An Enormous Earthquake Hits San Francisco (Essay Sample)

Name: Instructor: Course: Date An Enormous Earthquake Hits San Francisco A few years ago, my family used to live in the city of San Francisco. The city is a coastal city and also one of the biggest urban centers in the state. It is a beautiful city, whereby many Americans and other nationals from other countries like to visit. The beaches around the City are one of the most attractive in America. Being a resident of San Francisco, we used to visit the beach every weekend. The beaches were a few miles from our house. We used to visit the beach to enjoy ourselves, and as such, we were not interested in the geology of the area. None of my friends and relatives who accompanied me to the beaches ever thought about any geographical or geological hazard that would unveil from the ocean. However, being residents, we were aware of some of the history in the area. From the history we knew, we were mindful of the fact that the area experiences earthquakes occasionally, however, small they might be. The extent of damage that this natural phenomenon caused the city at times made the town an excellent learning environment for people who wanted to learn more about earthquakes. The geological formation of the sea around the city and the land mass around the town was responsible for some of these hazards. In fact, it is reported in a US Geological Survey that San Andreas Fault is responsible for generating some of the earthquakes in the area. One of the most memorable events that took place was back in 2014. I had just completed my daily routine at the school gym when my friends and I decided to sunbathe at the beach. As we drove towards the beach, Curtis, one of my friends turned on the radio. The presenter read the news that caught my attention. In the Bulletin, it was reported that some students from the University of California had recorded some few earthquakes a few hours before. However, the strength of the quakes was small, since they only measured around 3.0 to 4.0 on the Richter scale. As a security measure, the Geological Department of the state warned people around the beaches to stay alerted. This was because the aftershocks of the quakes originated from the Pacific Ocean next to the town. We took that just like a usual warning that we are used to in this side of America. Few people if any took this advice seriously. Being, a sunny evening, a lot of people had gathered around the beaches to enjoy themselves. We arrived and shortly, we were swimming in the ocean and playing beach volleyball. At around 5 o’clock in the evening, the unexpected happened. An incredibly strong earthquake was recorded. It was measured to be 7.6 on the Richter scale. The waves had originated from the Pacific Ocean, just as reported earlier. Large waves of sea water started coming towards the sea coastline where we were enjoying ourselves. The waves were too big and powerful that they even nearly sunk a yacht that was passing through heading south. People started running for their lives heading towards the town. Some ran on foot whereas others took their vehicles and bicycles. This uncoordinated flow of activities led to chaos. Traffic came to a halt as people didn’t follow traffic rules. Our car was overwhelmed by water before we could escape from the beaches. Due to this, we had to flee on foot to save our dear lives. A storm was forming in the sky, and ten minutes later, a massive storm engulfed the town. High winds started blowing out houses around the beaches and even vehicles. Electricity was cut off due to the rain. The winds broke electric poles, and so were the power transformers. The town was in a total blackout, but for areas where generators were working. In the modern world we are live in, electricity is more of a basic need as opposed to some years ago when it was not. Virtually, everything in our country is run by electricity. Hospitals, schools, hotels, gas stations and homes were cut from the grid resulting in enormous losses by industries and even deaths in hospitals. Means of communication were cut entirely. No cell phone was functioning due to lack of signals. Signal stations for cell phones were either shut down due to power outage or the destroyed by the strong winds that engulfed the area. I tried to call my mom, and the connection failed. The internet providers also encountered connection problems. The internet was the only alternative that we had, but it failed too. Social sites for instance Facebook and WhatsApp Messaging were not functioning. This encounter made me realize...