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The Final Post

Peru is notably susceptible to natural hazards, with earthquakes and floods posing the most significant threats due to the country's unique geographical and climatic conditions. **Primary Natural Hazards: Earthquakes and Floods** Peru's position along the Pacific Ring of Fire subjects it to frequent seismic activity, as approximately 80% of the world's earthquakes occur in this region. The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate generates substantial tectonic stress, leading to earthquakes of varying magnitudes. Historically, these seismic events have caused extensive damage to infrastructure and loss of life. Additionally, Peru's exposure to the El Niño phenomenon results in prolonged, torrential rains, causing widespread flooding, particularly in coastal and low-lying areas. These floods disrupt communities, damage agriculture, and lead to significant economic setbacks. **Mitigation Recommendations** To address these hazards, a comprehensive dis...
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Mass Wasting Events (That's Landslides)

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Mass Wasting What? I, too, was confused when I read that for the first time. Allow me to clarify that for you; while you may not know what exactly the term "mass wasting event" means, you're probably more than familiar with its other general term, landslides . Of course, there's also mudslides, rockfalls, and other things of similar nature, all of which fall under the category of being a mass wasting event. The term itself is used to describe any downward movent of earth materials, with the specification that it is under the direct influence of gravity. Interestingly, these events (which from this point will be referred to as MWEs) do not need to be triggered by such as an earthquake, it only needs gravity to occur.   Peru is familiar with mass wasting events, with the 1970 earthquake being especially notable. The 45-second earthquake triggered massive landslides, the latter causing the majority of damages. In the end, approximately 70,000 people died in the event, ...
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Volcanoes are Scary

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(Quick side note, this is the first time I am submitting an assignment on time. Yay!)    Volcanoes are Scary Without actually looking at my past posts, I'm fairly confident that I have at least mentioned the ring of fire , which is that giant belt of volcanoes in spanning the entire Pacific Ocean, and also has most of the world's volcanoes. Peru, itself, is within this ring of fire, since its coast faces the Pacific (who would've known). The country has about 400 volcanoes, 16 of which are classified as Holocene . I really hope I'm not the only one who had to look up what that means; a Holocene volcano - according to Google - is a volcano that has been active in the last 11,700 years.   Most notable of these volcanoes are Ubinas and Sabancaya, the two most active of the volcanoes in recent history (as of writing). In fact, Ubinas had erupted just over 4 months ago, with six other eruptions occurring between 2006-2023. Sabancaya's last eruption was in 2016, and sinc...
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This One Is About Earthquakes

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 This One Is About Earthquakes   Earthquakes: Not a Fun Thing, Actually Really Bad As mentioned in my last post, Peru is located on a divergent plate boundary, which makes the country vulnerable to earthquakes. The frequency of said earthquakes is measured on a chart called a seismic hazard map , or just seismic map.     South America is already a highly earthquake-prone country, and looking at the map shows that Peru is particularly high in seismicity (which means the frequency of earthquakes), having about 400 earthquakes a year.  This being the unavoidable case, the country implements several forms of safety measures to reduce the risk of injury or a catastrophe in the case of an earthquake. Such measures include a government website with its own resource detailing how to protect yourself, as well as policy reforms . Peru also enforces strict building regulations to ensure that a building can withstand an earthquake, and a tool called SISMATE that acts as ...
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Another Week, Another Post

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Another Day, Another Post Tectonic Plates Wouldn't you know it, the Earth's crust is not solid mass,but instead made of many moving plates called tectonic plates . A couple of google searches later, and I learned that there are somewhere between 15 and 20; it's hard to tell because some of the plate boundaries are too deep in the ocean to locate. I can say for certain that there are seven major plates and at least eight minor plates. Of course, now I want to know where my chosen country (Peru) falls when it comes to plates. According to this map , I would be led to believe that it is on the South American plate boundary, which confused me because google told me it's on the Nazca Plate. Come to find out, Peru is on both of them, so I learned something new today. Being where it is, Peru is located on what is called a divergent plate boundary . This means that two plates are moving away from each other, which is a cause for earthquakes, as well as the moving plates making...
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First Post, First Day

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 First Post, First Day  A brief introduction to my chosen country.         Peru is a country located in northern South America. With a diverse landscape ranging from rain forests to mountains to deserts, it is the third largest country on the its continent . Peru is very well-known for its famous landmarks that include Machu Pichu, the Rainbow Mountains, and the city of Cusco. The country is also known for being for one of the most seismically active countries in the world. This is due to its landscape, but also because of the country's location of being on a tectonic plate boundary, namely the Nazca Plate.     A Brief Mention on the Differences Between Hazards, Disasters and Catastrophes Hazards are processes and events that can potentially be threatening to human life and/or property. By this definition, hazards are potentially threatening to life, but not immediately threatening. Hazards are the easiest of the three to differentiate, but di...
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