Earthquakes and the Ring of Fire
By suziecat7
@suziecat7 (3350)
Asheville, North Carolina
April 18, 2016 2:12pm CST
The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped line along the edges of the Pacific Ocean where geographers have recorded increased seismic activity, earthquakes and volcanoes. The recent strong earthquakes first in Japan then in Ecuador and Tonga have scientists worried that they may be related and that there may be more to come in the next few days. Though there are others who feel they were all separate events having nothing to do with each other.
Earthquakes are pretty scary things. Unfortunately lives were lost in both Japan and Ecuador. I have been through a couple of (smaller) earthquakes both in San Francisco and in Cyprus. It was many years ago but I still remember the helpless feeling. They occur so suddenly and without warning and are like beasts.
What do you think of the Ring of Fire? Have you ever been in an earthquake?
Ring of Fire HD 1080p Full Documentary The Ring of Fire a long chain of volcanoes and other tectonically active structures that surround the Pacific Ocean. M...
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11 responses
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Apr 16
I am a Southern California native and lived through many quakes including Northridge. The San Andreas faultline is nearby. People are so terrified of quakes and a bad one can kill many, but quakes are far and few between and the tornadoes and hurricanes in the Midwest and East cause far more destruction and fatalities on a yearly basis compared to here on the west coast.
2 people like this
@suziecat7 (3350)
• Asheville, North Carolina
18 Apr 16
Yes, tornadoes and hurricanes are certainly more common and equally as destructive. The problem with earthquakes is that there is no warning.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
Me too. I am often perplexed at how cavalier people living in dangerous places are about their oft repeated disasters, but are terrified when they discuss a little shaking.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
@suziecat7 Tornadoes and hurricanes are far more destructive than 99% of all earthquakes. The really bad ones occur when building codes are not enforced. Japan has problems especially because they are on islands, and the water can flow in, like the one a few years ago.
As for earthquakes being unpredictable, we are informed and taught from childhood how to prepare and react. And we do, In Tornado Alley, however, people don't even have underground shelters. Why aren't they required by law?
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@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
18 Apr 16
I was working in a cabinet door factory about 35 years ago when all of a sudden I felt sick to my stomach and thought I was going to throw up. Then I noticed a stack of doors wiggling back and forth. At first I thought I had become so sick I was seeing things. Then everything settled down and a guy from California said, "That was an earthquake." There has been a few more earthquakes here but they have been so minor that most people didn't even know there was a quake until it was announced on the news.
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@suziecat7 (3350)
• Asheville, North Carolina
18 Apr 16
I guess there are small earthquakes everywhere that are hardly felt. I looked at a map of fault lines and they are very numerous in almost every area.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
I saw a report last week about the Washington and Oregon coastline. If there is an earthquake off the coast, and a tsunami occurs, you are all in trouble. Too many cities are in low lying areas near the coast, and even schools are built in unsafe areas. Some towns are trying to fix these problems, but many don't want to spend the money. That is foolish.
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@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
19 Apr 16
@ElizabethWallace Yes, I've heard this, but I live about 4.5 miles from the Washington/Idaho boarder. The tsunami would have to wash over the Cascade Mountains to get this far inland. However I've heard, ever since I was a kid back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, that someday the western part of Washington state was going to fall into the ocean and the coast would then be just west of Spokane. Since I live east of Spokane I'm in good shape. The true is, no matter where you live there is some type of pending disaster. Floods, earthquakes, tornados, volcanos, hurricanes, bug infestations. I will agree it is foolish that these towns won't prepare for a disaster that they know will someday come.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
Nope. The little ones are interesting, but only the huge ones are scary. I was in a high rise which swayed back and forth in a fairly big one. That was pretty scary, but humorous too. I could hear the two men next door to me screaming every time the building swayed one way or the other. It took my mind off the fear, and made me laugh.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
19 Apr 16
@ElizabethWallace That's a good way to tackle a scary situation over which you have no control - find some humour in it.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
18 Apr 16
i sure feel fer those folks, 's ya say there's lil warnin' 'n then e'en if'n there was - where do ya go to escape such? there's no safe place i fear :(
there's earthquakes 'round here they say, though i've ne'er felt one. did've some 'xperiences with such when i lived'n alaska. wakin' to schtuff fallin' off the walls'n yer bed dancin' 'cross the floor jest aint my idea'f a good time!
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@suziecat7 (3350)
• Asheville, North Carolina
19 Apr 16
Alaska has earthquakes all the time - I agree - no fun.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
@suziecat7 Big ones are rare. Damage is caused by poor building codes. With properly constructed buildings, there is little serious damage. Of course, who wants to spend the money to retrofit all the old buildings? Owners are forced to do so by the government.
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@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
18 Apr 16
It's very disturbing,we in the Philippines are worried because scientists say the major faultline running accross Metro Manila is already "ripe" and a strong quake could be so devastating. Just praying it won't happen.
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@suziecat7 (3350)
• Asheville, North Carolina
18 Apr 16
I also pray it will not.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
Praying is nice, but have you prepared? Are your buildings safe? Do you have extra food, water and supplies in your home, just in case? We do this routinely in SoCal. Our building codes are strict and inspectors check our buildings as they go up. We get ready, then we pray.
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@annaroselock (805)
• United Kingdom
18 Apr 16
It must be so scary, I can't even imagine 
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@suziecat7 (3350)
• Asheville, North Carolina
18 Apr 16
I think the suddenness is the worse thing.
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@Letranknight2015 (52072)
• Philippines
19 Apr 16
I hope this won't happen in NCR or primarily in manila or it would be terribly devastating because that part of the philippines is really crowded. but eventually we have to prepare to survive the aftermath./
@Hate2Iron (15727)
• Canada
18 Apr 16
That has to be terrifying to anyone in the area. I have experienced one tiny earthquake... just strong enough to wake us up, but that is all. I can't imagine what life has to be like there right now... not knowing what is going to happen next!
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@suziecat7 (3350)
• Asheville, North Carolina
18 Apr 16
I know - especially in Ecuador - they are in bad shape there.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
@suziecat7 The government officials have already explained that many of the buildings that collapsed were not built to code. They do not check when buildings go up. This is the cause of the damage and deaths.
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
19 Apr 16
None of our scientists think these earthquakes are related. Newcasters, however, have wondered out loud if this could be so. The ring of fire is a caused by a grouping of tectonic plates. They are what cause earthquakes (when they shift).
Lucy Jones, a very respected scientist said that SoCal, where I live, does not have an increased or decreased chance of an earthquake due to these other quakes. They are all too far away to make a difference. The two in Japan, however, were related. The first caused the second. But they were in the same place and in close proximity timewise.
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@JudyEv (341741)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Apr 16
I've heard of the Ring of Fire. Earthquakes seem impossible to predict really. It would be terrifying to be in one of these.
@Auntylou (4264)
• Oxford, England
20 Apr 16
I have heard that earthquakes are very awe full, but have never been in one myself than goodness
