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The World Deadliest Earthquakes You Wouldn’t Survive – Video Transcript – Script Writer: Joanne Reed
Did you know that 62% of the world’s population lives in countries with a significant seismic hazard, or risk of earthquakes? Earthquakes are sneaky, deadly,and often hang out with Tsunamis. For sure living through an earthquake must be an earth-shattering and groundbreaking experience, but would you live to tell the tale?
How about going on a globe-trotting adventure to have a sneak peek at the world’s deadliest earthquakes? At the end of the trip, you will know an awful lot about earthquakes, and you will learn some tips as to how to survive them. Before we get on, don’t forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel.
We all know that earthquakes are scary, deadly, and cause an awful lot of damage, but why are earthquakes more common in some parts of the world than others?
Because some places like Tokyo, in Japan, sit on top of the meeting point, or fault of two tectonic plates. When those plates scrape against each other they cause an earthquake.
Before we start our expedition around the world for a sneak peek at the world’s deadliest earthquakes, we should take a moment or two to understand how earthquakes’ magnitudes are measured, so that we know in advance what we are dealing with.
A magnitude earthquake 1.00 -1.9 is described as a microearthquake. It is not felt. No impact.
A magnitude 2.0-3.9 earthquake is described as minor. It is often felt by people, but very rarely caused damage.
A magnitude 4.0-4.9 earthquake is described as light. There is noticeable shaking of indoor objects and rattling noises. It is felt by most people in the affected area. It is slightly felt outside. Generally, causes zero to minimal damage.
A magnitude 5.00-5.9 earthquake is described as moderate. It can cause damage of varying severity to poorly constructed buildings. Zero to light damage to all other buildings. It is felt by everyone.
A magnitude 6.00 – 6.9 earthquake is described as strong. It causes damage to a moderate number of well-built structures in populated areas. Earthquake-resistant structures survive with slight to moderate damage. It is felt up to 100 km from the epicenter. Strong to violent shaking in the epicentral area.
A magnitude 7.00-7.9 earthquake is described as major. It causes damage to most buildings. Well-designed structures are likely to suffer damage.
A magnitude 8.00 to 9.00 + is described as great. It causes near or total destruction – severe damage or collapses to all buildings and it causes permanent changes in ground topography.
To summarize, anything between 1.00 to 6.00 on the Richter scale is no big deal. Anything between 6.00 to 7.9 is a big deal. Anything between 8.00 to 9.00 + is a very big deal.
It is now time for you to fasten your seat belt and get ready to go on a tour of the most dangerous places on earth. Our itinerary will take us to 10 different locations where you will be met by devastating scenes of destruction, desolation, and death.
Our 1st stopover is in the province of Shaanxi, China in the year 1556. This region suffered an earthquake the like of which has not been seen before. The magnitude of the earthquake was 8 on the Richter scale. The estimated death toll was 830,000. A 520-mile-wide area was destroyed. In some counties, it is estimated that up to 60% of the population died.
Our 2nd stop-over is in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in the year 2010. The magnitude of the earthquake was 8 on the Richter scale, killing 326,000 people. The population suffered greatly from this event. It is also worth noting that Haiti also happens to be on the pathway of typhoons that hit the island on a regular basis.
Our 3rd and 4th stop-over are Antakya, Turkey. This country suffered from two devastating earthquakes. The first one happened in the year 115 killing 260,000 people. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.5 on the Richter scale. The second one happened in 525 killing 250,000 people. The earthquakes caused severe damage to a large section of the Byzantine empire, numerous buildings were destroyed, and a local tsunami was triggered.
For our 5th stop-over, we go back to China, but this time (1976) it was the Tangshan region that was hit hard by an earthquake. 242,769 people lost their lives. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.5 on the Richter scale. It was reported that the earthquake risk had been greatly underestimated, almost all buildings and structures were designed and built without seismic considerations; 85% of buildings collapsed, which explained the large death toll.
We are halfway through our journey. I just want to check on you guys to make sure you are still with me. Take a breather but stay alert till the end because you’ll find out at the end of the tour some tips that can literally save your life if you just happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
Our next stop is in Gyzndzha, Azerbaidjan (1139), where 230,000 people died due to what is known as the Ganja earthquake. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.00 on the Richter scale and triggered massive landslides off the side of the mountains and canyons in the Caucasus Mountains.
