Ian
priscilla 1Are Earthquakes Becoming More Frequent?
June 17th 2011 03:16
Earthquakes: Are There Really More Now Than Ever Before, or Are We More Aware of Them?
In recent times there seems to have been a large number of natural disasters affecting our planet. Are there really more earthquakes occurring now than in the past, or in our modern age of instant information and news on demand does it only seem that way?
As this graph demonstrates, every year there are a large number of serious earthquakes, some years have more than average and some less. In 2010 & 2011 there has been more than average, but 2005, 2006 and 2008 for example had less than average.
In terms of media coverage, even before the internet age natural disasters which led to large losses of life would receive massive media attention. Therefore the location of an makes a huge difference. The majority of quakes have epicenters in the middle of the ocean where the effect on human life is very small. It's when quakes occur near populated cities that the human tragedy and media coverage steps in.
The graph below shows the lives lost due to earthquakes each year. As this clearly demonstrates, it's not the total number of earthquakes in a given year that matter, but where they hit.
In recent times there seems to have been a large number of natural disasters affecting our planet. Are there really more earthquakes occurring now than in the past, or in our modern age of instant information and news on demand does it only seem that way?
click to enlarge
As this graph demonstrates, every year there are a large number of serious earthquakes, some years have more than average and some less. In 2010 & 2011 there has been more than average, but 2005, 2006 and 2008 for example had less than average.
In terms of media coverage, even before the internet age natural disasters which led to large losses of life would receive massive media attention. Therefore the location of an makes a huge difference. The majority of quakes have epicenters in the middle of the ocean where the effect on human life is very small. It's when quakes occur near populated cities that the human tragedy and media coverage steps in.
The graph below shows the lives lost due to earthquakes each year. As this clearly demonstrates, it's not the total number of earthquakes in a given year that matter, but where they hit.
| 24 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
