 quake. This signficant earthquake goes by numerous other names including Great Chilean Earthquake. The article repeats that earth movement was so signficant that “the area of the country [increased].” It was the “most powerful one ever recorded.”

9.5 – Wow – What can you say. This quake also started a Tsunami. The tsunami produced waves that were felt as far as Hawaii.

Bonus – Quakes for Kids:

Weather Wiz Kids tops off our list of great and interesting quake articles. This is a wonderful resource for children and adults alike. Nice Graphics, Easy to Read, and a good explanation too. Earthquakes, simply titled – is worth the time and effort to read and gain a basic understanding. “They are the Earth’s natural means of releasing stress.” This statment must be one of the best statement concerning the science of earthquakes out there. “The West Coast is most at risk of having an earthquake, but earthquakes can happen in the Midwest and along the East Coast. “

This short article goes through the basics of Plate Tectonics, Tsunamis, Safety Tips, and so much more. This useful article is not just for children.

Our list of articles did not mention any safety tips – but two articles on Earthquake Safety can be found on this site, One from FEMA and One from the Red Cross.

Seven Useful Quake Articles:

There you have it Seven [actually 8] super helfpul earthquake articles to fill your time. Quality Quake articles can be hard to find – here are seven for you.

The purpose of this website is to sell and service independent earthquake insurance policies on the West Coast. We provide free content with the hope of attracting clients. Stay Earthquake Safe out there.