Research Assessment on Natural Disasters : Science, Technology and Society

• Earthquakes are been defined as sudden trembling of the earth’s surface that is associated with some sudden energy releases ("1. – Earthquakes – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand", 2016).
• Most of the earthquakes that happen are always linked with some sort of faulting or even the breaking of underground rocks that leads to sudden displacement of matter within the earths surface. Additionally, it is also important to note that earthquakes can be caused by both physical and human factors.
• Some of the common causes of earthquakes include elastic rebounds and different sources of stress to the tectonic plates ("The Causes of Earthquakes", 2016). The common sources of stress that leads to earthquakes include among others plate tectonic forces that are produced by the movement of plate tectonics either towards each other or apart from one another.
• Additionally, landslides, denudation of the landmasses as well as material deposition on the surface of the earth are also viewed to be the other factors that are responsible for creating earthquakes. Volcanism as an activity is also linked to earthquake formation (Science & Earth, 2015).
• On the other hand, human factors like shockwaves that ate produced when testing atomic bombs both in land and in the water play a big role in creating earthquakes. Other human made factors include dam construction that involves heavy machinery being employed in the construction process ("1. – Earthquakes – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand", 2016).

Technologies used in earthquake detection, control and emergency response

• There are a number of technologies that can be employed in making the process of disaster detection, control and emergence response easy. One of such technologies involves the application of a strainmeter that happens to be very important in detecting earthquakes (Society, 2016).
• On using this tool, it gets easy for the involved persons to make appropriate preparations and avoid the adverse effects of the disaster. The other technological tool applied in earthquake detection and control is the laser light.
• The tool plays an important role in detecting earthquakes and offering the involved personnel to make the appropriate preparations that will in turn reduce the impacts of the disaster. Additionally, applying GPS and GIS technologies will help greatly in dealing with earthquakes ("1. – Earthquakes – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand", 2016).
• Using GPS will be useful in detecting any underground rock movements through the help of satellite technology.
• The movement of the tectonic plates is closely monitored thus making it easy to detect an earthquake. On the other hand, applying GIS technologies will help during emergency response as it will help in finding the best routes towards the disaster point as well as in accessing healthcare facilities. The creepmeter is another technology that can be used in the detection process and in process lead to controlling the effects of the disaster.

Earthquakes and the society

• There are a number of effects that are associated with earthquakes when they occur in populated areas. In most cases, earthquakes usually lead to a lot of losses when they happen in highly populated areas and they may even lead to the death of a great number of individuals (Science & Earth, 2015).
• Some of the notable effects of earthquakes include infrastructural damages that may include the destruction of transport lines and other infrastructures that are used by the society ( Geoscience Australia, 2016).
• Additionally, earthquakes may lead to tsunamis that well significantly lead to loss of lives along the coastlines as well as property damages in areas that are affected. In some cases, rails in the affected areas tend to get folded, underground electricity wires are broken that then leads to fire outbreaks in most of the large towns (Society, 2016).
• When earthquakes happen, sewage water may be mixed with water that is made for domestic use and this will significantly lead to healthy impacts being experienced in the affected regions. These effects may include disease outbreaks, destruction of health facilities that will lead to more patients suffering from the disaster among other effects.
• One of the earthquakes that brought about some significant effects to the society is the Gujarat earthquake that happened in the year 2001. The earthquake led to the damaging of the Kandla port that lead to large amounts of oil spilling to the sea (Society, 2016).