Using examples you have studied, compare and contrast the impacts of an Earthquake in an MEDC and a LEDC?

Authors Avatar
Using examples you have studied, compare and contrast the impacts of an Earthquake in an MEDC and a LEDC?

Earthquakes are a common occurrence around the world, happening along the plate boundaries under the Earth's crust.

The Alaskan earthquake occurred on Good Friday, March 27th, 1964, and is an example of a MEDC Earthquake. It was the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America. Sources vary as to the magnitude of this earthquake, in part because a variety of scales are used to measure earthquake. The USGS gives it a 9.2 Mw, where Mw is the moment magnitude. The epicentre was located between Valdez and Anchorage, near Prince William Sound. The earthquake occurred on a thrust fault. This fault was a subduction zone, where the Pacific plate plunges underneath the North American plate. The first slip occurred at a depth of 30 km. the Earthquake was so powerful that some of the most potent seismic waves where created. The sudden uplift of the Alaskan seafloor caused a tsunami, which was responsible for 122 of the 131 deaths. The tsunami reached the Hawaiian Islands. The tsunami also struck Crescent City, California, killing five people. The earthquake also caused ground liquefaction, whereby the soil and sand temporarily turned from a solid to a liquid state. Rockslides and avalanches occurred as a result of the liquefaction. Some of the landslides occurred in Anchorage, particularly at Turnagain Heights. Soft clay bluffs at this location collapsed during the strong ground motion. About 75 homes were therefore destroyed. The property damage cost was about $311 million. Much of the property damage occurred in Anchorage. Several schools in Anchorage were also destroyed. Fortunately, the schools were closed due to the Good Friday holiday. In addition, water, sewer, and gas lines ruptured. Telephone and electrical services was also disrupted.
Join now!


This was just some of the catastrophic damage caused by the Earthquake that hit Alaska.

This wooden house collapsed during the seismic shaking. It is likely that its heavy roof of ceramic tile created more shear force than its wood frame was built to resist.

An example of an Earthquake hitting an LEDC happens to be totally different from the impacts created by one hitting in an MEDC.

Epicentre of the Earthquake

The 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, commonly referred to as the Kobe Earthquake, was one of the most devastating earthquakes ever to ...

This is a preview of the whole essay