Have you ever wondered how powerful an earthquake can be? How much destruction can it cause? Well, right here is where you want to be. Earthquakes are known for how powerful and destructive they can be when it comes to “bringing down a house.” Although this powerful natural hazard can be disastrous or even catastrophic, you can learn more about it so that you are more aware and prepared about what to do in case you find yourself in such a situation. Let's start with the consequences of an earthquake. The consequences depend on a combination of factors such as the magnitude, depth, distance from a populated area, the nature of local earth materials and also the way in which structures such as houses, buildings, roads, railways, lines are constructed service and pipelines. (Natural Hazards, Second Edition) Losses from earthquakes, like those from other disasters, tend to cause greater financial losses in industrialized countries and more injuries and deaths in underdeveloped countries. Earthquakes can also cause secondary disasters such as tsunamis, a natural disaster in which a series of waves of great length and period are usually caused by large earthquakes under or near oceans that are close to the edges of tectonic plates. Waves created by a tsunami can travel long distances and increase in height when they hit shallow water. Tsunamis are capable of creating great damage and destruction far from their source. (American Public Health Association, 2005) To help prepare buildings for earthquakes in certain regions, they estimate the probability of how often an earthquake will occur in that area. Other factors include: the intensity of the shaking produced by the earthquake (which can also be expressed as peak acceleration), the frequency with which s...... middle of paper ...... citizens occur before the earthquake. The reason we can't find a way to predict when and where an earthquake will happen is because there are no obvious signs that indicate when an earthquake is about to occur until it's too late. The vibrations can be detected just before an earthquake occurs, but this doesn't give us enough time to get people out of the disaster. It is difficult for scientists to be able to study the many tectonic plates that constantly interact with each other deep beneath the Earth's surface. Their interactions are really complex, which makes it really difficult to study them and understand what's going on. Scientists at the USGS and other organizations are working hard to develop methods that will allow us to predict earthquakes. Hopefully, scientists will eventually find a way to predict earthquakes precisely where it could save many lives.