Describe the view that the impact of earthquakes depend primarily on human factores Earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates and fault lines covering the earths surface. They occur at all three plate boundries (distructive, constructive andconservative) although most earthquakes occuralong the edge of the oceanic plates and fault lines such as the San Andreas fault line situated in California USA. There is always a variation of factors that can influence how the seismic event will impact, both human and physical factors and both influence the outcome of the event. The main physical feature to impact the size and damage of the seismic event is the magnitude of the earthquake. However, this factor can be dealt with to a certain extent by the management and preparation for the event such as evacuation programmes and earthquake proof buildings. Other factors such as the location of the earthquakes epicentre. The depth of the earthquake impacts the strength of the seismic waves at the surface. A deeper focus means the waves will have less energy at the epicenter, so the risk of damage due to ground movement is reduced. The geographical landscape in which the earthquake occurs will also influence the impacts. If the epicenter is located in a rural area where it is a less densely populated area, the impacts are dramatically lessened. However, if the epicenter is located in close proximity to a city center during midday when there is a dense population or in a terrestrial area then the effects can be devastating. An example of this would be the Kocaeli earthquake on the 17th August 1999 in North West Turkey. Known as one of the biggest earthquakes in the 21st century, the magnitude 7.6 earthquake with 10 aftershocks, occurred at 3:01 in the morning when most were asleep and very vulnerable to the danger of an earthquake. Due to the sheer amount of