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| Updated: April 2004 | NATO Publications |
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Earthquake-induced disasters: limiting the damage 1. Introduction
On 17 August, 1999, people in northwestern Turkey experienced the sudden, ground shaking movement of a major earthquake, which resulted in thousands of deaths and widespread damage. The earthquake, measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, also led to the collapse of thousands of buildings and caused extensive damage to much of the industrial infrastructure. Three short months later, the country was rocked by another major earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, causing hundreds of deaths and injuring thousands more. Turkey is not the only NATO member country that lives in fear of both minor and major earthquakes. In fact, an alarming percentage of NATO member and partner countries are located in areas with high seismic activity, or earthquake zones, including those in North America, Central Asia and the Caucasus and much of Europe. While it is impossible to prevent an earthquake, it is possible to prepare for one, as well as to take measures to safeguard both populations and property against potential damage, death and destruction. With this in mind, NATO member and partner countries have together taken a number of concrete steps in this direction, ranging from civil emergency planning to research and development in the field of earthquake sciences. Initiating programmes to help reduce the effects of earthquakes in addition to providing assistance after an earthquake contribute to maintaining security and stability in what is a potentially perilous environment.
Those people that are lucky enough to survive, frequently find themselves injured, homeless and in search of missing loved ones. In the immediate aftermath of an earthquake, water supplies may be interrupted, the electricity may be cut off and healthcare services severely limited. It often takes a city or region many months, and even years, to fully recover from the devastation caused by a major earthquake.
Humans are not the only ones deployed for search and rescue operations in the aftermath of an earthquake. Our four-legged friends are often sent to work in emergency situations such as earthquakes, floods, explosions, fires and train accidents. Specially trained to track human scent and find missing people trapped in wreckage and rubble, search and rescue dogs are a valuable asset in a disaster situation. They can be credited for saving thousands of lives worldwide. What is an earthquake? The earth’s crust is made up of a variety of materials, including rock. Sometimes there are breaks or fractures between various rock layers which are called faults. Faults represent an area of weakness in a rock formation. An earthquake is caused when there is a build-up of stress along a fault and the rocks crack and slip past each other. Energy is released in the form of seismic waves which cause the ground to shake. The point on the earth’s surface directly above the focal point of the earthquake is called the epicentre. Did you know? A dog’s sense of smell is 1 000 to 10 000 times better than that of humans. Did you know? Earthquakes occur below the surface of the earth and usually at depths of less than 30 kms. Some earthquakes can occur at a depth of up to 600 kms. Did you know? NATO coordinated international assistance for the 1975 earthquake in Turkey and the 1976 earthquake in Italy. Many NATO member countries provided significant bilateral assistance to Armenia in 1988 and to the Kyrgyz Republic in 1992 after they had also been hit by devastating earthquakes.
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NATO Public Diplomacy Division, 1110 Brussels, Belgium, web site: www.nato.int e-mail: natodoc@hq.nato.int |
