How Earthquakes Happen

Earthquake is one of the most destroying natural disasters. Unluckily it often happens in several
regions. Recently a horrible earthquake has shaken West Sumatra. It has brought great damages.
Why did it occur? Do you know how an earthquake happens?

Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This
sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves. It make the ground shake. When two blocks
of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. They don’t just slide
smoothly. The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks
break because of all the pressure that’s built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs.

During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue
to move until they get stuck again. The spot underground where the rock breaks is called the
focus of the earthquake. The place right above the focus is called the epicenter of the earthquake.

Penjelasan:

 Paragraf Pertama adalah tentang General Statement (pernyataan umum). Melihat dari
teks tersebut tentu GSnya adalah an Earthquake happening.
 Paragraf kedua: Squenced of explanation adalah penjelasan tentang bagaimana
Earthquake bisa terjadi. Gempa bumi bisa terjadi pada dasarnya adalah karena “rock
underground suddenly breaks along a fault”. Penjelasan lainnya adalah tentang kronologi
how rock underground breaks along a fault.
 Paragraf ketiga: closing yang menerangkan bahwa pergeseran lempeng bumi terus terjadi
dan menerangkan bahwa titik di bawah bumi dimana batu mengalami patahan (where the
rock breaks) disebut sebagai Focus of the eartquake dan tempat di atas titik tersebut
disebut epicenter of earthquake.
What Is A Tsunami?
The word “Tsunami” itself is derived from the Japan which means a huge wave (Tsu: ports and
Nami: wave). An agreed definition of Adapan many people are of the tsunami is a natural
disaster caused by the rising tide of the sea to the Mainland with a high speed due to the
earthquake which was centered under the ocean. The quake could have been caused by a
landslide, ground plates shifted, a volcano erupts and the meteor that crashed in the ocean. This
usually happens when the tsunami magnitude earthquake exceeded the 7 on the richter scale. The
tsunami is quite dangerous, especially for those who live in the coastal environment. With great
power, he will sweep away what was spent.
The Process Of Occurrence Of Tsunamis
If talking about the process of the occurrence of a tsunami, then we certainly should start from
the cause, i.e. the area of the earthquake in the sea. Tsunami always starts a movement of terrific
that customarily we call the earthquake. Although it is known that there are many kinds of
quakes, but 90% of the tsunami caused by the movement of the plates in the belly of the Earth
happens to be located there in the ocean. However, it should be also mentioned, history never
recorded the terrible tsunami due to the eruption of Krakatoa.
The earthquake that occurred in the belly of the Earth would have resulted in the emergence of
pressure towards the vertical so that the ocean floor will rise and fall in a short span of time. This
will then trigger an imbalance on the ocean water is then pushed into a large wave that moves
mainland region.
With great power on the water wave, the fair only if the buildings on the Mainland could be
swept away easily. This tsunami waves propagate at speeds unimaginable. He could reach 500 to
1000 kilometres per hour on the sea. And by the time it reaches shore, its speed is reduced to 50
to 30 kilometers per hour. Despite the diminished rapidly, but the pace could have caused severe
damage to humans.

If we observe the process of occurrence of tsunamis, of course we understand that there is no

human intervention in it. As such, we do not have control in order to prevent these causes.
However, with maximum vigilance and preparation, we can minimize the impact of the tsunami
itself. Good examples already shown Japan. Though prone to tsunamis, but awareness of its
people is able to suppress the number of casualties due to the disaster.

Apa Itu Tsunami?

Kata “Tsunami” sendiri berasal dari bahasa Jepang yang berarti Ombak Besar (Tsu : pelabuhan
dan Nami : gelombang). Adapan definisi yang disepakati banyak orang adalah tsunami
merupakan bencana alam yang disebabkan oleh naiknya gelombang laut ke daratan dengan
kecepatan yang tinggi akibat adanya gempa yang berpusat di bawah lautan. Gempa tersebut bisa
saja diakibatkan oleh tanah yang longsor, lempeng yang bergeser, gunung berapi yang
mengalami erupsi serta meteor yang jatuh di lautan. Tsunami ini biasanya terjadi apabila
besarnya gempa melebihi 7 skala richter. Tsunami ini cukup berbahaya, utamanya bagi mereka
yang bermukim di sekitaran pantai. Dengan kekuatan besar, ia akan menyapu apa saja yang
dilewatinya.

Proses Terjadinya Tsunami

Jika berbicara mengenai proses terjadinya tsunami, maka kita tentu harus memulai dari
penyebabnya, yakni gempa di wilayah lautan. Tsunami selalu diawali suatu pergerakan dahsyat
yang lazim kita sebut gempa. Meski diketahui bahwa gempa ini ada beragam jenis, namun 90%
tsunami disebabkan oleh pergerakan lempeng di dalam perut bumi yang letaknya kebetulan ada
di dalam wilayah lautan. Akan tetapi perlu juga disebutkan, sejarah pernah merekam tsunami
yang dahsyat akibat meletusnya Gunung Krakatau.

Gempa yang terjadi di dalam perut bumi akan mengakibatkan munculnya tekanan ke arah
vertical sehingga dasar lautan akan naik dan turun dalam rentang waktu yang singkat. Hal ini
kemudian akan memicu ketidakseimbangan pada air lautan yang kemudian terdorong menjadi
gelombang besar yang bergerak mencapai wilayah daratan.

Dengan tenaga yang besar yang ada pada gelombang air tersebut, wajar saja jika bangunan di
daratan bisa tersapu dengan mudahnya. Gelombang tsunami ini merambat dengan kecepatan
yang tak terbayangkan. Ia bisa mencapai 500 sampai 1000 kilometer per jam di lautan. Dan saat
mencapai bibir pantai, kecepatannya berkurang menjadi 50 sampai 30 kilometer per jam. Meski
berkurang pesat, namun kecepatan tersebut sudah bisa menyebabkan kerusakan yang parah bagi
manusia.

Jika kita mencermati proses terjadinya tsunami, tentu kita paham bahwa tak ada campur tangan
manusia di dalamnya. Dengan demikian, kita tak memiliki kendali untuk mencegah penyebab
tersebut. Namun, dengan persiapan dan kewaspadaan yang maksimal, kita bisa meminimalisir
dampak bencana tsunami ini sendiri. Contoh yang baik sudah diperlihatkan Jepang. Meski rawan
tsunami, namun kesadaran rakyatnya mampu menekan jumlah korban akibat bencana tersebut.