2004's devastating Indian Ocean earthquake and the 1989 Newcastle earthquake will be analysed in this comparison to explore the contrast between these two very different earthquakes, both with their own unique elements.
Origin
The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred along the Ring of Fire, as do most earthquakes. In a fault on a converging plate boundary, west of Sumatra, a large amount of tension had been building up over hundreds of years. |
The 1989 Newcastle Earthquake
The Newcastle earthquake of 1989 occurred upon very unusual circumstances. Newcastle had been home to underground coal mining for nearly 200 years. The mining activity had removed millions of tonnes of coal and water, altering the stress field of the crust below Newcastle. An underground fault line was present during the mining operations, leading to the reactivation of the fault line. The fault was not only far from tectonic plate boundaries, but was also reactivated by humans. |
Similarities
There are not many similarities between the origins of these two events despite the fact that pressure had been building up in both faults for hundreds of years. |
Magnitude
The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
On the 26th of December, 2004, the massive forces held in the fault were released, causing a 9.3 earthquake, 30 kilometres below the surface. This second highest magnitude ever recorded. The energy released was equivalent to 23,000 atomic bombs. The earthquake lasted 10 minutes, moving 1,200 kilometres of the earth of the fault line upwards. The seismic event created tsunamis due to a the huge displacement of water and these destructive waves even reached the coast of Africa. |
The 1989 Newcastle Earthquake
On December 28th, 1989, at 10:29am, the pressure built up in the fault released magnitude 5.6 shockwave, 13 kilometres below the city of Newcastle, just 15 kilometres southwest of the central business district. |
Similarities
Both earthquakes occured deep below the surface, occuring at 30 and 15 kilometres under the surface. The tension held both faults over hundreds of years were released, causing destructive seismic waves. Apart from this the earthquakes, again, differed greatly. |
Casualties and Destruction
The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
The Indian Ocean earthquake did not only have one of the highest magnitudes ever recorded, it was also one of the most destructive. 14 different countries were affected, 5 of which were in Africa. The tsunamis generated by the earthquake had a death toll of 190,000 people while between 400,000 to 450,000 were missing and presumed dead. The cost of damages in total added up to 8.71 billion dollars |
The 1989 Newcastle Earthquake
The Newcastle earthquake was not relatively large, however it still caused chaos as most buildings in the city were not made to withstand earthquakes. This resulted in the death 13 people and 160 people were injured. 35,000 homes, 147 schools and 3,000 building were damaged, costing 4 billion Australian dollars to repair. |
Similarities
The damage cost of both earthquakes tallied up to billions of dollars, even though the Newcastle earthquake was not as strong as the Indian Ocean earthquake. The number of casualties in both events were very different as the Indian Ocean earthquake generated many destructive tsunamis. |
Evaluation
The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and the Newcastle earthquake of 1989 were significantly different events, both with very distinctive qualities. The Newcastle earthquake of 1989 was a very unique case of an earthquake caused by human activity while the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake developed naturally, also forming along the Ring of Fire, where 90% of all earthquakes form. The Newcastle earthquake also formed far from plate boundaries while the Indian Ocean earthquake had formed on a plate boundary. Despite these huge differences, both earthquakes had developed over hundreds of years of pressure and tension in faults and these forces were eventually released as powerful seismic waves. Both earthquakes occurred deep below the surface, although the Indian Ocean earthquake was 15 kilometres deeper. The magnitude of the earthquakes were extremely different, with the Indian Ocean earthquake registered much higher on the Richter scale, releasing a significantly larger amount of energy to the Newcastle Earthquake. The Indian Ocean earthquake had the second highest magnitude's ever recorded, creating multiple destructive tsunamis, some of which reached Africa. The magnitude 5.6 Newcastle earthquake on the other hand, did not affect places outside Newcastle. The Indian Ocean earthquake being a global disaster, killing hundreds of thousands of people while the Newcastle earthquake killed only 13. Despite this, both disasters saw damage costs of billions of dollars. All in all, these disasters were very different but very interesting cases of earthquakes, both unique in their own way,
References
- On This Day- Indian Ocean Tsunami (2009) Available at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tsunami-devastates-indian-ocean-coast (Accessed: 15 August 2016).
- The deadliest tsunami in history? (2005) Available at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html (Accessed: 15 August 2016).
- Osborne, H. (2014) 2004 Indian ocean earthquake and tsunami: Facts about the boxing day disaster. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/2004-indian-ocean-earthquake-tsunami-facts-1480629 (Accessed: 15 August 2016).
- On this day: Newcastle earthquake strikes (2011) Available at: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2011/12/on-this-day-newcastle-earthquake-strikes/ (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Newcastle Heritage-History (no date) Available at: http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Library/Heritage-History/Search-the-Collection/Earthq (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Historic events - earthquakes (2014) Available at: http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/hazards/earthquake/basics/historic#heading-7 (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Australian Coal Alliance - Earthquakes (no date) Available at: http://www.australiancoalalliance.com/Earthquake.html (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Osborne, H. (2014) Boxing day tsunami: How 2004 Indian ocean earthquake became the deadliest in history. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/boxing-day-tsunami-how-2004-indian-ocean-earthquake-became-deadliest-history-1480582 (Accessed: 18 August 2016).
- Fenn, C. (2014) The human and financial cost of the Indian ocean tsunami – interactive. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2014/dec/25/human-financial-cost-indian-ocean-tsunami-interactive (Accessed: 18 August 2016).
- On This Day- Indian Ocean Tsunami (2009) Available at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tsunami-devastates-indian-ocean-coast (Accessed: 15 August 2016).
- The deadliest tsunami in history? (2005) Available at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html (Accessed: 15 August 2016).
- Osborne, H. (2014) 2004 Indian ocean earthquake and tsunami: Facts about the boxing day disaster. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/2004-indian-ocean-earthquake-tsunami-facts-1480629 (Accessed: 15 August 2016).
- On this day: Newcastle earthquake strikes (2011) Available at: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2011/12/on-this-day-newcastle-earthquake-strikes/ (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Newcastle Heritage-History (no date) Available at: http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Library/Heritage-History/Search-the-Collection/Earthq (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Historic events - earthquakes (2014) Available at: http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/hazards/earthquake/basics/historic#heading-7 (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Australian Coal Alliance - Earthquakes (no date) Available at: http://www.australiancoalalliance.com/Earthquake.html (Accessed: 17 August 2016).
- Osborne, H. (2014) Boxing day tsunami: How 2004 Indian ocean earthquake became the deadliest in history. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/boxing-day-tsunami-how-2004-indian-ocean-earthquake-became-deadliest-history-1480582 (Accessed: 18 August 2016).
- Fenn, C. (2014) The human and financial cost of the Indian ocean tsunami – interactive. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2014/dec/25/human-financial-cost-indian-ocean-tsunami-interactive (Accessed: 18 August 2016).