What decides how bad an earthquake is?
By MysD
@mysdianait (66009)
Italy
August 24, 2016 7:11am CST
As you all probably know by now, during the night (local time) there was an earthquake here in central Italy. The area concerned is on a mountain range and, as it is summer, there are many tourists there this month, making it difficult to know exactly how many people are missing..
Entire villages have become one single mass of rubble and debris and teams of rescue workers are now busy aiding the injured, providing shelter and food for the many homeless and, with the help of their trained dogs, searching for people still trapped in their fallen homes while they were sleeping.
At the moment, and for over at least two hours, the number of victims is "only" 38 with hundreds injured. This number is destined sadly to increase during the next hours (maybe days) as bodies are found under the crumbled buildings.
While listening to the updates on television, and journalists comparing this event with previous earthquakes over the past years, I notice that the number of victims is one of the main points of the discussion.
Is the number of victims, the number of buildings destroyed, the number of injured or even another factor that which puts a certain earthquake at the top of the list as being the biggest disaster compared to others, making the loss of human life the most important factor?
Earthquake of magnitude 6.2 strikes north-east of Rome, with shock felt across region and mayor in town of Amatrice saying people buried under rubble
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31 responses
@LadyDuck (470777)
• Switzerland
24 Aug 16
The number of the victims unfortunately has increased a lot. According to "Il Giorno" the number of the victims is now 90. My cousins sent me a message saying that they have felt the earthquake in Bologna. The nurse of my Mom was vacationing in the Marche, her family still is there, I hope she is safe.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
@LadyDuck Please update us when you have some news and fingers crossed.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
now puts the victims at 120 but there will be many more once the rescuers get to a hotel where at least 70 people were staying last night.
I hope you soon have news from the nurse and that all is well with her and her family.
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@LadyDuck (470777)
• Switzerland
24 Aug 16
@mysdianait Mother is very concerned, but I think that the communications are pretty bad right now. I feel that she is safe.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
In that case, this evening when the number of victims is updated, this event will be much worse than it appears right now 
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@JudyEv (338661)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Aug 16
@mysdianait It does sound like it has been very devastating.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
@JudyEv It is evening now and the official number of victims is at 120 but will rise once the guests at a hotel which is now reduced to rubble are discovered
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@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
24 Aug 16
I saw the pictures before I left for work this morning and it looks devastating. I'm glad that your ok, I thought of you almost immediately and wondered if you were near to the quake. The next 48 hours will be crucial for rescuing those trapped under the rubble. Prayers go out to those affected.
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
24 Aug 16
@mysdianait huge devastation is hard to deal with and when it's in your backyard I think it's even worse. I haven't caught anything since this morning, since I'm at work with no live TV here. I'm blocked from many internet sites. Funny how I can go to mylot though. I guess all we can do at this point is hope and pray.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
25 Aug 16
@beaniefanatic13 yes that does seem all we can do. Why are you blocked from many sites? 
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@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
25 Aug 16
@mysdianait security parameters at work. Many sites that I try to visit I get a message "That this site can't provide a secure connection." I have a lot of down time at work at times and I try and surf on the computer, a lot of times I just break out my phone. Especially when I'm trying to shop, I get that message a lot or looking up information about current events, i.e. the earthquake yesterday.
@akp100 (13640)
• India
24 Aug 16
Hello there... 
I agree with you. Such disaster can't be count big if the scale of it saying it big. It is related with how many people got affected because of that. How much they lost? That is important thing.
I am glad that people there are getting together and helping each other. This is important thing, as I have seen that such incident always bring people together. And they should be.
I agree with you. Such disaster can't be count big if the scale of it saying it big. It is related with how many people got affected because of that. How much they lost? That is important thing.
I am glad that people there are getting together and helping each other. This is important thing, as I have seen that such incident always bring people together. And they should be.1 person likes this
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
Long timè no see
It is so true that after a disaster the whole community rallies round. Sad that In normal ti es people argue all the time 
It is indeed so sad @sjvg1976
It is so true that after a disaster the whole community rallies round. Sad that In normal ti es people argue all the time
It is indeed so sad @sjvg19762 people like this
@akp100 (13640)
• India
25 Aug 16
@mysdianait that's how it goes. But at least it is good that they are working like one in worse situation.
