Devastating Earthquakes

Excitingly, over the last few days Miss France has asked us to do a report on destructive, deadly earthquakes and as a consequence of this, we wrote an educational  speech pretending to be a scientist visiting Fosse Way Academy. In our report, it tells you how Earthquakes are measured, what to do if one occurs and what impact they have on cities and towns. We hope you enjoy reading it.

Good day to you. My name is Professor Quakes and I work for the British Geographical Society and I have been invited into FWA today, to provide the children with a lecture on Earthquakes and their effects. The points I will be covering will enable the children be able to say:

•      I can tell you where earthquakes happen.

•      I can explain why earthquakes happen.

•      I can tell you how to keep safe in an earthquake.

•      I can compare the strength of earthquakes.

Many Earthquakes happen near the Pacific plates (the 'Ring of Fire') and as a consequence of this is,people are more likely to experience an earthquake if they live around it.

Keeping safe when an earthquake happens is important:

Top Tips

Drop, Cover and Hold

Hurriedly, duck under a strong table or desk and rapidly cover your fragile head and neck with your strong arms. Stay away from glass, due to the fact that you could get badly cut by strong sharp pieces. Don’t duck under a plastic desk due to the fact it is not very strong and could easily be squashed.

Measuring How Strong It is

People use seismographs to measure how powerful and destructive earthquakes are. Clever and clear, the seismograph gives accurate readings of when an earthquake is going to happen. Unfortunately, some earthquakes happen unexpectedly, so people don’t have time to evacuate to safety and consequently some may even sadly die.

When Santa Cruz Earthquake Happened

In 1989 an earthquake struck the terrified city of Santa Cruz a bridge collapsed and in consequence of this people got crushed by heaps of rubble.

Lets hope you have learnt lots and can perhaps find out some more interesting information about earthquakes, so that on my next visit to FWA you can tell me.

Georgette, Tamara and Elliot