EARTHQUAKE

EARTHQUAKE

Did you know New Zealand has lots of earthquakes because we are on the earthquake plate. On 4th September 2010 at 4:35am in Christchurch, there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1. On 22nd February 2011 at 12:51pm there was an aftershock of a magnitude of 6.3. This earthquake caused devastating aftershock that killed 182 people. Even though the aftershock was 0.8 less than the first earthquake, the aftershock was more deadly because of the time and because it happened on a busy weekday . The aftershock was at 12:51pm not a good one when crazy drunk people are all over the streets. While the first earthquake killed nobody because it was at 4:35am where people are sleeping, going home from the bar or going home after the night shift.

Liquefaction is when soil, which is solid, is shaken so hard that it loses its strength and behaves like a liquid. In some areas of Christchurch, the soil is soft and sandy. When the earthquake struck, water forced its way to the surface, weakening the ground under.   

Earth's rocky outer layer is divided into huge segments, called plates. These plates move very slowly, traveling a few centimeters a year. When two plates push against each other, pressure builds in the earth's crusts near the boundary. An earthquake occurs when the crusts breaks and the rock on either side of this fault line suddenly moved, causing the ground to shake.

By:Mikayla