@SJ... Seeing you after long. Lol, you have responded to my discussion but because of new name I didn't able to recognize you.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
The casualties are more important than the injured, too.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
@JolietJake Yes sadly the media seem tp forget about the imured very quickly yet they are the people wjho suffer more than those who die immediately.
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@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
24 Aug 16
I am so glad to see you back here dear MysD. How is your health now.
The natural disasters in my opinion should be rated taking into consideration the number of lives lost, the damage done to the property and other structures and also the severeness of the disaster as per the prevalent measuring standards.
The number of lives lost at times is minimized - as today's tech helps in predicting some disasters and steps are taken to relocate the people to safer zones temporarily.
. How is your health now.
The natural disasters in my opinion should be rated taking into consideration the number of lives lost, the damage done to the property and other structures and also the severeness of the disaster as per the prevalent measuring standards.
The number of lives lost at times is minimized - as today's tech helps in predicting some disasters and steps are taken to relocate the people to safer zones temporarily.1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
24 Aug 16
i read about it earlier today, but didn't know that it was a tourist area. i hope they get to everyone.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
It is a race against time but the rescuers were quick to arrive on the scene and get organised.
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@anrain (77)
• Cebu City, Philippines
25 Aug 16
I don't know how to decide how bad an earthquake is, because I can't even describe how I felt when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck our place last October 15,2013, and it was unforgettable, with a record of more than 4000 aftershocks. Maybe at that time all I care is how my family will survive.
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@Carmelanirel2 (8084)
• United States
24 Aug 16
I heard on Facebook and contacted Michael to see if this effected you. I'm glad to see you online, and will pray for those who are suffering from this earthquake.
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@Marilynda1225 (82582)
• United States
24 Aug 16
So sad to hear this today and I hope they find that the casualties are low and many people can be rescued
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
24 Aug 16
Hopefully but from the scenes of destroyed homes that are being shown on television I fear the number of victims will increase a lot in the next hours.
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@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
24 Aug 16
Oh my gosh @mysdianait . How horrible! Between earthquakes, flood and fires, across the world, I don't know what is worse.
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@Mike197602 (15505)
• United Kingdom
24 Aug 16
the richter scale measures just the power as far as I remember.
Then it all comes down to what you're measuring...damage done, people killed, people injured, financial costs etc etc.
So you could list earthquakes by most powerful, most deaths, most damage and highest cost.
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@Mike197602 (15505)
• United Kingdom
24 Aug 16
@sabtraversa thanks..I'd never heard of Mercalli
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@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
24 Aug 16
The level of disaster cannot be measured by life alone. I realise that this may seem very controversial, but other factors have to be considered.
The loss of life is undoubtedly a major factor, but we have to consider the overall effect of damage and the consequences. If a vast area is devastated it can have a serious effect on the livelihood of residents in respect of homelessness and lack of employment.
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@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
24 Aug 16
I'm so glad to hear that you are safe. Even knowing the town you live in told me nothing about whether it was likely to have affected you or not.
I think that, for me, the severity of an earthquake or other disaster is measured by the amount of damage it caused. I feel sad, of course, for the injuries and the loss of life but it is the pain of those who have to rebuild their homes and their lives which affects me most.
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@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
25 Aug 16
I think it is the combination of the total damaged buildings , infrastructures and lost lives .
I am so sorry to hear that a lot have lost their lives in that earthquake .
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
24 Aug 16
"What decides how bad an earthquake is?"
- Magnitude of the quake, secondary tremours, posibility of a tsunami for scientists
- deaths and injuries for health workers, hospitals, victims, leaders and politicians
- damage to infrastructure and property for engineers, economists, business, politicians and leaders.
Over all I think it depends on who's looking.
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@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
25 Aug 16
I am up in the north and far from the disaster area. Thank you for your concern
It is a tourist area but at the moment there are no official reports of foreigner among the victims. If there are any then I guess that their relatives would be informed before their identities were made public.
It is a tourist area but at the moment there are no official reports of foreigner among the victims. If there are any then I guess that their relatives would be informed before their identities were made public.1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
24 Aug 16
That one was 6.2 I believe which is very strong according to the scale. Now if it happened in a deserted area it wouldn't be considered bad, but even a lesser strength in a very populated area is bad. Then take into consideration the history of the area - you can't rebuild that.
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