History-Geography Integrated Assignment
Geography component
Term 1
2010
The Straights Times, 30, May, 2008
An earthquake struck Iceland yesterday at around 15:46 GMT. The core of the earthquake was between the towns of Hverageroi and Selfoss, which is about 30 miles east-southeast direction of the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. Research shows that the Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates moving away from each other was the cause of this earthquake. The magnitude of this earthquake was 6.3 Mw3 (moment magnitude scale).
The earthquake took place in the most massively populated part of the South Iceland region. The population of the affected area is approximately 12,000 people and that includes the towns of Selfoss, Hverageroi, Eyrarbakki, Stokkseyri and Porlakshofn. Several farms were also terribly affected by the earthquake.
The government on the other hand has asked for international assistance from countries around the world to help the victims of the earthquake. Personally, I feel that natural disasters are not avoidable, but we can reduce the harm done when they occur. The government can try to build less high rise buildings, and also educate citizens on how evacuate safetly when there are earthquakes. That way, people will know what to do when earthquakes occur and less lives will be lost.
(198 words)
Citation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Iceland_earthquake
