1999 Earthquake in Armenia, Columbia

The earthquake in Armenia, Columbia, took place in January 25th, 1999.
The three main plate tectonics environments in the world are: Extensional, transform and compressional. They make up plate boundaries in different locations, and Columbia falls under the ‘Divergent Boundary’, which is also the Extensional Environment. Crustal plates in this boundary slide apart from each other and earthquakes that fall here usually have a magnitude of less than 8. The magnitude of the earthquake in Columbia was 6.2.
About 938 people died, 700 were missing and presumed dead, 4117 injured, over 150000 homeless and approximately 700 buildings were destroyed as a result of the catastrophe. There will also be a long-lasting of economical and social impacts in Armenia and other cities in Columbia which were near the heart of the earthquake. The quake also struck a total of twenty cities and towns across western parts of the country. It was even felt from as far as Columbia's capital city-Bogota, which was over 220 kilometers away from where the earthquake had struck!
The government took immediate action and the USAID assessment team identified food, water and shelter as the most important needs for the victims. As a result of the combined effort of the national government, the Columbian Red Cross, private sectors and international donors, distribution of food, water and emergency medical assistance were of adequacy. The Columbian presidential delegate also agreed to use their resources to build shelters for the homeless.
I think we can minimize the damage of earthquakes by getting prepared for it, even if we don't know when an earthquake would strike. For example, we can secure latches on cabinet doors and file cabinets to keep its contents from spilling out during an earthquake. We can also have fire extinguishes kept in our house so that if a fire starts during the quake, we can extinguish it, minimizing the damage.

Websites:
ehow contributing writer, http://www.ehow.com/how_2077410_prevent-earthquake-damage.html, extracted 23/2/10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Armenia,_Colombia_earthquake, extracted 23/2/10
http://idh.cidi.org:8080/disaster/99a/0017.html, extracted 23/2/10
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001439.html, extracted 23/2/10
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/world_deaths.php, extracted 23/2/10
J.Louie, with contrbutions from J. Anderson http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/plate-tectonics.html, extracted 23/2/10