Can buildings collapse during aftershocks?
Yes, if a building has been sufficiently weakened during the main earthquake it could collapse during an aftershock. Vulnerability Why is it that earthquakes in some parts of the world like India, China, or Turkey seem to be more devastating than earthquakes in the Caribbean? The rate at which faults accumulate strain energy and release it in earthquakes is directly proportional to how fast plates move. The convergence rate of the plates in the Eastern Caribbean is about 2 cm/year, while the rate in Asia is much higher. As a result, their largest earthquakes occur more often than those in the Eastern Caribbean. This means that one day an earthquake as large as those seen in Asia will occur in the Eastern Caribbean. Do we get a lot of earthquakes in the Eastern Caribbean? Each year, over 1200 earthquakes are recorded in the Eastern Caribbean. Not all of these events are felt but they serve as a reminder that the region is seismically active. Which islands in the Eastern Caribbean are mo
