Earthquakes

"...no earthquake in the UK area in historical times has exceeded a value of around 5.7 Mw." (Musson, Roger, The case for large (M >7) earthquakes felt in the UK in historical times) This is a quote then from a 2008 report looking into the United Kingdoms history of earthquakes. In reference, the highest magnitude earthquake ever recorded was 9.5 in Valdivia, Chile in 1960. 

The U.K. isn't known for its earthquakes, but that doesn't stop The British Geological Survey, which is a natural environment research council that has set up 100 seismograph stations across the U.K. They track about 100 earthquakes a year, 20% of which are actually felt by people. According to detection statistics, the U.K. may expect an earthquake with a magnitude of 3 every year, within 4 every 10 years and within 5 every 100 years. Although the United Kingdom hasn't felt a large earthquake in decades, preparation is always a consideration towards of an ever increasing population that could easily be affected if a large quake devastated a large inland city.

"Modern London has about 40 times as many people living in it and while a comparable earthquake would certainly not cause a disaster on an international scale, the level of shaking would come as an unpleasant shock in a country that tends to think of itself as immune from earthquakes." (British Geological Survey) Constant focus is spent on learning the locations and sizes of the seismic waves sent through the British Isles to prepare for the possibility of a third large scale quake on a more populated modern society. The best source of information for geologist in the U.K. to prevent disaster and prepare for this natural hazard is using the data they are currently collecting, the ever increasing progress of earthquake prevention technology and taking the events throughout history to prepare for the possibility of another high magnitude quake. Only through study and educating will the U.K. be ready for what is considered by many a non earthquake country, a mistake Haitians made in January 2010.

Sources

Are yesterday's earthquakes tomorrow's disasters? | British Geological Survey (BGS). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/research/yesterdaysearthquakes.html

Musson, R. (2009, January 6). The case for large (M >7) earthquakes felt in the UK in historical times - NERC Open Research Archive. Retrieved from http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/5356/

U.K. Safe and Sound

The United Kingdom doesn't have a long history of earthquakes, or any at all, because the the U.K. sits in the middle of the Eurasion Tectonic Plate.

Although, this country does have 50-60 earthquakes a year, the worst they get are only enough to crack windows or ruin a game of Jinga. This is because the faults below are are so far down and covered with such hard rock that they go unnoticed.

The worst earthquakes in the countries history include the more recent 1931 Dodger Bank Earthquake where a 6.1 quake hit off of the countries northern coastline toppling chimneys and older structures. One of the worst earthquake was the 1884 Colchester Quake that hit more towards the mainland and damaged around 1250 buildings and killed 4 to 5 people. Although, in 1580 what is known as the Dover Straights Earthquake measured closer to a magnitude of 6, but most of the information recorded involved individual testimonies and unsubstantiated data.

So, even though the country is safe and sound from earthquakes; floods, snow and heat are the worst this country has to deal with which is enough for any country to worry about.

Sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_in_Great_Britain_and_Ireland

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1580014/Under-pressure-Why-we-get-earthquakes-in-Britain.html

Differences Between Hazards, Disasters and Catastrophes

A hazard can be considered natural like, a tornado, a earthquake, a tsunamis or a wild fire that can turn disastrous. These are events that happen in nature and can harm human life if their paths cross each other. A disaster is an event that completely disrupts communities and brings on economical and environmental aftereffects because of natural hazards. For example, recently on January 22, 2017, 62 tornadoes touched down from Texas to Georgia killing 19 people and a state of emergency has been issued throughout. Hurricane Katrina is considered the largest financial catastrophe in the U.S. causing at least $100 billion in damages and an estimated 1,800 fatalities. A catastrophe is is a disaster so large that maintenance can cost billions of dollars and years of recovery. The differences between disasters and catastrophes may be in scale, but learning to respect nature and its hazards is best for preparing for the worst outcomes.