Why are shallow earthquakes more destructive? The disaster in Java is a devastating example

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:06:16 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/why-are-shallow-earthquakes-more-destructive-the-disaster-in-java-is-a-devastating-example-195110>

"On November 21 2022 an earthquake near the Indonesian city of Cianjur in West
Java caused at least 268 deaths and damaged 22,000 buildings.

At magnitude 5.6, this earthquake was much smaller than many other earthquakes
that have caused death and destruction in Indonesia over the past few decades.

Why is this one so different? One of the main reasons the Cianjur earthquake
was so destructive was its shallow depth of 10km.

This event should serve as a wake-up call to improve building practices in
Indonesia, because we know from the past that much larger shallow events can
occur in Java; it’s not a question of if but when."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

Comment via email

Home E-Mail Sponsors Index Search About Us