Nicholas DeNobrega Lab 10 Earthquake Frequency
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Geol 116, Fall 2023
Lab 10: Earthquake Recurrence and Evaluating Seismic Hazards
Nicholas DeNobrega, Daniel Ward
Area Chosen: Western Southern America
Recorded Data of Chosen Area:
Recurrence Interval Estimates Based on Recorded Earthquakes:
Gutenberg-Richter Graph
Summary:
The area that I chose to investigate was Western South America, mainly on the west coast of Brazil.
The area that my lab partner chose to investigate was Central America. Based on the graphs of me
and my partners, the trends of the data seem to be very similar. They show a similar decline, i.e as
the magnitude increases in the graph, there is a decline in the frequency of occurrence, which seems
to occur linearly for both of us based on the graphs. For the magnitude of 7.0, the predicted
recurrence interval of Daniel’s area was 2.79 years, while my predicted recurrence interval was .76
years. For the magnitude of 8.0, Daniels area had a recurrence interval of 53 years, while mine was
5.3 years. For a magnitude of 9.0, Daniels area had recurrence interval of 1000 years, which was
roughly the same as mine. Some exposures and vulnerabilities for the population living near my
chosen area could be tsunamis due to some of the earthquakes that occurred off the coast, which
subsequently could lead to mass amounts of flooding. This is the case for my lab partner's chosen
area as well, since many of his earthquakes occurred along the coast. Also, many of the earthquakes
for both areas occurred on land, which could be very destructive and lead to structural damage
and/or possible collapse of buildings. This potential risk increases the likelihood of people being
trapped, leading to potential fatalities. Also, the earthquakes that occured on land could lead to
infrastructure problems such as the loss of power, communication breakdowns, and challenges in
delivering emergency services to the affected areas. In regards to the population of my chosen area,
the major areas that would be affected are Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. These areas have a population of
19.5 million, 33.7 million, and 12.1 million people respectively. Focusing more specifically on Chile
and Peru, as they are closer to the coast, they are both middle-above average countries in terms of
wealth, although Chile has a higher GDP per capita compared to Peru. Overall, both of these areas
are wealthy enough to design buildings to be earthquake-resistant, however, Chile has stricter
building codes which could lead to less potential vulnerability of damage. In summary, moderate-
sized earthquakes do not cause unusually large death tolls in these areas. Since many earthquakes
have occured in these areas, the responses to major earthquakes are informed by valuable
experience, leading to well-established emergency preparedness and response plans. Furthermore,
the fact that both countries are moderately wealthy and enforce earthquake-related building codes,
helps mitigate the potential damage and possible fatalities of earthquakes.
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