The 2010 Baja California earthquake in Mexico caused significant damage and loss of life. It was centered in Baja California and felt as far away as Nevada in the United States. Four people were killed and over 100 injured from collapsed buildings. The earthquake severely impacted the local economy through destroyed businesses and infrastructure, and the environment through collapsed trees and landslides. Rebuilding efforts will be costly and charity aid is helping provide temporary shelter.

1. Earthquakes in Mexico By: Muneera Al Mana

2. Baja California Earthquake Mexico has been affected by many serious earthquakes before. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Baja California region in Mexico on the 4th of April, 2010. One of the officials in Mexico said that the earthquake was by far the worst that have ever happened in years. The tremors were felt by 20 million people and was also called the worst earthquake in Mexico since the 1992 disastrous earthquake.The vibrations were felt all the way through Nevada in the United States. It happened at 3:40:41 p.m. and lasted for roughly around a minute and a half. It started 26 kilometers south of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico and was about 10 kilometers in depth. Most of the damage happened in the twin cities of Mexicali and Calexico right on the Mexican-United states border line.

3. Region According to the US Geological Survey the earthquake was centered 16 miles southwest of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California, Mexico. Baja California is right next to the Mexican-United States border. It is right in the middle of north and south America. This means that it is located in Central America in the country of Mexico. Mexico is located where there are a lot of earthquakes.

4. Earthquake Impacts on Mexico When earthquakes happen they usually leave negative impacts on the country which the country soon tries to fix them. The Baja California Earthquake left such a huge effect on Mexico’s… Society Economy Government And environment

5. Society The earthquake was called the worst that has ever struck the Baja California region in Mexico since 1992. Therefore, many people were killed or severely injured. Four people were killed and one hundred were injured. According to the Mexican Civil Protection officials, a man died when his home collapsed right in the earthquakes epicenter near the city of Mexicali. During the earthquake a man ran out of his house and got run over by a car accidently. Most people were injured by collapsing buildings and various things falling on top of them.

6. Economy The country’s economy was effected negatively. After the earthquake struck it ruined a lot of things in Mexico, like hotels, buildings and many of the citizen’s homes. To rebuild and fix the city, it will cost a lot of money. Also many of the Mexican employees lost their jobs due to the fact that their work place is ruined, this means that they have lost a lot of money. A sixty four year old man was standing outside his restaurant in Calexico and when the earthquake struck it almost completely destroyed the place. This is going to take the owner a huge amount of money to rebuild and fix up. A charity called ShelterBox has been helping the people who lost their homes by selling tents to them, each tent costs £490.

7. Environment Many homes were destroyed after the quake and so was the environment. There were many trees that collapsed when the earthquake happened which damaged the city’s water tank. The collapsing of the trees affected the environment very badly since we need trees to have a good ozone layer. It also caused landslides on the highway which prevented the rescuers from reaching Mexicali from Tijuana. The earthquake also affected the Colorada River for it cracked the main pipe that carries the water from Mexicali to Tijuana causing lack of water supply there. A lot of fires happened due to the split natural gas line and broken propane tanks.

8. Solutions You cannot really prevent earthquakes from happening, they just happen! But you can help prevent the negative impacts that happen after the earthquakes are done. To prevent a lot of injuries from happening people should duck and cover and a table or desk as soon as they feel and earthquake happening, they should always remain indoors. You can prevent houses and building from collapsing by building arched roofs, making sure you have good ground support, having steel reinforced concrete slab foundations, having a balanced distribution of the walls in your home, and making sure you have a large number of walls. The government should send emergency messages to the citizens of Mexico as soon as they feel tremors or vibrations. They should also set up evacuation building that have all the necessary needs. Charities like ShelterBox should always be there when the citizens of Mexico are experiencing any natural hazard. To support and help the people that have been affected economically by the earthquakes we should donate some money to the numerous charities there. The government should also help the citizens by giving them money to help them get back in shape or to where they were standing economically before the earthquake happened.