History-Geography Integrated Assignment [Geography Component]
History-Geography Integrated Assessment
Geography Component
An earthquake occurred on 12 October 1992, in Cairo, Egypt. No crustal plate movements have been linked to this even as Cairo is at least 250 miles away from the nearest plate boundary – the region in the Earth’s crust that generates most earthquakes. Few scientists have paid attention to the area which is seismically quiet; hence the earthquake came as a complete surprise to experts, said John Minsch, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Service Earthquake in Golden, Colo. The earthquake that lasted 20 seconds had a 5.9 magnitude on the Richter scale.
An estimated total of 370 people were killed and another 3,300 were injured. Many victims were trampled to death because of the earthquake. Telephones lines were also damaged which made communicating difficult. Not only that, in the northern suburb of Heliopolis, 75 apartments had collapsed into a heap of crushed concrete and twisted steel. Luckily, major monuments survived the earthquake intact.
The authorities declared a state of emergency in this city of 14 million people. Riots and fanning support for Muslim fundamentalists were set off just two weeks before the municipal elections when the government failed to deal adequately with Egypt’s severe housing problems which were exposed by the earthquake. The fundamentalists, however, quickly filled the void in disaster relief, opening shelters and providing medical aid in some areas within hours of the disaster.
Scientists should pay a little more attention to areas that are less prone to earthquakes because if they do, they might be able to predict an earthquake and the necessary precautions can be taken to ensure that the effects of the earthquake are kept to a minimal. The government should also be more efficient in helping the victims of the earthquake.
Bibliography:
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/13/world/earthquake-in-egypt-kills-370-and-injures-3300.html?pagewanted=1, extracted 13/10/1992
Chris Hedges, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/21/world/cairo-journal-after-the-earthquake-a-rumbling-of-discontent.html?pagewanted=1, extracted 21/10/1992
posted by samantha @ 11:17 PM
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