Brazil's Seismicity


Brazils Seismic Risk 

Seismic risk is relatively low in Brazil especially compared to other South American countries, such as Chile. Due to the fact that Brazil is located in a stable region with very old topography (the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area) in the interior of a tectonic plate. However low to medium intensity tremors do happen with a certain frequency in Brazil, and depending on the location in which these happen, they can cause big consequences to the people and the land. Magnitude 3 tremors, occur about twice a month on average in Brazil, magnitude 4 tremors, occur twice a year, while magnitude 5 tremors cause damage and occur once every 50 years. Brazil is more commonly known for its flooding and landslides. 

How Brazil Stays Prepared 

Around the year 2011 Brazil joined the International Space and Natural Disaster organization Charter, "Space and Major Disasters" whose purpose is to make timely data available to rescue authorities during disasters. Brazil joined this organization shortly after the country had lost 800 lives due to a landslide in Rio de Janeiro. This charter is founded by ESA (European Space Agency) and CNES (France’s Centre national d’études spatiales) and is an international collaboration between the owners and operators of Earth observation missions and is meant to provide quick access to satellite data to help disaster management authorities in the event of a natural disaster. The principle of the Charter is that images and data acquired by Earth observation satellites she be available to all countries free of charge whenever they may need them.

Sources: https://phys.org/news/2017-08-seismic-hazards-brazil.html
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Brazil_joins_the_International_Charter_Space_and_Major_Disasters
http://ds.iris.edu/seismon/zoom/index.phtml?rgn=S_America
https://youtu.be/ZvExM-Z3E2w

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2020 at 4:46 PM

    Leticia Ferreira both of our country's are in south america and both have had many disasters regarding the land and the life on it. I find it really interesting that even tho we are close in areas but have different natural disasters but majority of yours are floods and landslides whereas mine is earthquakes. Colombia is always having a 4 or up magnitude in earthquakes. I found Brazil earthquakes very interesting because i would only imagine Brazil and Colombia would have the same amount of earthquakes but then again Colombia is almost on a tectonic plate.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brazil's relations to tectonic plate boundaries

Image
Brazil is located on the South American Plate. This is the smallest of the major plates and is about 43,600,000km^2 in size. This plate includes the continents of South America and a large part of the Atlantic Ocean. This plate is bounded by the African plate in the east, Nazca plate to the west, Antarctic plate and Scotia plate in the south, and the Caribbean plate and North American plate in the north. The eastern side lies on the Atlantic Ocean at the divergent plate boundary (two plates that are moving away from each other and new crust is forming from magma that rises to the surface between them). On the other hand the west side of the South America experiences many harsh earthquakes because of the convergent plate tectonic boundaries (two plates that are moving toward each other). The South American Plate pulls apart from the African Plate and by doing this they create the youngest oceanic crust in the world (divergent). However on the other side the Nazca plate has overtime c...
Read more

Brazil's Main Natural Hazards

Image
Flooding and Mudslides Brazils main natural hazards are flooding and massive mudslides. Heavy seasonal rains in Brazil lead to flooding and these flash flood events, along with poorly built towns result in mudslides that destroy thousands of dollars worth of infrastructure.  According to Brazil’s meteorological agency, INMET, excessive amount of rain is the product of Brazil’s location in the  South Atlantic Convergence Zone and is  strongest in their warm season. This  It causes thunderstorms in the Brazilian rainforest and surrounding areas during the summer. However, the amount of rain that has fallen over the region  has  doubled the historical rainfall rate  that has been recorded by  INMET  for the past 40 years. Preparing for Flooding and Mudslides Flash flooding is a frequent hazard in Brazil. As urbanization increases, more property owners are looking for protection. Urban planning has never been part of Brazil...
Read more

Volcanic Activity in Brazil

Image
Brazil's Volcanic Activity Brazil is located at the center of the South American plate, which means it is far away from the edges of tectoni c plates. Unlike Chili and other countries located on the continent’s western edge, and are part of the volcanic “Ring of Fire”. This is the reason why there hasn’t been any active volcanoes in Brazil in a while. W hile there hasn’t been any active volcanic eruptions in Brazil in recent years, there are many signs that suggest that the country has experienced volcanic activity in the past. Rio’s Sleeping Giant (O  Gigante Adormecido ) Just above Rio de Janeiro is the “Patole” which is a 60-mile-long sheet of pure granite that was formed by consolidated igneous rock from an ancient volcanic eruption. This was once a massive reservoir of magma but because it never made its way to ground level it instead formed the Serra dos Orgaos mountains. It is believed that in the past the Patole was a gigantic volcano but has since...
Read more