Prepare yourself!

Serena Juma

I’ve lived in Bellevue my entire life, and usually, nothing out of the ordinary happens.  When I was in first grade, I sat through my first earthquake.  At first, I heard this almost loud tapping sound, which was followed by the ground quivering beneath me.  I followed my instinct, and got half way under my desk, but noticed no one else was ducking.  As I popped back up, my teacher reassured the class that there were workers on the roof, but when a more thunderous shake came about, we dove for the ground.  No one was expecting an earthquake in boring, old Bellevue.  My personal experience has taught me to always anticipate and prepare for the worst when you live in an area that is at risk.

            Even though that was ten years ago, the memory of February 22, 2001 hasn’t diluted from in my mind.  Earthquakes are taken more seriously now that the people of the greater Seattle area have experienced one in their lifetimes.  I have observed that there are more frequently earthquake drills in Bellevue School District, and people are more aware that the Juan De Fuca plate is right on the coastline.  Although the magnitude was 6.8, the Nisqually Earthquake was not detrimental due to the focus depth being 51 feet.  The focus depth of an earthquake affects the severity of the tremors; the deeper it is, the less violently the ground shakes.  Washington is at risk of earthquakes because it’s on the coast and right by a fault line.  Because of this, Washingtonians take precautionary measures to avoid casualties and detrimental damage to buildings.  So, if a quake does happen, it doesn’t stop people from living their daily lives.

            Earthquakes can happen unexpectedly anywhere on the planet.  One could happen somewhere that hasn’t had a quake in many lifetimes, like Haiti’s first earthquake in 240 years, in January 2010.  Or, one could occur where the majority of the population has experienced at least one throughout their lifetime.  An example would be Chile, with the largest earthquake ever recorded in 1960. People that live in high-risk areas for earthquakes are ready for one when it hits.  In Chile, the majority of their buildings are designed with earthquakes in mind, and the Chilean citizens have been trained to stay put and get under cover.  On February 27, 2010, Chile experienced an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8, with a total of 512 casualties.  On January 12^th, 2010, Haiti endured a 7.0 magnitude quake, and more than 230,000 lives were lost.  This shows that being prepared for an earthquake can save hundred of thousands of lives.  Knowing that one could occur, and how to protect yourself ensures order. The citizens of Chile were not chaotic and frantic when it happened; they got under furniture for cover and buildings still stood tall.  But, for places that earthquakes aren’t as prominent in, the people have less knowledge about what to do when one happens, and how to ensure that little damage is done.  Therefore, the outcomes are more severe.  This is why Haiti faced such horror in 2010, and had 540x as many deaths as Chile when it had a harder-hitting earthquake.  Most major cities in the world are built on the coastline and near fault lines.  This is due to the usage of ports and necessity of water, but this choice puts people at high risk for a natural disaster.  The areas that choose to prepare, are the places that are most prosperous due the fact that there is less damage to repair afterwards.

            When two solid substances grind against each other, there is going to be friction that causes shaking; this is what an earthquake is.  The severity of the earthquake can also be based on the type of fault that it is caused by.  Normal faults are the type of cracks where one plate is sliding away from another. These faults are common where a plate is slowly splitting apart or where two plates are pulling away from each other.  Reverse faults are cracks that are formed when a plate is thrust against another one. They also occur when a plate is being folded up because a different plate is compressing it.  Strike-slip faults are known as the cracks between two plates that are sliding past each other.  The type of rupture that caused the Chile earthquake was a “mega-thrust fault alone a subduction zone offshore.”  This is a type of reverse fault, but occurs at the plate boundaries and creates a large quake.  The Haiti earthquake was caused by “thrust faulting along a strike-slip system,” which is a strike-slip, but occurs in a crack of earth, so the pressure is relieved.  Even with a more fatal type of fault, Chile still received less damage because it’s in a high-risk area and was prepared because they frequently occur there. 

            After experiencing a significant earthquake, I was more aware of the reasons why Washington prepares for them.  No one saw it coming, and neither did anyone else that has experienced one.  Even the citizens of Chile and Haiti didn’t know an earthquake was going to happen before it hit.  The only thing that humans can do is to anticipate and be ready for when one does happen.   

Earthquakes

I’ve lived in Bellevue my entire life, and usually, nothing out of the ordinary happens.  When I was in first grade, I sat through my first earthquake.  At first, I heard this almost loud tapping sound, which was followed by the ground quivering beneath me.  I followed my instinct and got half way under the desk, but noticed no one else was ducking.  As I popped back up, my teacher reassured the class that there were workers on the roof, but when a more thunderous shake came about, we dove for the ground.  No one was expecting an earthquake in boring, old Bellevue.  Always anticipate the worst.

