Interestingly, the disaster with the potential to be the most catastrophic is one which animals can sometimes sense long before it happens. Hours, sometimes days, before a seismic event, animals begin displaying abnormal behavior. Some become anxious and agitated, others become still and quiet. Sometimes a normally docile creature becomes aggressive right before an event, or a normally aggressive one may cower into a corner of its pen or cage.
Seismic activity can take many forms, virtually all of which can deadly. Seismic activity basically occurs in two types of areas. The edges of continental plates pass under, pull apart from, collide with, or slide past their neighbors, creating zones of incredibly intense heat and pressure. When stresses in these regions of the earth’s crust reach a critical point, the plates shift, sometimes causing the most intense earthquakes on the planet. It is also in this zone that you will find the greatest number of active volcanoes. If the epicenter of the activity is under the seabed, the resulting shockwave can set into motion a massive tidal wave, known as a tsunami that can slam ashore thousands of miles away with devastation on a biblical scale.
Mid-continental hot-spots are thin places in the earth’s crust where molten rock, or magma, rises to or near the surface. Hot-spots can spawn earthquakes, geysers or volcanoes. Wyoming’s Yellowstone Basin is a hotspot characterized by earthquakes, geysers and lava flows. The volcanic islands of Hawaii were formed on a plate sliding over a hot-spot. A mid-continental hot-spot in the U.S. is responsible for the creation of the namesake springs of Hot Springs, Arkansas; the formation of the Ozark Plateau; and the earthquake-prone fault zone centered near New Madrid, Missouri.
Loss of life (for both humans and animals) can come in many forms during a seismic event. For example, a March, 2004 earthquake in Turkey resulted in the loss of 60% of the affected region’s livestock, most buried in valleys by rock and landslides from the slopes above. An eruption of Iceland’s volcano, Laki, lasted from June of 1783 to February of 1784. The resulting haze was responsible for the loss of all of the island’s livestock. Crops failed, and the human death toll was 9,350, most to starvation.
An eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in A.D. 79 buried the city of Pompeii, Italy (along with virtually all its inhabitants) under many feet of ash. The eruption of the volcano Mt. St. Helen’s in Washington in 1980 melted the snow that blanketed its slopes in a matter of minutes, the resulting flood and mudslide almost as damaging as the force of the blast itself. An earthquake in San Francisco, California in 1906 spawned a fire that was far more destructive than the quake itself.
Seismic activity in the Mediterranean in ancient times resulted in subsidence, with entire islands slipping below the surface of the sea, giving rise to the legends of the Lost City of Atlantis. An earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December, 2004 created a tsunami that proved to be the most deadly natural disaster in history. Around the rim of the Bay of Bengal, 300,000 people lost their lives and thousands of miles of coastline were destroyed.
Preparatory measures
While it is next to impossible to prevent losses due to the immediate action of an earthquake, losses to causes after the event can be minimized. Of critical importance is a source of safe drinking water. One of the greatest dangers in the aftermath of a destructive earthquake is disease, which is usually spread by contaminated drinking water. As with most disasters, if you live in a fault zone, you need to develop a back-up water source, preferably one that is independent of the local public utility system. It helps as well, to keep a stockpile of feed, because roads into the area may be come blocked by debris, fallen bridges, etc.
If you are in an area that is subject to damage by the various destructive forces of a volcano, you may (as was the case in the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption) have ample warning to evacuate the danger area. You need to have at least two escape routes leading to two different destinations. Drive the routes, paying attention to areas that could become flooded or otherwise impassable. Keep your trailer tires aired up. Be ready to pull out on a moment’s notice. Practice loading your animals so they get used to the procedure.
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