This most recent devastating earthquake that occurred in Nepal, Japan a few years ago, and the two that occurred in Chile and Haiti was the direct result of a tectonic plate shift caused by volcanic activity beneath the earth’s crust. What made the earthquake in Nepal and Japan so intense is that both areas are remnants of many active volcanoes. Japan, which is actually a chain of islands that form an archipelago of mountain tops that were formed by Earth’s plate tectonics and volcanic activity located in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
It just so happens that both the Japanese and the Nepalese live in one of the most unstable regions on the planet. When the Philippine Sea plate and the Pacific plate subduct below the Eurasian continental plate with the North American plate close to Asia, something big can be expected to happen. These plates are located in subduction zones throughout Nepal and Japan. Any sudden change of two plates is known to lead to earthquakes. Unfortunately, this most recent one in Nepal involving the Indian plate proved to be more intense.
In Nepal, the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates is where the Indian plate moves north into Asia at a rate of about 5 centimeters, or 2 inches, per year. In geological terms, that is almost unprecedented. But, we also know that as Earth’s plates push against each other, friction creates stress and energy that builds up until the crust breaks. In Nepal, as in the other recent earthquakes, comparatively speaking, it is equivalent to a thermonuclear weapon explosion. In all cases, these earthquakes tend to cause more damage and more aftershocks than those that occur deeper below the earth’s surface.
The earthquake in Japan is where the disturbances are centered around the Pacific Ring of Fire. Japan simply sits on top of the Pacific Plate, which is right next to the Philippine Sea Plate. With all the volcanic activity that has been going on in Japan and with more than 1,500 smaller earthquakes each year, it was only a matter of time before that big earthquake happened. The other major earthquakes that occurred recently were those in Chile and Haiti. Both resulted from a continuation of riots that have been going on for years along the Pacific Ring of Fire. All of these earthquakes indicate that the planet is in fact in the continuous process of major continental changes.
What happened in Chile was that the South American Plate that coincided with the Nazca Plate moved because the pressure of volcanic activity forced an eruption underneath, causing these two plates to rise and move rapidly. This resulted in a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake. When this occurred, it also created a tsunami that had the ability to cause severe damage to Hawaii and the far east coast. Fortunately, the resulting tsunami was very small and did not damage any coastline across the Pacific. However, the earthquake in Japan turned out to be one of the most devastating.
The earthquake in Haiti that is located on the Caribbean plate occurred when the Concos plate was forced to move during more volcanic activity below these two plates. All land masses make up the lithosphere which exists as separate tectonic plates floating in lava as an atmosphere. The fluidity of the Earth’s atmosphere allows tectonic plates to move in different directions and rise, causing earthquakes.
With the past earthquake in Nepal and the 8.9 earthquake in Japan that triggered a massive tsunami. That tsunami had devastating consequences not only in Japan, but caused further damage in Hawaii and was even felt along the west coast of the United States. The monumental loss of life not only from earthquakes is too horrendous. Give the Japanese credit for their building codes, otherwise the earthquake would have had the same consequences as the one in Nepal last week.
There is a clear possibility that all of these earthquakes occurred as a direct result of continuous faults moving almost at the same time. These plate shifts are most likely just the beginning of more tremors and earthquakes that will continue and continue to intensify. Sure there have been spontaneous earthquakes throughout history, but with three major earthquakes occurring a little over a year apart and the last one in Nepal it is too casual to think otherwise.
There is also the possibility that the acceleration of continental changes is indirectly related to global warming. With the continuing escalation of the world’s depletion of its oil reserves, the devastation of the earth’s surface through open-cast coal mining and the deeper extraction of coal have caused large voids below the earth’s surface. This creates more climate in which the atmosphere is more likely to change to make up for the difference in voids man-made. With the combination of more fossil fuel emissions around the world, global warming has only exacerbated the acceleration of the melting of the polar ice caps, also triggering major geological changes in the oceans and continents. All of which could be an attributable cause of earthquakes.
Too often, when a major earthquake hits the greatest destruction and devastation that results in its aftermath, the poorest countries, cities and towns suffer the most. The buildings and the rest of the infrastructure are so poorly constructed that when a major earthquake strikes, the devastation is more acute than in countries, cities and towns where citizens have the ability and capacity to construct buildings with a more solid structure. In Japan, the damage would have been much worse if major cities had not built their buildings to withstand the number of minor earthquakes that are so frequent. When a major earthquake occurs, as it did, most major buildings in cities are better prepared to withstand major earthquakes. This was not the case in Nepal
We must all realize the enormous impact of any disturbance on the planet, be it earthquakes or any other natural disaster, the earth will continue to subject all of humanity to shocks of destruction. Some scientists now fear that they will only continue to increase, intensify, and occur more with some regularity. The use of technology developed today for advanced warning and the best mandatory building codes throughout the Rings of Fire around the world will have a greater impact on saving lives, money and property in the event of a major catastrophe.
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