Earthquakes can be very harmful and destructive. An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of violent ground energy caused by the shifting of the earth’s crust or volcanic/magmatic activity. Most earthquakes occur when two sides of a fault slide past each other. The crust may either be being compressed, pulled apart, moving sideways or a combination of these. The resulting seismic waves are felt as earthquakes. Major earthquakes can cause widespread destruction when they occur near towns and cities. For most part, an earthquake will be most intense at the epicenter, but that is not always the case. The intensity of an earthquake is defined as the amount of damage that is caused by the earthquake. This is different from the magnitude, which is simply how strong the quake was. The intensity of an earthquake can be affected by other things than the distance from the epicenter. One major factor is the local geology of the area of the quake. An example is when earthquake intensity is greatest in areas where the soil can liquify easily. When soil liquefies, it shakes more than other soils do and the impact on buildings is much greater. In most cases, the most damage is done to the area near and around the epicenter because that is where the fault rupture is. In earthquake events that are of really high intensity, the rupture faults can be spread out across a very large rupture zone and can have high impact on the areas far away from the epicenter. If the epicenter is located off shore the effects can ripple into the ocean and cause a tsunami!
Diana's Blog 
Hi Diana! I really enjoyed the log discussion that you posted. I also talked about tsunamis in my own blog post. Those seem to be one of the first things I think about when I think of the aftershocks of an earthquake. I think it’s because then I first learned about tsunamis was when Japan had its huge earthquake back in 2011. I remember sitting down in front of the TV watching the news about it and seeing the clips of devastation. I even still have a newspaper from that time with the front page being about the tsunami. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this blog post.
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Hello Diana! I enjoyed reading your blog post! it was detailed and interesting. I did not mention tsunamis in my discussion but I’m glad you did because tsunamis are caused by an earthquake in the water. They are dangerous and cause a large amount of damage besides what an earthquake would cause. I also liked that you talked about the geology of an area. If the geology of an area has no bedrock or firm land then that is typically where most damage would occur. I also think that the way buildings are built has a lot to do with the amount of damage an earthquake can make. If the buildings are built to withstand an earthquake those buildings would be able absorb those seismic waves and prevent them from traveling through a building. So they are able to withstand an earthquake. If the building are not built to withstand an earthquake they would just topple over.
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