12-07-1988 Deadly earthquake, natural disasters, global warming and viewing Earth from space
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Aerospace Engineering Civil Engineering Construction Engineering Engineering Ethics Environmental Engineering General Engineering, Engineering Science History of Science and Technology |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Community - Blog |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Alice Agogino |
| Description: | Today in History - November 7, 1988 - 6.9 earthquake destroys Armenia, Spitak and kills over 60,000. It is reported that the entire population of Spitak died in this devastating earthquake, making it one of the most deadly earthquakes in human history. Partial blame was placed on the substandard infrastructure in Soviet-era buildings. The Soviet response was to outlaw construction of any buildings higher than five stories in the area, but little was done in terms improving construction standards or retrofitting existing buildings in the area. According to the World Global Seismic Hazard Map (left image) organized by the United Nations, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, Turkey and Georgia are situated in one of the most seismically active zones in the world. In August 199, Istanbul was hit by an earthquake of 7.4 magnitude, killing over 17,000 and injuring approximately 250,000. In December 2003, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Bam, Iran with an estimated death tally of near 50,000. More recently an earthquake on October 2005, the Kashmir region in Pakistan and India lost over 75,00 lives and displaced millions. Historical records suggest the deadliest earthquake in history killed approximately 1.1 million people in Egypt and Syria. Alas, a comprehensive strategy for urban planning is still lacking in much of these area, according to Architect Pirouz Khanlou. Also today in 1972, the first color photograph of Earth was captured. Today these photos from space are being used for commercial applications, such as Google Earth, as well as for monitoring global warming and environmental concerns. |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | earthquakes Spitak Google Earth Apollo 17 |
| Is Component of: |
"Today in History" Blog of the Engineering Pathway Digital Library |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(h) Understand global, economic, environmental, and societal context |
| Use of Resource: |
Could be used as a case study in structural engineering, engineering ethics or social implications of technology. |
| Difficulty: |
Medium |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | November 2008 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.k-grayengineeringeducation.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/ |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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