Why Scientists Are Still, Unable to Predict , Earthquakes.
NBC reports that while the cause of major
earthquakes is well understood, the ability to
predict them continues to elude scientists.
Despite advances, it remains almost
impossible to know exactly when
or where an earthquake will occur. .
If we could tell people exactly when
an earthquake was going to happen, we
could take steps to mitigate against it.
But Earth is a very complicated system, Wendy Bohon, communications strategist at NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center, via NBC.
Earthquakes often strike with little to no warning,
and scientists have been unable to pinpoint
a consistent precursor that an earthquake is imminent.
NBC reports that the processes responsible for earthquakes play out over long periods of time, which
makes it difficult to predict them on human timescales.
We have an incredibly good idea
of where we expect earthquakes,
and even the sizes that we can expect
for large earthquakes in these areas,
but that does not help us to narrow
that down to a human timescale. , Ben van der Pluijm, professor of
geology at the University of Michigan, via NBC.
According to experts,
one of the most important ways
to prepare is to be aware of the risks.
What we need to do is to make sure
we understand what can happen
and build to withstand that. We have
to make sure people know what to do. , Ben van der Pluijm, professor of geology
at the University of Michigan, via NBC.
We have to make sure that our cities
are able to be resilient in the face
of those hazards so that we don’t
just survive the earthquake,
we can survive in the aftermath, Ben van der Pluijm, professor of geology
at the University of Michigan, via NBC