Earthquakes

“It is a bitter and humiliating thing to see works, which have cost men so much time and labour, overthrown in one minute; yet compassion for the inhabitants is almost instantly forgotten…Charles Darwin (on the ruin of Concepcion in Chile by an earthquake (Robinson 47)
People tremble when they hear the word; destruction, mayhem, and tragedy: all words that come to mind when “earthquake” is heard. They occur without warning and cause millions of dollars in destruction and numerous deaths. For these reasons and more, earthquakes are one of the most unpredictable and devastating occurrences Mother Nature dishes out.
Earthquakes usually occur without warning. There is a sudden slip in the earth’s crust, which makes the earth shake causing mass destruction to buildings and people in the surrounding areas. These areas in the earth’s crust are called faults. When the earth “faults” the ground bends to a certain limit until the point of breaking. When it finally snaps,...