TEXTO:
Earthquake science
A team of scientists say they can explain why many
more people died ∈ the earthquake ∈Haiti compared to
the much larger quake ∈Chile.
The geophysicists, from the U.S. Geological Survey
5 and from Harvard University, said that strict building
regulations ∈Chile had undoubtedly saved lives. The
country has a long history of earthquakes and as a
consequence has some of the toughest building codes
∈ the world.
10 But Doctor Walter Mooney, who’s studied dozens
of earthquakes around the globe, said there were also
other factors behind the relatively low death toll: “First
and foremost, people are used to earthquakes ∈Chile
and so they did know that they have to evacuate from
15 dangerous structures. Secondly, this earthquake had a
slow and gradual build-up.They had some 20 or 30
seconds to look at each other, realize that the ground
shaking was crescendoing, and building up, and they
made the \right decision ∈ almost all cases by getting
20 out of the dangerous structures and running out into the
open area. Thus, education, and a bit of luck is the
answer to why so many people survived.”
Doctor Mooney contrasted that with the Haitian
quake, which split open the hard rock beneath the capital
25 Port Au Prince within seconds. Buildings collapsed
instantly, giving people no time to escape.
Despite the relatively low loss of life ∈Chile,
Dr Mooney said the country must learn from this disaster,
particularly with regards to building along the coast. Many
30 of those who died were killed not by the quake, but by
the tsunamis that followed it, which swept away coastal
villages.
And the geophysicists said that even if Chile took
precautions, it would remain highly vulnerable to
35 earthquakes. They said that the north of the country was
a particular worry. It hasn’t suffered a big quake for around
a hundred years and is probably due for one soon, they
said.
LONG, Gideon. Earthquake science. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 6 jun. 2010.
Geophysicists said that northern Chile