Even though that was ten years ago, the memory hasn’t diluted fro my memory.  Earthquakes are taken more seriously now that the people of the greater Seattle area have experienced a recent one.  There are more frequently earthquake drills in Bellevue district, and people are more aware that the Juan de Fuca plate Is right on the coastline.  Although the magnitude was 6.8, the quake was not detrimental dude to the focus depth being 51 feet.  The focus depth of an earthquake affects the severity of the tremors; the deeper it is, the less violently the ground shakes.  Another contributing cause that made the ground only shake, instead of making a thunderous roar, was that the Bellevue’s distance from the epicenter was 40.31 miles.  These two factors are what diluted the strength of the earthquake.

Earthquakes can happen unexpectedly somewhere that hasn’t had a quake in 300 years, or one could occur in the same area as one that hit a week before.  An earthquake happens when two or more tectonic plates collide and slip past each other.  When two hard substances grind against each other, there is going to be friction that causes shaking, which is also referred to as an earthquake.  Another result over time is mountains.  When the locations of many ranges are observed, they are either on or near the fault line of two plates.  When they collide, the top layer of the earth is forced upward, and over millions of years it continuously gets larger.  People that live in high-risk areas for earthquakes are prepared for the worst.  In Chile, the majority of their buildings are designed with earthquakes in mind, and the Chilean citizens have been trained to stay put and get under cover.  Washington is similarly prepared for these situations, even though they don’t happen as frequently as in Chile.  Being prepared for an earthquake ensures order, and Bellevue was not in panic when the earthquake hit because of this.  But, for places that earthquakes are not as prominent in, are les prepared and therefore the outcomes are more severe.  Haiti faced this dilemma in 2010, and lost more than 230,00 lives.

Moving is an option to avoid earthquakes in total.  Avoiding coastlines and fault lines, can help prevent ever enduring a tremor.  Even following these tactics, if an earthquake’s magnitude is high enough, the seismic waves can still create aftershocks that are far from the epicenter.

            The severity of the earthquake can also be based on the type of the fault.  Normal faults are the crack where one plate is sliding away rom another.  These faults are common where a plate is slowly splitting apart or where two plates are pulling away from each other.  Reverse faults are cracks that are formed when one plate is thrust against another.  They also occur when a plate is being folded up because it’s getting compressed by another one.  Strike-slip faults are known as the cracks between to plates that are sliding past each other. 

            After experiencing a significant earthquake, I was more aware of the reasons that Washington prepares for them.  No one saw it coming, and neither did anyone else that has experienced one.  The only think that humans can do is anticipate and be ready.

Back On the Streets

Dolphy Jordan, a man convicted of stabbing his friend’s mother has been released after being in jail for 21 years.  Jordan was a foster child, and before committing the murder at age 16, he had been to 15 different schools by the time he got to high school.  The foster family that had taken him in at the time had reciprocated the abusiveness from his original home. 

He, along with his friend deliberated an “elaborate plan”, to help out his situation, but never “thought any further than that."  One day, he retaliated.  This time instead of going to a new foster home, the state penitentiary took him in.

            Now at age 39, Jordan has decided to partake in the Post-Prison Education Program, or PPEP.  This program helps revamp ex-convicts mindsets, to assemble a new life.  This is done through counseling with the individuals, giving more education options to them and instilling the basic knowledge needed for computer use. 

Jordan has followed the PPEP’s directions and now has been asked to participate in the a panel at Town Hall called "Inequality in the Age of Mass Incarceration."  Bruce Western, the author of "Punishment and Inequality in America,” will be present as well.  The point of the meeting is to show that the panel has concluded that prison does affect its detainees’ attitudes towards life.  It is also meant to show that once out of prison, it is possible for ex-convicts to live normal lives.

Western’s book holds many statistics that show the percentage of white and black males in prison.  It also exemplifies the causes of their crimes, most of them being drug-related.  An example is that in 1996, 36% of prison inmates were black high-school dropouts ages 25 to 65. The majority of them were arrested due to drug-related crimes.

The panel also states that violence and other forms of abuse may contribute to the crimes committed.  With Jordan for example, having a history of abuse, violence didn’t seem as inappropriate to him compared to someone whom had never experienced it before. This is the reason they support the PPEP, in rehabilitating ex-convicts.

In prison, Jordan received education up until getting his GED.  After that, he began to read older books by authors such as Dickens and Clancy to better educate and entertain himself while staying in multiple detention centers.

Once he was released from prison and joined the PPEP (he is currently a volunteer coordinator), Jordan attended South Seattle Community College with hopes of transferring to the University of Washington and majoring in sociology.  During classes, Jordan keeps his dark past a secret to avoid attention drawn to him.  He noted that when he neglected to mention he was in prison, “they treat [him] like a normal person.”

Dolphy Jordan is now a citizen of Seattle and attends College, knowing that the murder he committed will always follow him.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nicolebrodeur/2016465430_nicole11m.html