Let’s go to Sumatra, Indonesia. This earthquake happened in 2004 in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra, and it resulted in a series of large tsunamis (ranging from 15 to 30 meters in height). 227,898 people died. The magnitude of the earthquake was 9.1 on the Richter scale. The victims were from 14 countries across the region with Indonesia being the hardest hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. There was no tsunami warning system in place.
Our next stop-over will take us to Iran and China. A deadly earthquake happened in Damghan, Iran in the year 856, killing 200,000 people. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.9 on the Richter scale. The Gansu earthquake in China in 1920 spread across 7 provinces and regions with a magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale killing 200,000 people. In some cities, almost all buildings collapsed or were buried by landslides. It was reported that additional deaths from aftershocks meant survivors tried to rely only on temporary shelters which were unsuitable for the harsh winter.
Let’s hop over to Dvin, Armenia, where a brutal earthquake killed 150,000 people in the year 893. The city of Dvin was destroyed, and most of the buildings’ defensive walls and palaces collapsed. With the city defenses ruined, Dvin was taken over by Muhammad Abi’I-Saj, the emir of Adharbayjan.
Our final stopover is Tokyo, Japan, where a devastating earthquake occurred in 1923 killing 142,807 people. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.9 on the Richter scale. More than half of brick buildings, and 10% of reinforced structures collapsed. The earthquake caused a tsunami with waves as high as 12 meters in height. Large fires also broke out.
We cannot talk about earthquakes in Japan without mentioning the massive undersea megathrust earthquake that happened off the coast of Japan in 2011. The whole world witnessed with horror this event and its aftermath on their TV screen. The disaster began when a magnitude -9 earthquake shook the region in the early afternoon, unleashing a savage tsunami.
The earthquake triggered a massive tsunami with waves up to 40.5 meters. The waves traveled inland as far as 10 km and caused extensive and severe structural damage in north-eastern Japan. Airports, roads, railroads, and a dam collapsed. The tsunami also caused nuclear accidents at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex. The death toll was estimated at 19,747, which was surprisingly low considering the quick succession of events earthquake +tsunami +nuclear power plant meltdown.
When big earthquakes happen the data show that it is the tsunami that causes the most destruction, but it is good to know that the death toll can be minimized if a nation is prepared, and proper warning systems are in place.
Many lessons have been learned from those events. Warning systems have been put on the seafloor all around the world to detect seismic activities and give proper warning to the population to evacuate coastal areas and seek refuge on high ground. Engineers are learning from those disasters and are looking for ways to design and build buildings more resistant to quakes and tsunamis.
Earthquakes and tsunamis tend to destroy everything that is in their path; what are the chances of you surviving an earthquake if you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? It depends where you are and what you do when the earthquake hits. Here are some life-saving tips just in case.
- If you are outdoor, stay outside and away from buildings.
- If you are inside, stay where you are, do not run outside, and avoid doorways.
- If you are in a car, pull over, stop and set your parking brake.
- If you are at sea, stay there.
- Wherever you are, Drop, Cover and Hold. Drop to your hands and knees. Cover your head and neck with your arms. Hold on to something sturdy. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. Hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it if it moves.
- If you are in a damaged building, go outside as soon as you can and quickly move away from the building.
- If you are trapped, send a text or bang on a pipe or wall. Cover your mouth with your shirt for protection, concentrate on staying alive and wait for the rescue team.
- If you are in an area that may experience tsunamis, go inland or go to higher ground immediately after the shaking stops.
- If you cannot evacuate to higher ground, evacuate vertically to higher floors, onto a roof, up a tree, or grab a floating object and hold on for dear life because your life is depending on it.
Earthquakes are sneaky, deadly, and usually hang out with tsunamis. If you get caught in one remember to Drop, Cover and Hold on for dear life.
Thank you for watching and don’t forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel and stay tuned in because I have a whole bunch of videos in the pipeline! I have been really busy writing scripts and the design team has been really busy putting the graphics and video together.
Yours Truly Script Writer, Joanne Reed
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